[ Indu Chukhu ]
PAPU NALLAH, 10 Oct: For the first time in Arunachal Pradesh, a ‘Space-out’ competition was held, in which the winner was rewarded for doing nothing.
The event was held here on Friday, on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day. It aimed at promoting self-care and rewarded the participants for giving themselves a break.
The contestants were marked based on parameters such as their body postures, eye movement, calmness and composure, etc.
The duration of the ‘Space out, do nothing’ competition was two hours, during which the participants’ pulse rates were recorded as part of the parameters.
The event, organised by Vibe TV, in collaboration with Heema Hospital, was curated by Techi Kokololo and Yommick Chisi.
Vibe TV is the state’s first entertainment channel and first youth channel which works mainly on trends and content creation, covering infotainment and entertainment news along with pop culture.
The competition was inspired by South Korea, where such competitions are held. It encourages participants to slow down and embrace stillness. The competition was also a counter to the constant glorification of being busy.
Bamang Menya, a first semester MA mass communication student of Rajiv Gandhi University won the first prize of Rs 10,000.
Sharing her experience, she said, “I was excited about the competition but I didn’t expect that I would win. It was full of fun.”
“Usually many of us consider scrolling on our phones and watching movies and dramas are taking rest. But after taking part in this competition, I learnt that just doing nothing can give a wholesome rest to your brain,” she said.
A total of 36 persons, most of them youths, participated in the competition. Out of the 36, seven participants could not continue and left the competition midway. Most of them had other events and assignments and were running out of time, while others found it difficult to stay for two hours doing nothing and failing to meet the criteria of the competition.
The competition was judged by three jury members – RKMH counselling psychologist Byabang Jernia, NERIST Psychology Department Assistant Professor Dr Yuma Narah Camdir, and RGU AITS counselling psychologist Dr Leeyir Ete.
Dr Camdir said that the judges tried to be as fair as possible.
Dr Ete said, “This was my first experience. Although this competition is popular in other countries, I witnessed it here for the first time.”
She said that the judgement was also based on non-verbal cues, body language, and expression. Five marks were deducted as penalty from participants if they failed to meet the winning criteria for the competition.
Jernia said that the event was a first of its kind in the state, where mental health was promoted by encouraging people to participate.
“In this fast-paced world, everybody has this notion that doing nothing or taking a rest is a sign of unproductivity. It’s very important for our minds to take rest and psychologically, even if we rest, our brain is still active. If we rest, our creative self will develop,” she added.
Many participants lauded the aim of the competition. One of the participants said that he experienced calmness during the competition.
Another participant said, “People should just enjoy what they do in their life, without doing things under pressure. We should take time out for leisure for ourselves once in a while.”
