HYDERABAD: Ravi Kumar, a Work Experience teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Tirumalagiri, had no idea that Covid- 19 would prove to be so productive for him. What started as a fun project went on to become a record-breaking feat. The 50-plus teacher, a resident of Khairatabad in Hyderabad, was fascinated reading about an origami project which set a Guinness World Record.
“Besides other artistic skills, I teach origami to my students. When I heard of this record where someone made 1,000 plus origami peacocks, I wanted to break the record. It took me just a day to decide I will take this up,” says Ravi Kumar. He started making the origami peacocks in September and it took him about a month to complete the 1,776 paper peacocks which were displayed across 19 tables using double-sided adhesive tape. “I used 10 colours of commercial craft paper, worth Rs 4,000 to do this project.
I would make around 60 per day to reach the number,” he informs. The painstaking display, which began at 9.40 am on November 15, ended at around 1.40 pm and the entire display itself resembled a peacock, thanks to the strategic usage of the colours. At the end of the event, he also demonstrated how he made the peacocks to the audience who assembled there following the social distancing protocols.
The entire feat was verified by two jury from Hyderabad who counted the number of birds displayed at the event. Incidentally, Ravi Kumar has always been enterprising in his work and has received a prestigious medal from the late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the President, for his innovative work previously. The feat was an exercise in patience and passion, and a live example of what can be created by a simple thought, a piece of paper and a deft play of fingers.
Ravi also said that such feats keep us engaged, make us productive and keeps us motivated to reach farther. “His students are bound to be inspired seeing the work done by their teacher,” said B Suryanarayanamurthy, an educationist who was one of the jury on the day of the display. Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding to create a variety of shapes and sizes.
It helps hone the spatial and creative skills of students and sparks of new ideas on how to use something as simple as a paper. This paper- folding art is about transforming a flat sheet of paper into a sculpture. “It also improves concentration and spatial awareness. For me origami is like medi tat ion,” he says.
How origami helps
Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding to create a variety of shapes and sizes. It helps hone the spatial and creative skills of students and sparks of new ideas on how to use something as simple as a paper. This paper-folding art is about transforming a flat sheet of paper into a sculpture
