Washington eighth-grader Rajesh Kuppuraju placed second in the National PTA Reflections Program writing contest with a story about a crime-fighting sandwich named Subwich.
By: Lauren Burgoon
WASHINGTON Meet Subwich, America’s newest superhero. He’s tough, he’s brave, he’s a crime-fighting sandwich out to protect the world from thieves and the Big Cheese.
He’s also the character that shot a Washington eighth-grader to acclaim and won him a national literature prize. Rajesh Kuppuraju, 13, placed second in the National PTA Reflections Program, which rewards student achievement in literature, music, visual arts and photography. He moved onto the national contest after placing first on the state level. Only three other New Jersey students placed in the national PTA contest this year.
This year’s contest called for students to dream of a "different kind of hero" and so Subwich (hero, sub get it?) was born.
"I like thinking up random stuff like that. I started thinking about heroes and came up with a sandwich hero," Rajesh said.
Subwich is no ordinary sandwich. As the tale begins, "Wherever there’s a bad onion… he’ll be there. Whenever someone’s in a pickle… he’ll be there. Whoever is being attacked by cabbage past its expiration date… he’ll be there. He’s Subwich the Super Hero and he is the sole defender of humans and food products alike!"
Subwich, with the help of his Meat Minions, protects his fair city from evildoers like the Stinky Onion, the Wormy Apple and the Moldy Sandwich. But his arch-nemesis is the Big Cheese, who uses a bowl of curdled milk to track Subwich’s moves. The two foes meet while Subwich is guarding the precious Cheesegyptian mirror. Let’s just say it doesn’t turn out well for the Big Cheese, who ends up being shredded.
"I’ve always liked like to write but in school we get a set topic and have to write on that," said Rajesh, who entered the contest on his own. "So at home I write a lot. I’m really into anything that’s fantasy."
"We’re very proud of him," said Rajesh’s father, Nagesh Kuppuraju, speaking for him and his wife, Vidhya Veerappan. The family lives on Wycklow Court. "He’s very creative and we just let him run wild with his imagination."
Rajesh isn’t just a wordsmith he also won a Reflections prize from the state PTA for a piano song he composed, "Demon Slayer." Rajesh, who has been a pianist for seven years, rearranged the piece for piano, xylophone and marimba so the Pond Road Middle School band could play it at this year’s concert as well.
Rajesh said he plans to keep entering the Reflections contest in both categories.