It was a special day for over 100 children and youngsters of Jeevan Jyoti, a school for the physically and mentally challenged in Dhanbad.

Special students, who study in Classes I to X according to their mental and physical ability in the school run by NGO Inner Wheel Club, let loose their creative side on Wednesday as they worked with stationery and decorative items to create beautiful rakhis.

The occasion was a rakhi-making contest on campus on Wednesday, held on Raksha Bandhan eve.

As many as 109 differently-abled children - 55 mentally challenged and 54 physically impaired - took part in the one-hour contest from 11am.

The participants were divided into seven groups - three teams of mentally challenged and four teams of physically impaired, especially deaf-mute students.

Hearing impaired students from Classes I to III were clubbed in Group A, students from Classes IV to V in Group B, Classes VI and VII in Group C and Classes VIII to X in Group D.

President of Inner Wheel Club Minakshi Khemka and school principal Aparna Das adjudged the winners of the competition.

"Though the students were trained for the competition in their previous classes, we were surprised to see the perfection of their work," said speech therapist of the school, Ranjit Kumar.

Parents who came to see the contest were also happy.

Harun Rashid, proud father of Tariq Rashid, an 18-year-old boy who studies in Class II, and who became the winner in his group for making a rakhi using pen caps and cardboard, said his son did everything from the heart.

Rekha Devi, whose daughter Hemangi Aishwarya won the first prize in Group D for making a rakhi using flowers, said her daughter was multi-talented. "She used her own artistic skills to make the rakhi attractive," said the mother.

After the contest, the students tied rakhis on each other, gender no bar.

The day ended on a sweet note with everyone offering sweets and chocolates to each other, much laughter and excitement.