5 y-o Udupi girl comes first in nat’l level Bhagvad Gita recitation competition

Udupi: Udupi-based Bengaluru resident Gahana Manasi, bagged the first prize in the national-level Bhagavad Gita recitation competition organized by ISKCON in Bengaluru.

Gahana who is 5 years and 10 months old won over a competitor who was more than 10 years older than her.

The competition was organized for children aged 6 to 14 years. 370 students from various States had participated. Among them is Gahana Manasi was the youngest competitor.

In the competition, Gahana was given a shloka from Chapter 6 of the Gita. Gahana recited the shloka in 6 minutes without any pause.

Gahana Manasi is the daughter of Shweta and Madhuraj Shettigar, a resident of Bellampalli. Her father works at a private company in Bengaluru. Gahana is studying in UKG at a school in Bengaluru.

“With full support from her family, Gahana has been able to recite the Bhagavad Gita without any hindrance. In the evening, she also participates in the singing of bhajans and recitation of Bhagavad and Sanskrit verses. Sanskrit teachers come to the house to teach Sanskrit. The competition was organized for children over 6 years of age but she was accepted as she could recite the shlokas properly,” says Savitri Sitaram Shettigar, Gahana’s grandmother.