Winning the ISKCON's Star Performer Award

A STAR PERFORMER award!

From ISKCON Samskriti – an organization that is working to promote cultural awareness!!

Awarded for ‘Story Telling’ for 5th and 6th graders from hundreds of entries from all over Bengaluru!!!

It all started when my dad passed me a link about me having to upload a video on one of the six topics provided by ISKCON Samskriti. I chose to tell the story of the Ganges – who and why was it brought to earth and the miracle-curing power it has. (Please watch the video for the details 😊). I chose this topic because it was quite tougher than the rest – had many details and names that had to be correctly told.

I had a hard time preparing for the same while shooting the video – I fumbled in chronologically retelling them or correctly pronouncing the names. After 5 - 6 tries I felt like giving up but the non-stop encouragement from my parents helped my finish the video. We submitted the video at least a week before the deadline and were eagerly waiting for the same.

On 15th Oct, we received a call from the organizers and were asked to make ourselves available the next weekend for receiving a prize. It was Oct 22nd and we were at MVT Hall, ISKCON – West of Chord Road, Bengaluru by 9 am. Along with my parents, my paternal grandfather also accompanied me. At 9:30, the registrations were open. We had to register ourselves before we entered the hall. We first sang and danced to Hare Krishna Mahamantra and then the oldest devotee of ISKCON, Bengaluru gave a speech that was very interesting. The prize-distributing ceremony started. First, came the cute and young ones from pre-schools across Bengaluru which was followed by the 1st and 2nd graders. Then came the turn of 3rd and 4th graders. Finally, came the turn of the 5th and 6th grades. When they called my name, I was pleasantly surprised to know I was awarded the STAR PERFORMER award. I quickly but carefully went up the stage. I took a picture after I got my award and got down from stage. We had to get our certificates at the West gate. After I got the certificate, I went to my family who were waiting for me at the other exit.

As I was leaving the temple, I remembered the quote “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet”. I was facing difficulty in getting the video right but in the end, I got the star performer award. The events of 22nd Oct shall always be a great memory for me.