Notre Dame Academy students work on their paper handbags during the activity on the school premises in Patna on Thursday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, Aug. 18: Seven-year-old Shambhavi will try not to use a polythene bag to stock her dolls’ clothes. She has learnt how to make handbags with paper.

The Class II student of Notre Dame Academy, along with 250 of her classmates, took part in a paper bag-making activity on the school premises today. Organisers of the event, the parents’ and teachers’ association of the school, claimed that the purpose behind this activity was to encourage students as well as their parents to give up the use of polythene.

“Each work here is a self-portrait of the child who has made it,” said Sanjay Singh, a faculty member of College of Arts and Crafts, Patna, who guided the children. “It would not be fair to judge them on how many mistakes they made. They are very young, and it is encouraging to see how eager they are. We should commend their efforts.”

Singh added: “Art and craft is a kind of self-expression. Children should be acquainted with arts from an early stage, as it develops a sense of aesthetics in them. If they acquire this, they will find it easy to be innovative in whatever they do.”

Children, who took part in the event, expressed themselves through a number of innovative ways. They crafted handbags out of chart paper. They also used glitters, colour pencils, ribbons and stickers to decorate their artwork. Some painted designs on the bags. Others put decorative stickers. Some of them also wrote messages like “Go green”, “Keep your city clean” and “Use paper”.

Shambhavi sketched Mickey Mouse on her bag. For her, it was a session of trial and error. The first bag she cut out of the chart paper was uneven. However, that failed to discourage her and she continued with her efforts. Finally, with some help from one of her teachers, she crafted a beautiful bag. She also decorated it eagerly.

Her classmate Archana Choudhary stuck pictures of popular cartoon characters on her bag. Navya Singh, another student, wrote “Happy Mother’s Day” on her paper bag. Sanjana Shah used yellow paper and decorated her bag with small decorative pieces.

Sanjana said: “It is fun to make a bag on my own and decorate it. My cousin helped me in selecting my chart paper. She also gave me the idea of using small mirrors to decorate the bag.”

Anamika Choudhary, another student who painted Cinderella on her bag, said: “My elder sister loves to create craft items. So I got enough material, which was left over from her last project. I am really enjoying myself today. This is the first time that I have made a paper bag. I hope to gift a similar one to my mother on her birthday. She would be pleasantly surprised.”

Members of the parents’ and teachers’ association and teachers of the primary section helped the children in making the paper bags.

Sunita Prakash, one of the members of the parents’ and teachers’ association, said: “It is wonderful to see these children doing such crafty things. It allows them to show their creative side as well as develop a sense of aesthetics.”

She added that the students had been given instructions a week ago about what they would have to do today.

Sister Neha, the headmistress of the primary wing of the school, also motivated the students with her presence during the session.