#SaraReads: Story- The Real Winner

Once, there was a girl named Radha. She lived in a large town called Twichun. Twichun was known for its wonderful music and agriculture. Most of the people of Twichun worked in the fields, milked the cows, and fed all the  animals, to make money. Only very few people worked for businesses.

Everyone in the town loved music, including Radha’s family. But she always felt that she was the odd one out because she despised music. In her opinion, it  was a waste of time, and instead of singing with each other, people could be doing something useful like working in the fields. The majority of the children in Twichun undergo professional training in singing and some have training in musical instruments. Radha’s parents tried to make her do it, but she told them she was not interested. 

Radha’s best friend was a girl called Gauri. Gauri had a disability. She was mute  and was sometimes bullied. Radha walked home with her every day and made sure she safely got home. But on the way, Radha liked to tell Gauri what was on her mind and Gauri would patiently listen. Radha was the only friend Gauri had, and Gauri was the only friend Radha had. 

A few days later, when Radha entered the school gates, she noticed that none of the kids who usually come in early, were there. Puzzled, she entered the  school gates only to find that many people surrounded a wall. It was loud, and there was an uproar everywhere. 

Where are all the teachers and staff? She wondered. After she had managed to get through the sea of students, she saw what everyone was all pumped up about. A poster announcing that there was a music contest. 

Whoever wins first place, gets a new, free Dell laptop 

This is the thing that caught her attention. The problem was, she didn’t know how she would be able to win first place if she had never had any sort of  training in music. There would be many people entering this competition and they all must have had at least some training in music. 

She decided to give it a shot. She chose the song she wanted to sing at the competition and listened to it whenever it played on the television or radio.  She also practiced it with her family whenever they sang together. Her parents were impressed and proud of how well she could sing. 

On the day of the competition, she and Gauri walked together to school. Gauri had also chosen to participate by playing a piece on the violin. Gauri was up first, and Radha wished her good luck. She simply just nodded and went up to the stage. When she started playing, Radha was amazed at how fast her fingers and the bow moved. She never knew Gauri could play with such talent and skill. It was amazing! 

After she was done, the audience went wild. Gauri came backstage grinning from ear to ear. Radha congratulated her and went up to sing. Seeing Gauri’s performance had made her proud and she already felt like a winner. She was not nervous at all. 

When she finished, the audience broke into noisy applause and thunderous cheering, just as they had done for Gauri. She went down and joined the audience with Gauri beside her. Many people who she didn’t know, were complimenting Gauri and her. Yes, even those who had bullied them before! 

When all of the students finished, the announcer said, ” After careful consideration, the judges have decided upon our top three. They are…”

Radha looked at Gauri proudly. No matter what the results said, by performing on stage despite their hurdles, they were winners already.