Shabda Sambandha: A Contest For Writers To Connect With Their Roots Through Words

How would it be if you could combine your penchant for writing with an exploration of your roots?

Here’s an opportunity that allows you to do just that.

Swarajya, in association with Heritage Parampara and Indic Academy, will be conducting a creative writing contest, called “Shabda Sambandha” or WordConnect, as part of the Gudiya Sambhrama 2018 – a temple festival that is held in Bengaluru every year.

This year, celebrations will extend to select Bengaluru temples on 27, 28 January. The ancient Sanskrit masterpiece Srimad Bhagavatam, said to have been written around the eighth to tenth centuries, will come alive in Bengaluru during that time.

In view of the theme, the contest will take you on a journey through the pages of the Srimad Bhagavatam, inspiring you to weave a tale that will help you connect to your roots and bring to life people, thoughts and places that have been shrouded in the mists of time.

Who Is Eligible?

The competition is open to anyone who is interested in Indian heritage and culture.

What Are The Requirements?

The expectation of every participant will be to allow the sensibilities that prevail in the Bhagavatam to manifest in their writing.

Original, unpublished work

Only unpublished work is eligible for this competition and entrants must check off the declaration(s) on the online submission form and submit a waiver that certifies that their entry is their own, original, unpublished work.

A previous publication would be any piece of writing featured in a newspaper, newsletter, magazine, anthology, chapbook, book, website, electronic magazine, personal blog, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

Topics

The participants can pick from one of these topics:

1. From Un-manifest to the Manifest

2. Krishna & Rukmini

3. Krishna, the Enigma

4. Pruthu, the first crowned king

Length

2,000 words is the word limit and should be adhered to.

Deadline

28 February 2018

Format

The title of the prose (short story or work of creative non-fiction) must appear on the first page of each entry, but to ensure that judging of the entries is blind, the author’s name must not appear anywhere on the text.

Judging

Judging is anonymous. The entrant’s name and contact details must appear on the submission cover page, but not on any entry.

The senior judges reserve the right to not award prizes, and their decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into about their decision.

Notification

Winners will be officially notified by email and phone, and the winning entries, if any, may be published in Swarajya magazine.

All entry submissions become the property of the organisers.

If you seek to connect with your roots by allowing your creativity to flourish, this is an opportunity that you should not pass up on.

Please fill this form to register for the contest.