Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday felicitated the winners of painting, photography and Instagram reel competitions held in connection with this year’s Tulip Show and Badamwari Spring Festival, honouring young talent that used both traditional art and digital media to spotlight Jammu and Kashmir’s floral attractions.
At a felicitation ceremony, the winners, many of them students from government schools, were presented cash prizes and certificates across three categories that together captured a cross-section of creative expression: brush and canvas, camera lens and smartphone reel.
In the Tulip Festival 2026 painting competition, Farhan Ali Bhat, Soleha Tanveer and Roja Fayaz took the top three positions, respectively. The Badamwari Almond Festival 2026 painting contest saw Ahmreen Bashir, Mir Maryam Zaffar and Hanzala Shafiq claim the top honours. In the Instagram Reel Competition tied to the Tulip Show 2026, Salman Ahmad Wani, Shazeeb Iqbal and Ayush Anand secured the first three spots, while the photography competition was topped by Umair Wani, Saba Reshi and Sharafat Khan.
Speaking at the event, Omar Abdullah said the competitions were designed to nurture artistic and creative talent among the Valley’s students and young people while drawing wider public attention to Jammu and Kashmir’s major floral attractions through contemporary, shareable platforms. He pointed to the growing popularity of the Union Territory’s annual floriculture calendar, spanning Badamwari, the Tulip Garden and the newly introduced Chrysanthemum festival, noting that all three had seen strong public participation this year.
The chief minister said the initiatives strike a balance between traditional artistic expression and modern technology, with painting competitions giving young artists a chance to capture the gardens on canvas, while photography and Instagram reels help carry the destinations to far wider audiences through social media. He commended the award winners and encouraged more students to take part in future editions of the competitions.
Abdullah said such efforts combine creativity, technology and tourism promotion in a single package, nurturing young talent while building greater public awareness of the Union Territory’s floral heritage. Following the ceremony, the chief minister inspected the award-winning paintings on display and reviewed the photographs and Instagram reels submitted by participants.
The event was attended by Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Dheeraj Gupta, Commissioner Secretary for Floriculture, Parks and Gardens Zubair Ahmed, Director Floriculture Kashmir Mathora Masoom, along with officers and officials of the Floriculture Department, award winners, participants and members of the media.
The felicitation ceremony comes as Jammu and Kashmir’s floriculture festivals continue to grow into major seasonal tourism draws, with the government increasingly leaning on youth-driven digital content, painting and photography contests among them, to extend the reach of destinations that were once known chiefly through word of mouth and print media coverage.
