“And the top winner of TOI Write India Season 3, for the author Upamanyu Chatterjee is…Jyoti Jha”
The twitter announcement of the result seems only like yesterday, as it keeps proudly reverberating in my thoughts each day ever since I was chosen a winner in February 2020!
Write India has been no less than a revolutionary campaign in the literary world, to motivate the aspiring writers. Conceptualized by the Executive Editor, Times of India, Columnist, and Director- Times Literature Festivals, Vinita Dawra Nangia, the online contest was launched in the year 2015. It has the sole purpose of creating a platform for people who want to write and like to be read but have no access to the publishing process.
The contest has a lineup of successful authors who act as mentors and create prompts for the participants to weave short stories around the given passages. The authors are available to answer the queries of the participants through online channels. Best entries are selected as winners, ready to be launched in the world of literature.
It is an immensely exhilarating and gratifying experience for budding writers to get an opportunity to showcase their writing talent on such a prodigious platform and their stories being read and appreciated by the ace writers themselves.
Especially for a person like me, who although had a distant dream of writing someday, but was far from achieving it….
When I was a small girl, I imagined myself encapsulated in a space of my own, drowned in my work I loved intently, wandering around my sea of ponders. Only, I didn’t know how would that be possible in a real world! Years passed and as the longing took a back seat, yet remaining deeply-rooted, I explored the possibilities of achieving that through various mediums… I tried competing in the field of Medical Sciences only to be selected in the field of Agriculture Studies. I moved on to study Microbiology and later achieved an MBA to flourish in the field of Human Resources.
It was only during the abundant opportunity of drowning into all kinds of books in the quiet libraries while I was globe-trotting with my family, that I felt enriched and accomplished…but that eerie urge was still not gone.
And then, it was the chance sighting of Write India contest in the newspaper, as I was once again settling back in the comfortable familiarity of my home country; that tingled the deep-rooted yearning of penning down my ponders.
The contest not only provided the platform to explore the vast world of writing, but the winning trophy also gave winds beneath my wings and I felt confident to take a plunge into the deeply-desired and long-cherished dreamland I had always imagined. As I spread my wings and take off into the world of words, expressions, thoughts, and writing, I feel liberated.
As I revere and relive the experience of becoming a part of this splendid journey, it fills me with optimism and anticipation of a continued expedition in the literary world.
I take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude to #TOIWriteIndia #UpamanyuChatterjee #VinitaNangia #TOIBooks.
My book Around The World Through My Lens is now available in paperback.
A stellar moment worth cherishing time and again. Many more to you!
😊🤗