‘Tyke’ these stars

Gone are the days when life was simpler with kids having a celebration out of picnics and fancy dress competitions. Today’s tykes are raring to go and how. On Children’s Day, we speak to four child achievers from the city, with each one of them exploring new boundaries and carving a niche for themselves.

Anjana Padmanabhan: This 10-year-old nightingale, Anjana Padmanabhan, won everyone’s hearts as she won the Indian Idol Junior 2013 crown. A fifth standard student of DPS in the city, Anjana won Rs 25 lakh from Sony Entertainment Television besides a car and other big prizes.

Judges went gaga over her voice, as she shared, “My x-factor is my confidence. I was having fun all the way and not singing only for winning it. My dad is very passionate about music and helped me with my songs, besides my teacher Akila in Carnatic and Shriman Pandit Hegde in Hindustani Classical. To improve my Hindi, I started talking to everyone only in Hindi and had a lot of fun during the reality show,” reveals the Tamil ponnu.

R Raghav Reddy: R Raghav Reddy (13), an enthusiastic boy from the city won the UNO Asia Championship. This gave him the opportunity to represent India at the UNO World Championship held in Japan. “I am very happy. If I win in Japan I will buy lots of biryani. It is my favorite food,” said an excited Raghav who is currently in Japan taking part in the contest. Raghav’s favourite UNO cards are wild draw 4 and skip and he loves playing tennis, cricket and badminton.

He also loves watching movies like 'Ice Age' and 'Toy Story'. “My favorite movie is 'Endhiran'. I am a big fan of Rajinikanth. I wish to be like him and take his autograph one day,” says Raghav.

Maulik Jain: Maulik Jain’s dream turned into reality as he sat down to pen his book 'Imagination Unplugged'. 14-year-old, Maulik shares, “All my teachers and family have been positive about my endeavour. My inspiration for writing is doing something innovative that will impact a larger audience as they go through my observations, abstractions and modern day revelations. It allows me to co-exist learning and presenting my views before the world. When the though first struck me, I told my parents who encouraged me in pursuing my dream,” he adds.

Shraddha Somanath: This pint-sized person seems to have a razor sharp mind. Shraddha Somanath, a UKG student who represented India in the Asian School Chess Championship, bagged a Silver Medal in the Under-5 Girls category in Sri Lanka. Ask her how she manages to sit for a game of chess and she replies, “It is fun. I like playing chess more than playing with my dolls.” The highlight of her trip was the river safari where she saw baby crocodiles and the turtle hatchery in Hikakaduwa. Incidentally, chess is not her only passion, Shraddha has another hobby. “I love dancing to  songs. My favourite movie is 'Chennai Express',” she adds.