Dakshina S.N. has been painting since she was hardly three. The Class 4 student from Tirur has done thousands of paintings in various mediums. Little wonder she has now cruised into the India Book of Records for doing the most number of paintings using oil pastels.
She could not contain her excitement as the national recognition came seeking her. The record has encouraged her to paint more. “Painting is my biggest hobby, and I want to experiment more in it,” said Dakshina, the daughter of Noble and Shiny.
For the record, she submitted only a part of the paintings she did with oil pastels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although she has dabbled in watercolour, acrylic and charcoal, Dakshina, who has had little art training, focused more on oil pastels during the lockdown. The COVID-19 period with no classes and assignments gave her the opportunity to add colour to her passion.
“Apart from reading and writing, she spent her time creatively with colours,” said her mother. Dakshina read more than 1,000 books during the pandemic, and in her paintings gave life to the many images she visualised while reading. Writer Nandanar’s Unnikkuttante Lokam became a favourite subject of her paintings. She also enjoys writing reviews of the books she reads.
Dakshina was in news in 2019 when she donated to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund a sum of ₹20,000 that she generated from an exhibition of her paintings in Kozhikode.
