It was dinner time. As we were watching television, an advertisement caught our attention. It was for an event known as Singtel Young Achiever’s awards.
This event was to reach out to young talents in Singapore who are between the age group of 5-18 years. The main goal was to recognize youth in Singapore who had an exceptional talent in various categories such as: Innovation, Sports, Dance, Drama, etc. In those categories singing was included. My parents encouraged me to register for the same.
To register, we had to upload a video of our previous performance and photos of the prizes that we have won in earlier competitions. We also had to fill a form, with all our details.
In a week’s time, I received an email, that I was selected to attend the auditions. I was excited! They also gave us a few guidelines that we had to follow such that: the kids have to be smartly dressed
On the day of the auditions, we went to the venue and we registered ourselves. They gave us a token number and we were told to wait in a room. In a few minutes the crew escorted us to another room. When we entered there was a small girl singing a song. The auditorium was full of parents and children, who were sitting on the edges of their chairs, nervous and excited for their chances. When my number was called, I went up the stage. I sang a song in the raga Subha Panthuvarali. When I finished singing the song, the judges appreciated my singing and said that I have a good voice and that I have to train it well. I was happy that I could sing this song very well because of the amazing training that I received from my teacher Gowri Gokul Mami.
A few weeks later, we received an email saying that I was one of the successful nominees for the Young Achiever’s awards.
On the day of the event, I was so surprised when I entered the hall. It was huge with a bright red lighting. The auditorium was packed with people and banners being held up high to encourage the children who had won awards. For some time, the sponsors gave small talks. After that the special performances started. Some children with exceptional talents performed on stage. Finally, it was time for the award distribution. When my name was called, I raced up to the stage. I beamed with joy as I received the award. I got goosebumps when I saw so many people clapping. When the event finished, I reflected….. More than the award that I had won, it was the whole experience of taking part and showing my talent that made this event a special and enriching one.
- Srisha Swaminathan