Ten-year-old Udayasri Surapaneni recently bagged the jury award for drawing at the 5th International Youth and Child Art Exhibition, which had participants from 14 other countries. And that’s just the most recent of her achievements. She is also a black belt in Taekwondo and the winner of the ‘Budding Star’ title at the MaRRS International Spelling Bee Championship. She has also won at a Hindi elocution competition and is fast learning the tricks of chess. She has also attempted a Taekwondo feat for the Guinness Records.
According to her mother S. Anuradha, little Udayasri is oblivious of her many feats and is more concerned about participating in the Spelling Bee contest in the USA. And catching criminals! “I want to become a CID officer. I want to catch thieves. I like adventure,” says the Class VI student.
Sadly, Udayasri’s enthusiasm for learning new things hits a lean patch every now and then. As her mother and her best friend explains, “She suffers from bronchial asthma and each bout takes her days to recover. She is also allergic to many foods. We are taking her to doctors. I never let her exert herself.” Udayasri also likes to improve her English vocabulary. “Even in KG class, she could easily remember 50-70 words. She always had a sharp memory,” says the proud mother, who gave up her career as an advocate to care for her daughter full-time.
