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(Translation of prize winning essays from the competition. This is by Kandhasamy who won the first prize in Group 3 – Class XI-XII. This is an artwork cum essay, Checking out the original scanned essay is highly recommended even if you don’t know Tamil.)

Hearty thanks to Mrs. Chithra Krishnamurthi for the translation.

Introduction:
“You Should Keep Dreaming and Then Strive to Realize Those Dreams”
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, President of India

With these golden words of our President, I would like to offer my thoughts and dreams in the form of an essay on this white paper and gladly submit to you.

Content: My dream is to become the President of India. I consider my country as the walls of my home. Why do I want to become the President of my country? Do I want to rule? Or to become wealthy? Definitely not. Then why do I have this dream?

Simply because of my background. I hail from a poor family which depends on daily wages even for the food that we eat everyday. Living in such adverse conditions, my parents still make it a point to educate me without making me work for a living. For such a noble sacrifice, I have to give them some thing in return.

President of India: My only ambition in life, my dream and my sole aim in life is to become the President of India. I am working towards my wonderful dream and I am sure that I will realize it. I have absolutely no doubts about that.

When I become the President of my country, my foremost aim is to lay the right path for its development. This is my first thought and goal.

I will not hesitate to sacrifice anything for my people.

Apart from protecting my country and aiding my countrymen, I also have other plans to serve.

When I become the President, I will work towards uplifting the standard of living of the poor and will strive to put India on top of all the other countries of the world.

Scanned Originals (in Tamil)

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When I realize my dream, I will create a law that provides compulsory higher education to every one. Opportunities will be provided solely based on merit. I will encourage every one to learn life skills and better themselves. I will completely abolish child labor.

Violence: If you observed any country, it will always have at least one third of its population resorting to devious activities. A tree is well-grown. But a few leaves are diseased by infestation of insects. Does it destroy the tree from the roots? No, it does not. To help the tree fight the infection, we spray a small amount of insecticide. Similarly, I will start reforming programs for terrorists and the violent mobsters to steer them back to the right direction.

In addition, I will legalize 50% reservation for women. I will realize Bharathiyar’s dream of women graduating, creating laws, and ruling the country.

If all of us become capable and equip ourselves with education and skills, our country will stand up taller than a mountain and attain the foremost position in the world. We need not have any doubts about this.

I have to fulfill my parents’ dreams. I also have to realize my own dreams. I am sure that I will do this. I will definitely achieve.

Conclusion: When my dream becomes true, the world we live in will become a paradise. The conditions will become such that there will be no other paradise but this world.

It is our duty to protect our country. It is our right to rule our country. As we breathe the free air that was obtained for us by Mahathma Gandhi, it is only right that we repay by doing our best to our country.

“May the world live long, May your life be prosperous” – I close my essay with those words and thank you for the opportunity given to me. Salutations.

If you had been waiting for the next translated essay, this is to announce — no, not a translation, but a new translator, all the way from Malaysia.

Mrs. Chithra Krishnamurthi (Sangi’s mom) was so impressed with the first essay (Sasi Kumar) that was posted here that she has volunteered to translate the next essay. Thanks Amma.

Essays written in Tamil Nadu, India; translated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; posted online in Washington DC, US – what more proof do you need of the connected world?

Await the next installment of the translation…

(Translation of prize winning essays from the competition. This is by Sasi Kumar who won the first prize in Group 1 – Class VI-VIII)

Introduction
Everyone who is born in this world has a dream. Let us see what my dream is in this essay.

Content
My name is Sasi Kumar. My father’s name is R.Swaminathan. My mother’s name is S.Jayalakshmi. I was born in an agricultural family.

My dream is to become a Collector.

Lack of rain and water scarcity adversely affected agriculture. My family fell on hard-times because of this. So, we relocated from our village to the city. My father became a day laborer. He found me a job in a tea shop. I did not want to go to work. All I wanted to do was to go to school and study. But, I continued my job because of my family’s need. I worked for a year.

Scanned Originals (in Tamil)

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I learnt about the National Organization to Abolish Child Labor. I wanted to go to school like everyone else. I described my family’s hardship, my job, and my desire to study to a teacher. He took me to this organization and explained my situation to them. They told me not to worry and promised me that they will take care of my education.

This brought me extraordinary happiness. I felt like I got my lost life back. I made a vow that when I go to school, I will work hard and stand first in both education and sports. Now, I am happy, like everyone else.

I dream of becoming a Collector and eliminating my family’s poverty. I dream of becoming a Collector and assisting other families that face similar hardship. I will ensure that all students who wish to learn receive their education. This is now my dream. It will become a reality one day.

All that you learn, learn thoroughly
Thereafter conduct yourself according to your learning.
– Thirukkural

As Valluvar exhorts, I will study well first and then walk the path of the learned. Whatever barriers come in the way of my education, I shall overcome them with self-confidence and virtuosity, without loosing heart.

Conclusion
I will fulfill my dream and become an eminent citizen of India.

The results for the first annual essay competition are in. And the winners are…

Group 1 (Classes VI-VIII)

1. S. Sasi Kumar, VIII
2. S. Kathiresan, VII
3. M. Sakthi, VII

Group 2 (Classes IX-X)

1. S. Balasubramaniam, IX
2. M. Vignesh, X
3. V. Prashanth, IX

Group 3 (Classes XI-XII)

1. P. Kandhasamy, XII
2. S. Suresh, XI
3. M. Karthi, XI and R. Yuvaraj, XI

Group 4 (Girls)

1. T. Tamilchelvi, XI
2. A. Priya, IX
3. M. Pavalarasi, XI

Prizes will be distributed Tuesday morning during the school assembly and prayer time. More details to come, including photos from the event.

We are also planning to scan and translate some notable essays. So, do check back.

I should have known! The minute I said we might announce the results early, the scheduling gods heard us and threw a monkey wrench (a.k.a a boatload of snow) into our plans. We got hit by a snow storm and I could not even get to a post office to mail the essay papers to the next evaluator. Finally the papers left the shore (I had to jump across piles and snow and slush, so it is literally a shore) today. We will hopefully have something next week.

Update on the essay competition: Three evaluations are done. One left. It looks like we will be announcing the results soon…very soon. Come back for more.

Update on the first annual saheli-sponsored essay competition: Two evaluations are complete. Two more to go. At this rate, we might finish earlier than planned. Keep checking back for more updates.

It starts off slow and easy and ends up being quite hectic (doesn’t it always?). Our appointed time is some time after lunch. When we get there, the first sight that greets us is a whole crowd of students, overwhelmingly boys, sitting in the hallway, talking up a storm. We wonder if this is a physical education class waiting for the teacher as we walk up to the Headmistress’s room.

Imagine our shock when we hear that those students are waiting for the essay competition. Much to our dismay, we discover the teachers made a general announcement to their classes about the competition, leaving out the vital “girls-only” component. As a result, we have that talkative bunch out there waiting to start writing. It would be awful to disappoint them, so we make an on-the-spot decision to convert this into an unrestricted competition. (Note to self: we have to figure out how to get make the “girls-only” rule work the next time.) Vichu, my brother who is accompanying us, is coerced to go right away and buy writing paper from the little corner store next to the school.

We walk out to the semi-playground in front of the school where the students are. I ask where they are going to write, and am informed that they are going to do so right there – on the ground. There are no free classrooms for us. (Another note to self: conduct the next essay competition during a holiday so we can get some classrooms. Oh wait. If we do that over holidays, participation might not be as good. Scratch this note to self.)

The Headmistress (HM) asks the students to separate out by groups. It looks like there are lot more students in the higher classes (IX-XII). She says a few words to the assembled students asking them to write well. She assigns a teacher to help us with the coordination and leaves. He promptly disappears right after her. So, we are pretty much left to our own devices.

Hema, my sister-in-law who had volunteered to be the local coordinator, used to be a kindergarten teacher. Her prior experience comes in handy as she takes charge, and starts in her best classroom voice:

• We will announce the essay competition title and then give everyone an hour and 15 minutes. You can think, plan, create a rough draft, or do nothing for the first 15 minutes. Then you get to write for an hour.
• We will provide paper. You can write as much as you want in that hour.
• Once you are done, we will take it away for evaluation.
• There will be two marks for handwriting, two marks for presentation, and six marks for content.
• Any questions?

Multiple heads nod no and Hema announces the title – My Dream.

Vichu arrives with two quires of writing paper and it is distributed. A few have brought their own paper. Scales, pencils, pens, color pencils, and sketch pens come out of boxes. Margins are drawn. A couple of Thirukkural books are pulled out for reference. The competition starts in earnest. Very soon the paper supply is depleted. Vichu takes another quick trip to the small store outside the school compound.

I do a headcount (56 students) and ask Hema to double check the number. Earlier in the day we had decided to buy fountain pens as participation gifts. Now, we need to go pick them up. We borrow a bike for this part of the adventure. Vichu drives, I hang on for my dear life in the back seat (more because I did not know he could drive a bike in the first place), and we are off to get the pens. The first store we go to, they don’t have 56 identical pens. We go to a second, which is closed, then to a third, which is also closed. So, we are back to the first where we pick similar priced pens for everyone. They cost INR 35 per pen (for the boys) and INR 45 per pen (for the girls). We buy 58 pens (two more for good measure).

We rush back to the school where the competition is almost over. The junior class kids are all done while the senior classes are writing industriously. Vichu does another headcount and discovers there are now 61 students. Apparently, five more had joined the fray while we were gone. Now we are short three pens. Vichu rushes out one more time to buy more pens. (Note to self: this participation gifting needs to be better organized.)

Competition is almost over. Hema gives the “10 minutes left” announcement while I wander off to find a stapler. Vichu arrives after his pen purchase spree. We collect the papers. The HM arrives for the conclusion. There are a few speeches. Hema asks them if they know what the first prize is. The students chorus the cash award amount (Rupees 2,000). She asks if they would give that to their parents. Another chorus of yeses. She says that the first prize winners will also get gift certificates for INR 500 so they can buy books for themselves. For my part, I promise to come back next year and express the hope that there will be more girls at that time. The HM asks the students to study hard and promises to help them as they need it.

The HM and another teacher who helped us with the earlier coordination (no, not the one who disappeared, he never came back) hand out the pens. The students hang out to ask a few questions. The girls timidly wait for the boys to finish before they venture to ask their questions. Boys ask about the differences between U.S. and India. Girls ask what I had studied when I went to school in the neighboring town. We finish up.

In the conversation afterwards, the HM says that the girls are generally very shy and not as aggressive as the boys. She explains that events like these do not happen often but are important in helping them become a bit bolder. More conversations about how the students fare and future plans for the school.

Competition over, we meander out with multiple stops to check out the school scenery – a commemorative independence day pillar, the front entrance, boards for the school clubs (Scouts & Guides, Junior Red Cross, and Eco Club).

So our very first event is quite successful, despite minor hiccups on the way. Being able to actually be there to conduct the competition and witness the kids writing intently was very encouraging. Check out the photos and see if you agree.

Until next year…

First annual saheli sponsored essay competition was a smashing success.

On 19th January 2007, 61 students from the Government Higher Secondary School in Kangeyam (Tamil Nadu, India), from Class VI to XII, took part in the competition. The topic – My Dream – was announced at the venue. There were 8 girls and 53 boys (side story to come).

saheli’s very first event. Of the very first project. Of the very first program. And it was a fantastic event and experience.

Evaluation has started already. Results to be announced within the next month or so.

More soon…