April 22 :
Thirty enthusiastic young contestants from India's Maan Hindi Pariwar competed in the Transcontinental Kids Poetry Contest, which was recently streamed live on YouTube and Zoom. In an effort to foster an understanding and respect of Indian culture and language among American-born children, HindiUSA has been actively engaging in this endeavour. An organisation devoted to the promotion of the Hindi language, Maan Hindi Pariwar is situated in New Delhi. Sharing ideas and programming is a great way for both groups to work towards their shared goal of increasing mutual understanding and friendship.
Judges looked at the recitation styles, comprehension, and pronunciation of thirty young candidates from India and the United States, ranging in age from nine to fourteen, as they sang songs written by famous poets such as Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Nirala, Kamlesh Sharma, Kavita Tiwari, and many more.
Canada, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut were represented by fifteen participants. The remaining fifteen Indian candidates hail from illustrious educational institutions in the states of Telangana, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Mumbai.
Three of the five judges were from India—Jatinder Kaur, Premlata Chandana, and Meenu Kapoor—and two were from the United States—Pravesh Mishra and Sapna Sardana. Special visitors at the occasion included Shri Raghubir Sharma, Dr. Ranjit Singh, and Umesh Joshi from the Home Department of the Government of India.
Dhriti of Mumbai's Vile Parle area NSM School took second place, while Avani Rana of Delhi's Shriram Shiksha Mandir took first. With Manika Shukla's third-place finish from APJ School in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, the competition was won entirely by females. Special prizes were awarded to numerous candidates.
According to Raj Mittal, Vice President and Treasurer of HindiUSA, "the competition was intense and the performances were outstanding" (News India Times). The skill and preparation of the contestants were what really stood out, he said. In their own special ways, the competitors interpreted some of the finest poems written in Hindi, demonstrating an impressive degree of skill and commitment, as Mittal put it. Because they were born and raised speaking the language and spent so much time immersed in it, he added, the Indian contenders had a distinct advantage in terms of pronunciation, accent, and fluency. "Their slightly higher marks in the pronunciation category were contributed to this proficiency in the language," Mittal explained.
The American contestants' performances stood out against this background as well; Mittal praised their impressive command of a foreign language, their profound familiarity with and admiration for Hindi poetry, and their dogged pursuit of fluency in Hindi and its culture.
In addition to participation certificates, all participants received cash awards in US dollars and Indian rupees. The top three finishers received rewards of two thousand, fifteen hundred, and one thousand rupees, respectively, according on their location.
The event was planned using the Zoom platform to make participation easy, and preparations started a month in advance. In India, for example, where nearly 150 students from different schools applied, just fifteen were ultimately chosen for further consideration based on their abilities. This process involved multiple rounds of elimination. The fifteen poets chosen by HindiUSA were all winners of prior poetry contests. Mittal claims that HindiUSA rehearsed their lines and worked on their pronunciation and reciting.
Dr. Pankaj Sahil of Maan Hindi Pariwar and founders Devendra and Rachita Singh of HindiUSA expressed their gratitude to the audience and participants for their support and engagement as the programme came to a close.
The two organisers had never done anything like this before, but the competition was so well-received that fans have requested more. With the first poetry competition being such a success, the organisers decided to host at least three contests annually between India and the US. The goal is to unite children and parents from both nations, according to Mittal. According to Mittal, the competition was a way to honour the mutual appreciation for Hindi poetry and the extraordinary potential of young people in both India and the United States. "It demonstrated how language can bridge cultural gaps," he remarked.
