Author:
Publication: South Bureau, Trinidad
Date:
Ava Bruce, 12, is not even Hindu,
but she topped all the other primary school pupils to get full marks from
the preliminaries to the finals in a Ramayan Quiz.
The Quiz was one segment of the
Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) annual Baal Vikaas competition involving
primary and secondary schools. The finals were held at the weekend at the
SDMS headquarters, St Augustine.
SDMS general secretary Satnarayan
Maharaj expressed pleasure in Bruce being an avid reader of the Ramayan.
She took home the Ramayan Quiz challenge trophy for her school.
Bruce, a Standard Five pupil of
the Robert Village Hindu School, has written the recent SEA and is awaiting
the results.
The school's Quiz teacher, Bhola
Paryag, said Bruce has been participating in the Quiz and in other categories
of the competition since she was in Standard Three. This year, she also
participated in the Folk Songs category where she acted in a drama. "She
has always been involved in the cultural activities in the school."
This year, Paryag said: "Bruce answered
all the questions put to her from the preliminaries to the grand finals."
Bruce was the captain of the team
of four in the Quiz. The other members of the team were Ashton Pallackdharry,
Stephanie Rajkumar and Vikaash Lalman.
Bruce's class teacher Harry Seecharan
described her as "A brilliant all-rounder. She never misses her classes,
she loves to read and she writes beautiful essays." In addition Bruce is
also a mathematics whiz. She had represented her school in the South Eastern
Team in Mental Mathematics quiz.
Seecharan said: "Although she is
not Hindu, her parents always encourage her to participate in everything
the schools does. And she would normally stay in after school to prepare
for the competition too."
The championship challenge trophy
and cash prizes for the all-round school went to the Rio Claro Hindu School,
which placed first in the Ramayan Test Piece, and Ramayan chanting, Bhajans,
Instrumental and Dance categories. In second place was Caroni Hindu School
while the Monroe Road Hindu School placed third.
