Lucknow, April 28 (IANS) Four inmates of the government boys' Juvenile home at Mohaan Road here have qualified for a national level competition while registering their presence among thousands of entries from across the country.

The boys competed in poetry and prose in Hindi and English in the Kalantar Annual Art Competition.

This is an online contest organised yearly by the Kalantar Art Foundation in Noida in which the participants of all age groups compete in art, writing, dance, music and acting.

The inmates, two of whom are 16 years of age and the other two are 17, are among nearly 50 other kids from across the country who made it to the first qualifying round.

They submitted two Hindi poems, one English poem, and a prose in Hindi.

Ashok (name changed), who has been at the juvenile home for the last two years, sent a poem on the subject 'Ruk jana nahin tu kahin haar ke' and said that he has always been a writer at heart. "We are preparing for the next rounds by reading more books and stories to improve our language," he said.

He is among 13 others to have qualified out of 2,600 submissions by children aged below 18 from all over India. The competition had a total of almost 10,000 entries across categories.

Nishant (name changed) also qualified in the Hindi poetry category. "I wrote my poem on the topic of 'Wah! Uttar Pradesh'," he said.

The other two boys, who qualified, have been released on bail from the juvenile home, and they will visit the home next month for another round of competitions.

Superintendent of the home, Saurav Pathak, who also tutors the high school students at the shelter, said, "This was the first time that children from the juvenile home have participated in the competition. We are very proud of the boys and encourage them to work hard and prepare for the next round."

--IANS

amita/dpb