Painting a Future – Students Lead the Way

 

Perhaps the most heartening campaign during the Mahotsav was the “Painting on Cotton Bags” movement. From March 1 to 26, over 50,000 students from 600+ schools across Ghaziabad, Noida, Hapur, Meerut, and Saharanpur participated.

Children painted recycled cotton bags with environmental messages like:

• Save Water, Save Life
   
• Hindon Hamari Maa Hai
   
• Stop Plastic, Start Living
   

These bags—stitched from old clothes by local women—became both art and activism. The initiative not only fostered creativity but also sustainability. The top 100 entries were awarded on April 12 during the Mahotsav's closing event.

“It’s not about bags. It’s about belief,” said Rashi Sharma, a Class 9 student from Rajkiya Balika Vidyalaya.