Darkness Before Dawn

Hello poets, authors, and readers.
After the successful stint with short story writing competition that Chandigarh Literary Society had last year, we begin this new year with another exciting contest on poetry writing, knowing fully well that there are lots and lots of unknown poets amongst you who have one time or the other, penned a few beautiful couplets.

Let this contest once again ignite that dormant spirit of romance or philosophy in you to pen down a sonnet, a ballad, a doggerel, or a ghazal.

This Poetry Writing Competition is on the theme of "Darkness Before Dawn". ("Bhor se pehle andhera")

Everybody and anybody can participate in this contest.  You can write in English, Hindi, Hindustani or Panjabi, and email the poem before the midnight of 15th February 2013.

There would be a panel of three judges who will decide the prize winners.  Their judgment of course would be final, and all poems submitted for the contest shall be the property of Chandigarh Literary Society for its use in whatever manner it considers it appropriate.

The prizes will be given at a public function in Chandigarh with lots of sur-prizes for the winners.
Pick up your pen and send your masterpiece to chandigarhliterary@gmail.com.

The music and poetry of Amir Khusrau came alive yesterday evening in the UT Guest House, as noted documentary maker, author and researcher, Yousuf Saeed, transported everyone to the mystical world of 14th century Sufi saint's unparallel work.
We present here an interview with Yousuf Saeed that Day and Night TV channel broadcast.

An evening with Amir Khusrau

'Chaap Tilak Sab Chhini...', and numerous other famous compositions by 14th century scholar, poet, musician, and composer, Amir Khusrau or Khusrow, dot the music of Indian subcontinent.
A sufi mystic and spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi, Khusrau is regarded as the 'father of qawwali' and inventor of tabla.

Chandigarh Literary Society is organising 'Shaam-e-Amir Khusrau' on Friday, 9th November 2012 at 5:30pm at the UT Guest House, Chandigarh.

Famous independent filmmaker and author Yousuf Saeed would provide an overview of Khusrau's music and poetry through video presentations.  Yousuf Saeed is a celebrated documentary maker.

Yousuf gained fame with his popular science series for Doordarshan, ‘Turning Point’ during 1991-94, and has a large number of documentaries and short films, books, articles and research papers to his credit. His documentary ‘Khayal Darpan’ and ‘Basant’ have been screened internationally, and has recently authored a book, “Muslim Devotional Art in India”.

Everyone is invited to experience Amir Khusrau on 9th November.

Peep into the Short Story Awards Function

Day and Night News Channel provided an excellent peep into the proceedings of the Short Story Writing Competition's awards function held at UT Guest House.  Enjoy.

Short Story Writers Awarded

Short-story writing is not an easy task but we never expected nearly 100 entries for our short-story writing competition, says author bureaucrat Sumita Misra, President of Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS).

CLS gave away the prizes to the three top winners of the competition at UT Guest House today.  

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 prizes respectively. The jury also selected Nayan Jain’s ‘Encounters’, Kailash Srinivasan for ‘Super Khan’, and Pankaj Sharma’s ‘Goodwill Hunting’ for special consolation prizes.

All the six stories were read out by the respective authors to the audience and later the three-member jury comprising city-based noted author Khushwant Singh, writer and journalist Nirupma Dutt, and academician Neel Kamal Puri, spoke about the nuances of writing and appreciating the genre of short-story writing.

The competition involved completing a 1000-word story beginning with the cue, “She was thoroughly enjoying her stroll when a man lying prone on the roadside caught her attention. Fearing the worst, she turned the limp figure over. Her heart leapt a mile when she saw the man’s face…”

Encourage by the response, CLS would be organizing similar competitions to engage and encourage people in creative writing, Sumita Misra informed.

It was a full house 

All years...as the short stories are recited.

The celebrated jury members,
Nirupma Dutt and Khushwant Singh interacted with the audience

The prizes were sponsored by Nando’s and English Book Shop.

Her heart leapt a mile when she saw the man's face...

“She was thoroughly enjoying her stroll when a man lying prone on the roadside caught her attention. Fearing the worst, she turned the limp figure over.  Her heart leapt a mile when she saw the man's face...”

Imagine over 100 stories beginning with this one sentence and yet ending with completely differing conclusions.  Who was this man?

It is time to find out who this man was on 1st of September 2012. Chandigarh Literary Society spends an evening with the six top winners of the Short Story Writing Competition that we organised in July.  It was simply an overwhelming response. And during the last days, our email was hyperactive with more and more short stories pouring in from everywhere.  Many burnt midnight oil to create a plot fit for their story, and one youngster, the last minute entrant, did become a winner.

From 4pm to 6pm at UT Guest House in Sector 6, Chandigarh, on Saturdayt, the 1st September, it would be exciting time to see the six top winners unfolding the plots of their short stories.

And we shall also have the celebrated three-member city-based authors who formed the jury for this competition, namely Khushwant Singh, Neel Kamal Puri and Nirupama Dutt, present on the occasion for an interaction to help us understand the nuances of writing and appreciating the genre of short-story writing.

CLS to set up mini-libraries

Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS) shall be setting up mini-libraries in select institutions in the city under its Gift a Book programme, informed Ms. Sumita Misra, President of CLS.

CLS launched ‘Gift a Book’ programme in May this year to make available the books not otherwise accessible to certain sections of society where CLS would set up mini-libraries, she added.

The first collection box for books has been placed outside the British Library in Sector 8, Chandigarh, for a month and would be rotated to different public places besides setting up more collection points.

A large number of books which we have read and are not using, can be put in the box or brought at the functions organised by CLS from time to time which would be gifted to the select institutions, she added.


CLS has identified several institutions where it would set up mini-libraries and gift books contributed by the public including Cheshire Homes in Chandigarh, Vatika School for Deaf and Mute, Senior Citizen Homes, etc., over a period of time.

CLS members brought along books to gift for this project at the British Library (see photos)