I remember it as if it had happened yesterday. My friends and I from the neighborhood had recently signed up for a drama competition – which was to be held in mid-September. We used to meet every day at our playground to decide on the script and the storyline for our play. Finally, after much hard work, we had a decent script and story ready. But the competition was only ten days away and we still had not decided who would play which character, let alone practice the entire drama.

Suddenly, an elderly person came up. He monitored our activities and then disappeared from sight. Then, when we met the next day for practice, we saw the same man as he was watching us from a distance. He then slowly walked up to us and said, "I have been observing you for a while. The drama which you are playing is a very interesting one, but very tough to master. If you don't mind, can I help you children to perform the drama?" We were reluctant at first, but since we didn’t know a thing about acting, we gave in. He told us that his name was Rajesh Das. He was a retired police officer but he had a great passion for acting. He was a wonderfully sweet guy who helped us throughout the drama and showed us how to act in different situations and how to use the props in the right way. Soon we were all ready for the play.

So the day arrived and we were all very nervous because we had never performed before such a large audience in the past. Just before the play, Das Uncle appeared and told us not to panic and just play each of our parts properly. Soon we were on stage and things went on pretty well. As we finished, we received great applause from the audience, which meant that our and Das Uncle’s hard work had finally paid off. Soon the host announced the results and we won the second place. Can you believe it? We never thought that we would win, but Das Uncle and our efforts helped us win. We were looking for Das Uncle to thank him, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, the host announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise in the memory of late Rajesh Das, a former police officer who recently lost his life in the service of our country, a person who had a great admiration for drama and acting and was also one of our founding members. We will take this golden opportunity to rename this auditorium in his fond memory!"

THANK YOU