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Harshan Singh Gandham

I had the opportunity to participate in the Hemkunt Speech
competition for now my fifth year. I had started my journey
through the Hemkunt speech competition in level two when I
was just a little kid who didn’t know a lot, and whose speaking
abilities were of no merit. That didn’t stop me from

participating and I wanted to win and make it to international,
but that wasn’t exactly the case. That didn’t put me down, but
motivated me to work harder, stay up late memorizing my

speech, and getting every point done to be fully prepared. This
helped me from not making it to the zonal level, to making it to
the zonal level but not qualifying for international, then
qualifying for international but not placing, to making
international and winning back to back years.

When I look back at all the years I did the Hemkunt speech competition, it wasn’t the end result that
stuck out, but the journey there. The friends I made along the way, the hard work I put in, the people I

met, and the places I went because of my dedication were what I remember the most. I learned so
much just from speech competitions about Sikhi, public speaking, hard work, etc. The amazing and
knowledge-packed books that I read throughout the years connected me more with Sikhi and Waheguru,
enriching my knowledge past what I could have ever expected. These speech competitions took me from

being an inadequate speaker, to being an eloquent, fluent, articulate, and expressive speaker. Even
more so, it built up my confidence when speaking in front of dozens of people, and in other pressure
seeming situations.

Apart from that, I learned that my hard work and dedication can get me so far, as long as I continue
to accept loss and let that motivate me to win. Throughout the Hemkunt Symposium, winning obviously
mattered a lot, but for me it was always about working hard and improving. As long as I knew I was

improving, the position I got did not matter as much. What also mattered to me was taking the lessons
I learned from the books I read and applying it in the real world. For example, one year the topic was
Bhai Kanahiya ji. When he was questioned about giving water to an enemy, he responded by saying that
he does not see friend or enemy, he sees God in everyone. This greatly impacted and reminded me to

help anyone and everyone when possible. For all the younger participants in the Hemkunt speech
symposium, I want to take the time to appreciate your effort and dedication, as well as motivate you
to never give up, especially not for the position you get. The experience and what you will have learned
by the end of your Hemkunt journey will continue with you for your entire life, not some trophy.

Harshan Singh Gandham