Once she’s over with her homework, nine-year-old Shagun Aggarwal picks up her drawing book, flicks open her water colours and gets lost in the world of art till dinner time. Make no mistake. Shagun is not into any kiddie pursuit of art. She’s is one of the six global children who were invited by the Princess of Monaco to judge the performances of circus artistes from across the world.Shagun, a student of Class V of Sanskriti School in Delhi, was selected as jury member for the International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo that was held from January 14 to 24, 2010. She was among the six children selected to judge the best circus performers of the world.
An open competition had invited children from across the globe to submit drawings depicting circus scenes. The Princess personally selected six of the best entries by children from Johannesburg, London, Montreal, Madrid, Monaco and Delhi, who formed the core jury
to judge the circus performers from more than 120 countries.
The Festival was presided over by Princess Stephanie, who heads the Organisation Committee of the Circus. The children of the jury were asked to judge the 15 best performances and out of those the Princess selected the final winners who were given the gold, silver and bronze considered by circus artistes as their very own Oscar Awards.
So what was so special about Shagun’s painting that she was selected as one of the six winners from thousands of other entries from around the world?
“She has a lot of interest in painting and loves to draw animals, so when we came to know from her school about the contest we encouraged her to participate,” says father Subodh Aggarwal, a senior
IAS officer.
The painting that Shagun conceived and made depicted an elephant, a seal, a roaring lion and a joker. “Nothing too special just the typical symbols of a
circus,” says the young girl modestly.
But there was something very special about her drawing, which made her the only winner not just from India but from the whole of Asia. Weeks later when she had forgotten about the contest, her principal called up her mother and told her to pack Shagun’s and her own bags for a trip to Monte Carlo.
Though Shagun took it in her casual stride, now it was the mother’s turn to be ecstatic. “It was the most astounding experience. I knew my daughter was a good artist but to win a worldwide competition. Wow! that was something,” says mum Rollee Aggarwal, who is an Indian Revenue Service Officer in Delhi.
The mother says that though she encouraged her to participate in the contest, “as any mother would, we did not in our wildest dreams imagine she
would win it.”
Apart from Shagun, the Monaco government sent two more tickets — one for her mother and another for her teacher and the dream began to unfold.
Monte Carlo, the picture postcard capital of Monaco captivated little Shagun. “I saw many beautiful buildings there and the hotel where we stayed was really picturesque as it overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. Apart from the natural beach there was a beautiful artificial beach as well,” says Shagun.
But what was more exciting was the reason why she was in Monte Carlo — being a member of the jury to judge circus performers. She confesses it was hard selecting the 15 best participants as all looked great.
“All the participants put up a great performance so the choice became very tough. But the winners had to be selected. So every night we would watch circus performers from different countries and then give marks accordingly. When the prize distribution took place, everyone congratulated us for our correct selection,” says Shagun.
Now back in Delhi and her school, Shagun says it was a learning experience of a lifetime. She got an opportunity to see a country and a culture, which she might never have seen ever in
her life.
Though Shagun is too young to get a peak into a casino, she feels it has been a great experience meeting so many new people and making special friends, including Princess Stephanie of Monaco, who left a lasting impression on the young girl’s mind. “She would be wearing long gowns one day and short trousers the next. But she looked very pretty in whatever she wore. She was a real princess the kind I had read about in fairy tales,” says Shagun with a twinkle in her eye.
— NF
