September 26, 2009

The stage is all set to host the grand finale of the elocution competition as a part of the Vidyamritam programme for children. A warm welcome has been extended to our audience – mostly people assembled to witness the competition and to encourage the contestants.

We whole-heartedly welcomed our team of expert judges Sri P. Rajan ( Assistant Editor, Matrubhoomi daily) Sri M.G.Radhakrishnan ( Assistant Editor , India Today) and Sri C.P.Nair ( retired Chief Secretary of the Government of Kerala).
The respected Judges come over to adorn their seats on their dais, along with the 16 contestants who are seated opposite to them. The children are anxiously waiting for their opportunity to prove their skills. Out of the 16 children, 8 are from the ‘Junior’ and the remaining from the ‘Senior’ category in the competition. The faces of the contestants radiate their enthusiasm. The innocence on their faces glows like lamps at the altar.

The ‘juniors’ have the option to speak on any one of the topics, “Nature is my mother” or “Peace can be attained through a loving family life”. For the ‘seniors’, it is “Preserve Environment, Preserve Mankind” – no choice! The announcement inviting the first contestant is greeted with a huge applause by the audience.

Each contestant performs his task brilliantly, so to say. The delivery of the thoughts, the clarity, the pronunciation, the start and the finish – all indicate that the younger generation today is vested with great all-round skill and general knowledge. Most of the speakers did a grand job of it, putting the judges in a real dilemma! It was no easy job, deciding on the prize winners, with several close ties making the judges look at one another with a smile of helplessness.

One notable feature of the event was that all the contestants were uniformly free from any stage fear while facing an audience near twenty thousand strong! It was as if the very expression ‘stage fear’ was in their dictionary at all. They were all see fully involved in their talk in spite of the big gathering, a bunch of cameras flashing on them and the dignitaries on stage watching them closely!

The applause afforded by the audience to each speaker was indicative of not only the appreciation, but also a token of recognition of merit. We are all now looking forward to the ‘declaration of results’ by 12.30 today.

Our best wishes to these budding talents to make India proud.
It was indeed an amazing event. No wonder, Amma poses great faith in the younger generation of this land. They are the ones who must hold the torch for the whole world in the future and uphold the value system that is our great heritage.

by S Jeayaram & K Raviteja