‘Everyone is a winner in Pahaadi’ – I said so during the release of the book- ‘The Tiger in the Mountain and Other Stories’. It is the culmination of Pahaadi-3 ( The Short Story contest for writers with roots in Uttarakhand) and has selected 8 stories by 7 women writers.
I use the term ‘Selected’ and not winners. Yet, we call one of the stories’ best of the lot’. As they found favour with the jury. Judging is always subjective, and personal biases and jury interest make a difference. However, it is not a lottery.
Now, these 8 stories made it to the book, but there were many others that did not make it. Does it make those stories less deserving, a loser, or not right? I don’t think so. They were stories in their own right. They result from someone’s labour, passion, interest and much more confidence. These stories deserve equality in respect and that we give in Pahaadi.
Many of them are first-time writers. Just think of their courage and confidence. They have used the base of their observations, experiences, knowledge, and insight and layered it with rich imagination to create a web of some 1500-2000 words, within which they expressed the whole thought process. They have created the foundation for the incident, the characters and the result. Then, they must read and re-read their creation. Waited and reflected. Crafted and corrected. Treated and twisted.
The writers repeatedly churned and curated these words until they found them apt enough to be sent for the contest. Even then, a few would have waited until the last day to send the entry. Procrastinating, thinking through, and sometimes just stopping short with nervousness and fear of failure. Some fear rejection and failure, but most believe they could have done better with more time.
They could have given the characters more scope to express themselves and built the situation and the location of the story better. It may have deserved a title they could not think of before mailing it.
By sending the entry, they have stepped the boundary. It is a step that can not be undone.
The creation has left the safe confines of their laptops, diaries or pages and landed with strangers who would see it with a different prying eye. Who will see if the story could create the visuals? Wondering if these were the visuals that the writer wanted to paint with the words? They will fathom the emotions, desires, and ambitions which will never match the writer.
However, they are the jury. And the story is nakedly transparent for evaluation. No more changes can be carried out. They must take the hard decisions, sit in their seat of judgment, and honestly pick the one they like better under the collectively agreed benchmarks and parameters.
Sending the entry takes that extra courage to be willing to finally send the story even after registering for the contest. That extra bit of guts. The willingness to accept that they might not be the selected few.
It only means they need to work a bit more for this jury. Their story may find some other space. The audience (Jury) might not be the best audience for their story. Trust me, under the blind evaluation, with the jury unaware of the name, gender, age and location of the writer, they are just judging the story. And sometimes, stories by already published authors do not find favour with the jury.
Some of the fortunate ones get the push, and they leap from being a writer to being an author. And the story gets to a broader audience. There is reason to celebrate, and there is that extra bit of nervousness and a dose of courage needed for the first-time published author.
The game is on. The one with the selected story and whose story was not selected must Pause, reflect and move on to the other or the same story. All are winners in more ways than one.
PAHAADI 4
So, if you are from Uttarakhand and have a short story in mind or have already penned it down. Take the plunge, register for Pahaadi-4 and send in your entry.
PAHAADI-4 has been announced. The Early Bird registration closes on 15th Jan 2024, and the Final registration closes on 14th Feb 2024. The last date for submission is 31st March 2024. There are special offers for students and women under 30. Register at https://www.townscript.com/e/pahaadi4-213420. More details on Pahaadi are at www.sanjeevkotnala.com/pahaadi
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