Words Come Easy

Saturday’s baithak saw writers Subhash Sharma,Rajinder Kanaujia and Renu Behl read out their short stories and talk to the audience about the tradition of short story-writing in India. “The works of these writers were also part of the grants-in-aid plan and it’s a proud moment for us to see new published writings from the city,” remarked Madhav Kaushik of CSA.

Contemporary Indian society and its various facets in Indian literature was the central point of discussion,with a question-answer session with the audience making it an interactive affair. Like CSA,the Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS) has also initiated regular literary competitions to encourage young writers to share their creativity. The response to the society’s recent short-story writing competition was tremendous,as they received 98 entries in various languages in a span of 20 days. “A three-panel jury evaluated the entries and selected the winners,who will be recognised and awarded at a public function soon,” said Sumita Misra,president of CLS. Dinker Vashisht won the first prize for his story August Rose,while Nayantara Singh’s The Last Tsar,and Suneet Kheterpal’s untitled story won the second and third prize respectively. The jury also selected Nayan Jain’s Encounters,Kailash Srinivasan’s Super Khan,and Pankaj Sharma’s Goodwill Hunting for special consolation prizes.