Srinagar, Mar 20: Students from Kashmir University’s prestigious Institute of Music and Fine Arts (IMFA) have bagged top awards in various competitions/events held recently. Suhaib Ahmad Hakeem from 2nd year (Applied Art) won the first position (cash prize of Rs 50,000 and a certificate) in the Calligraphy Competition/Exhibition held during the Pahalgam Winter Carnival by the Directorate of Tourism, J&K. Numair Qadri and Anis Rashid from 4th year (Applied Art) bagged an award of Rs 1000 USD each in the Creative Activism Awards by Iara Lee Foundation. The ILF awards are designed to maintain and expand important work of artists, musicians, writers, designers etc in pursuit of social justice and creative expression. Snowber Trumboo from 3rd year (Sculpture) qualified for nationals (going to be held soon) in the HDFC and Red FM Talent Unlock (North Regional Level Winner competition). Vice-Chancellor Prof Talat Ahmad Saturday felicitated the awardees at a modest ceremony held in the lawns of the VC Secretariat. Registrar Dr Nisar Ahmad Mir, Principal IMFA Dr Mohammad Hussain and Special Secretary to VC Dr Tanveer A Shah were present on the occasion. Congratulating the students for bringing laurels to the university, Prof Talat appreciated the efforts of IMFA in encouraging its students to participate in different competitions. He also wished the students best of luck for their future endeavors. In his special remarks, Dr Mir said it’s the university’s continued endeavour to encourage its students to participate in various competitions at the local, national and international levels and also offer a platform for such competitions in the university. Prof Hussain thanked the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar for their active support to the initiatives of the IMFA and vowed to encourage more students to join such competitions to expand the horizon of creative art and expression.