6th Annual Hindi Poetry Competition Organized by HindiUSA St. Louis

HI INDIA NEWS DESK
ST LOUIIS, MO- HindiUSA Saint Louis, a non-profit Hindi School, organized its 6th Annual Hindi Poetry Competition on January 20, 2024. The event took place at the cultural auditorium of the Hindu Temple of Saint Louis in Ballwin, MO, USA. This competition marked a unique and significant occasion as the largest Hindi Poetry Competition in the Midwest USA. Kids and volunteers came together to celebrate “World Hindi Day” by reciting popular Hindi poems such as “Khoob Ladi Mardani wo to Jhasi,” “Tum Mujhko Kab Tak Rokoge,” and many more. The competition was free and open to the public, attracting over 120 students who passionately recited their poems in Hindi. Across 8 different Hindi grade levels, 28 students earned top spots, showcasing their talent and creativity by incorporating costumes and props into their performances. All participants received medals, while the winners were awarded trophies.

The success of the event can be attributed to the fair, unbiased, and entertaining atmosphere created by Dr. Anshu and Mayank Jain, the founders and school coordinators. To ensure impartial judging, five judges from the community were invited. The program was divided into two segments, with two judges assigned to each segment. The judging panel included Mr. Vishwakant Tripathi, Mira Jain, Mr. Ashok Gangawani, Dr. Pradeep Singh, and Mrs. Suman Rausaria. Many of these judges are associated with local non-profit organizations and also teach at universities in Saint Louis, Missouri.

In addition to the poetic performances, food vendors offering street-style food and Banarasi saree vendors selling ethnic outfits added to the cultural richness of the event. The winners of the competition are now set to compete at HindiUSA’s inter-school national level competition scheduled for March 2024.

HindiUSA Saint Louis extends heartfelt appreciation and acknowledgment to the teachers and volunteers who contributed to the grand success of the poetry competition. Their hard work and commitment were instrumental in making the event a memorable one. The list of dedicated event volunteers includes Anupama Singh, Pooja Sharma, Seema Jain, Meghna Lunkad, Suchi Khandelwal, Shalini Sharma, Veena Vaidyanathan, Ritu Maheshwari, Vandana Singh, Kapil Kathri, Neha Gupta, Jitesh Gupta, Manjiri Sharma, Sarika Gauba, Deepshika Anand, Nidhi Singh, Kartika Vandavasi, Pratipal Singh Bindra, Veenita Singh, Sonia Jain, Vijayender Tarun, Chetan Shah, Shahshi Mani, Barkha Rawat, Karishma Khanna, Namrata Tripathi, and many more.

HindiUSA Saint Louis stands as the official school of the nation’s largest non-profit Hindi organization, with 4000 students and over 350 teachers across 27 schools in 8 states of the USA. The vision of Hindi-USA Saint Louis is to spread knowledge of the Hindi language and Indian culture among children growing up in America. As the Midwest’s largest Hindi school, it boasts 176 registered students and 32 dedicated volunteer teachers.