In the summer of 1993, well-known Telugu film actor Rajasekhar, and his wife/actress, Jeevita, felicitated the top tenth grade students in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The event took place in the prestigious Ravindra Bharathi auditorium in Hyderabad. The VIP invitees included various film stars, politicians, cricket personalities and philanthropists. I stood 6th in state board exams for tenth graders that year and was ridiculously excited at the prospects of seeing some of the state's prominent personalities in flesh when I got invited to this mega event.
I wore my Sunday best- an off white cotton umbrella cut salwar with painted flowers and a light green bottom, specially starched and pressed. I was seated in one of the front rows and got a great view of former cricket captain Mohd. Azharuddin, actress Meena, the then Education minister, Mr. P.V. Ranga Rao, and several other big wigs. The chief guests gave their usual speech. There were some cultural events- classical dance or something, I don't quite recall. Rajasekhar and Jeevita explained a bit about their educational trust and finally proceeded to the awards ceremony. The first prize announced was for the student that came 3rd in state. I knew something wasn't quite right. The next prize was for the one that stood 2nd. It became clear to me- they were going backwards from 3 to 1 and not forward from 3 to 6. I couldn't quite see what happened on stage after the 2nd place award, it was all a blur, as my eyes teared up with disappointment. They only recognized the top three students in state, those at ranks 4-10 (yes, 6 included) were merely there to clap. Sure, my family was proud of my accomplishment and my teachers and school were generous with their recognition for my 6th rank. But none of that mattered at Ravindra Bharathi. I remember going home empty handed and crestfallen that night. I thought I learnt a very important lesson that day.
తాడి తన్నేవాడికి తల తన్నేవాడుంటాడు- Someone is always out there doing better work than your best.
At some nonspecific point much later in my life, I got a vague idea of the other, more important piece of that lesson- just because someone else did better work than your best does not mean it is not your best. And, today, at a Telugu spelling bee, the lesson went full circle on me.
Raaga started learning Telugu letters in September last year. She has been sincerely practicing her writing for weeks. Today she participated in Maatlaata (Telugu spelling bee), competed passionately against several other kids, most older than her in age and grade. She advanced to the finals, lasted four rounds in the finals before getting eliminated.
Correct: వంటశాల What Raaga wrote: వంటశల
She did not win a trophy as it was reserved only for the winner and runner-up. I could see she was very disappointed as I was right there on the stage conducting the bee. When I eventually got off stage and went to her, she cried her eyes out, said she really wanted that trophy. I was honestly very proud of her- she exceeded my expectations in every way possible. But nothing I said at the time could console her. I felt so miserable! Ten long minutes and several offers of bribe in lieu of trophy later, her crying let up a bit. And then, her fellow contestant came to her and congratulated her. That seven year old told her that she should not feel bad for getting eliminated. She said she too did not get a trophy as she stood 3rd in the contest. She gave Raaga a hug. She offered to host a play date with her. She made her mom take a picture of her with Raaga. She then convinced her family to take Raaga along and go for frozen yogurt. Just like that, Raaga forgot all about her trophy or lack there of. Did I mention that the fellow contestant was my student, Upasya? She narrowly lost 2nd place and trophy because she got a really tough word. Those that know Telugu can easily tell she exited the contest with grace.
Correct: ఉషఃకిరణాలు What Upasya wrote: ఉషహ్కిరనాలు
We took Raaga to a toy store afterwards as promised (part of bribe package) and there she bought two toys- one for her and one for Upasya! They may not have won the trophies but they won my heart.
I wore my Sunday best- an off white cotton umbrella cut salwar with painted flowers and a light green bottom, specially starched and pressed. I was seated in one of the front rows and got a great view of former cricket captain Mohd. Azharuddin, actress Meena, the then Education minister, Mr. P.V. Ranga Rao, and several other big wigs. The chief guests gave their usual speech. There were some cultural events- classical dance or something, I don't quite recall. Rajasekhar and Jeevita explained a bit about their educational trust and finally proceeded to the awards ceremony. The first prize announced was for the student that came 3rd in state. I knew something wasn't quite right. The next prize was for the one that stood 2nd. It became clear to me- they were going backwards from 3 to 1 and not forward from 3 to 6. I couldn't quite see what happened on stage after the 2nd place award, it was all a blur, as my eyes teared up with disappointment. They only recognized the top three students in state, those at ranks 4-10 (yes, 6 included) were merely there to clap. Sure, my family was proud of my accomplishment and my teachers and school were generous with their recognition for my 6th rank. But none of that mattered at Ravindra Bharathi. I remember going home empty handed and crestfallen that night. I thought I learnt a very important lesson that day.
తాడి తన్నేవాడికి తల తన్నేవాడుంటాడు- Someone is always out there doing better work than your best.
At some nonspecific point much later in my life, I got a vague idea of the other, more important piece of that lesson- just because someone else did better work than your best does not mean it is not your best. And, today, at a Telugu spelling bee, the lesson went full circle on me.
Raaga started learning Telugu letters in September last year. She has been sincerely practicing her writing for weeks. Today she participated in Maatlaata (Telugu spelling bee), competed passionately against several other kids, most older than her in age and grade. She advanced to the finals, lasted four rounds in the finals before getting eliminated.
Correct: వంటశాల What Raaga wrote: వంటశల
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| Raaga getting off the stage, Upasya in the background |
She did not win a trophy as it was reserved only for the winner and runner-up. I could see she was very disappointed as I was right there on the stage conducting the bee. When I eventually got off stage and went to her, she cried her eyes out, said she really wanted that trophy. I was honestly very proud of her- she exceeded my expectations in every way possible. But nothing I said at the time could console her. I felt so miserable! Ten long minutes and several offers of bribe in lieu of trophy later, her crying let up a bit. And then, her fellow contestant came to her and congratulated her. That seven year old told her that she should not feel bad for getting eliminated. She said she too did not get a trophy as she stood 3rd in the contest. She gave Raaga a hug. She offered to host a play date with her. She made her mom take a picture of her with Raaga. She then convinced her family to take Raaga along and go for frozen yogurt. Just like that, Raaga forgot all about her trophy or lack there of. Did I mention that the fellow contestant was my student, Upasya? She narrowly lost 2nd place and trophy because she got a really tough word. Those that know Telugu can easily tell she exited the contest with grace.
Correct: ఉషఃకిరణాలు What Upasya wrote: ఉషహ్కిరనాలు
We took Raaga to a toy store afterwards as promised (part of bribe package) and there she bought two toys- one for her and one for Upasya! They may not have won the trophies but they won my heart.
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