Our Road to the Interschool Elocution Finals

“Speech is power; it can strike terror, inspire courage, and give wings to the soul.”

We, Khan Faria and Khadija Adhia, study in Standard 8B at St. Anthony's High School. Our teacher, Miss Eliza, selected us for the Interschool Elocution Competition because she recognized our potential in not only speaking skills, delivery, body language, accent, and presentation, but also our passion for the subject and ability to engage an audience. We had approximately 4-5 weeks to prepare for the competition.

On 29th July, the competition was held at Mani Bhavan. Faria's speech topic was "Gandhiji and the Indigo Satyagraha," and Khadija's topic was "The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre." We both prepared ourselves thoroughly.

On the day of the competition, we were at school early. We went to our principal’s cabin, where she asked us to speak about our topics. After we finished, she pointed out our mistakes, which helped us improve. We felt much more confident after her feedback. At 1:00 pm, we left school and headed to Mani Bhavan.

At Mani Bhavan, we first filled out the necessary forms. During this time, we continued to prepare ourselves. As we entered the room where the competition was taking place, our confidence grew when we saw other participants speaking about their topics.

When Faria’s turn came, she spoke confidently about her topic, and then Khadija took the stage, delivering her speech with equal confidence. Afterward, we explored Mani Bhavan.

Later, we came across a notice on the ground floor with information about the final round of the competition. It mentioned that the final round would take place on 22nd August, and the results would be announced on 11th August.

On 11th August, we checked the website and were thrilled to find that our names had been selected for the final round! We were both extremely happy and excited. The very next day, we went to school and shared the news with Miss Eliza, our class teacher, and our principal, who all congratulated us.

On 22nd August, we went to Mani Bhavan once again. We filled out the forms and took our seats. Our parents sat in the audience, while we waited for the judges to arrive. When the judges arrived, they introduced themselves to the participants. One of the judges said to us, “Win or lose, don’t be upset because it doesn’t matter. What matters is your participation.”

The competition began, and soon it was our turn. Faria spoke confidently about her topic, and Khadija did the same with hers. When the competition ended, the judges announced that the results would be revealed in November. Now, we are eagerly waiting for the results.