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Apurvi’s world

13 Mar 2022

By Kusumanjalee Thilakarathna Photos: Manoj Vidanapathirana    Apurvi Vidanapathirana, a seven-year-old multi-talented girl from Bandarawela, dreams of becoming a doctor when she grows up. Asked why she wanted to become a doctor, she said: “My father does a lot of work in the garden and there are times when he gets hurt. I am the one who takes care of him when he gets hurt. I apply medicine on the cuts and paste band-aids. I love to treat those who are hurt and help them get better, just like I help my father.”    Apurvi, can you tell us more about yourself? I am seven years old and I am in Grade 2 now. I attend Lyceum International School, Panadura. I used to live in Kuwait and we moved back to Sri Lanka when I was old enough to attend school. I live in Bandaragama.  My father’s name is Manoj Widanapathirana and my mom is Sumithra Widanapathirana. I love my grandmother so much. She is the one who takes good care of me along with my father. I have two best friends – Dihen and Hiyara.    Do you have any hobbies? I love gardening and helping my father do his work. I love gymnastics and playing badminton. I read books and watch cartoons when I have free time.  My father and my friends say that I can sing really well. I practise singing every day with my father. He is an amazing singer too. He has taught me the basics of how to play the piano. I love playing the piano and I am looking forward to improving my singing and piano skills.  I have another hobby which I love to do all the time, which is creating new things and doing handwork. I mostly use waste material to make these things and everyone appreciates it. I love to draw and colour too.    Since when have you been practising gymnastics?  Since I was very young. My cousin, Senul Ayya, taught me how to do certain movements in gymnastics and I was confident I could do them, so I tried and now I am very good at the movements I learned. Now that the Covid situation is getting better, I plan to join a private class to learn more gymnastic skills.    How did you learn to play badminton? As we had online school for almost two years I couldn’t attend any training or practices at school. My father taught me how to play badminton when he could take time off from work. We play together almost every day now.    What is your favourite subject at school?  I love social studies. We learn a lot about nature in class. We recently learned how our shadows are formed.    Why do you like gardening so much?  I enjoy being outside where there are plants and trees. It makes me feel very happy. I help my father to keep the garden clean by picking up tree leaves. I love the smell of freshly-cut grass. I water my plants every day if it’s not raining. I think nature is like magic with all these beautiful flowers and tasty fruits and vegetables.   Is there anything we can do to protect nature? Of course. You must love nature, which is around you. Never encourage anyone to harm plants and trees. Don’t cut trees. Don’t pluck flowers or leaves from trees unnecessarily. Plant new trees whenever you can. If not, the environment will be polluted and all of the animals will not have any place to live.    Is this why you try to do creative work with recycled material? Yes. That’s one reason. We shouldn’t let anything go to waste if we can make use of it in another way.   Can you tell us about your three doggies, Apurvi? I used to play with them when they were puppies. Now that they are really big I am a little scared of them. Two of them are huskies, a girl and a boy. The girl husky’s name is Akira and the boy’s name is Ceasar. The other one is a labrador and she is a girl too. Her name is Nia.    You told us your ambition is to become a doctor when you grow up. What is your advice to others to stay healthy? Eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. But also make sure you get all the nutrients. Don’t eat a lot of sweets. It is not good for your teeth. Whenever you eat sweets, make sure to clean your teeth properly. You have to remember to brush your teeth twice every day, in the morning and at night. And do not forget to stay happy and exercise daily.   Is there anyone you want to thank? I want to thank all my lovely teachers who taught me in Grades 1 and 2 and also my Principal at Lyceum Panadura.   


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