ILLUMINATI 2012: MANIPAL BLOG ANNUAL SHORT STORY AND POETRY COMPETITION

After Illuminati 2011 received a good response,with 90 poems and 19 short stories,we announce the second edition of the Manipal Blog annual short story and poetry contest – Illuminati 2012.

We encourage student writers in India to explore and celebrate their talents by sending in their new, untried work. Writers may try their hand in both the categories: Short Story and Poetry.

Illuminati 2012: the Second Manipal Blog Annual short story and poetry contest

Entries will be accepted between 12:00 AM , 1st May 2012 and 12:00 AM 1st June 2012. 

The entries will be published online at Manipalblog.com, on 1st June 2012 and one month will be given for our readers to appreciate and vote for them. Results will be announced on 15th August 2012 !

1. Eligibility:

• The contest is open to all student residents in India.
• Only original, unpublished, fictional short stories of 1500 words or less and written in English without profanity are eligible.
• Multiple entries in each category are allowed.
• Each article must contain solely the entrant’s original ideas and language. Your submission of the article and entry form is your guarantee that you are the sole author and copyright holder of the article.
• Entrants under the age of 18 may enter only with the permission of their parent or guardian.
• Administrators, Editors and Family members of ManipalBlog.com are not eligible to enter.

2. Restrictions: Entries may not be submitted for publication or published elsewhere (either digitally or in print). Incomplete or illegible entries and entries that do not meet the Eligibility standards in these official rules may be disqualified.

3. Short story requirements

• Be between 1000 to 2000 words.
• Be on the topic or theme provided.
• Be written in the English language.
• Be wholly the original work of the entrant, written solely by the entrant.
• Not be copied from any other source.
• Not have been previously broadcast or otherwise distributed or disseminated in any media or format.
• Not be in the public domain.
• Not be in violation of or in conflict with the trademark, copyright, rights of privacy, rights of publicity or any other rights, of any kind or nature, of any other person or entity.
• Not include any language or other content that is inappropriate, offensive, pornographic, or otherwise unfit for dissemination or broadcast, as determined by ManipalBlog.com in its sole discretion.
• Meet the deadline.

4. Poetry requirements

• No single poem should exceed 60 lines.
• Both metered and free verse qualify, as well as prose poems that are so designated by the poet are accepted.
• Be on the topic or theme provided.
• Be written in the English language.
• Be wholly the original work of the entrant, written solely by the entrant.
• Not be copied from any other source.
• Not have been previously broadcast or otherwise distributed or disseminated in any media or format.
• Not be in the public domain.
• Not be in violation of or in conflict with the trademark, copyright, rights of privacy, rights of publicity or any other rights, of any kind or nature, of any other person or entity.
• Not include any language or other content that is inappropriate, offensive, pornographic, or otherwise unfit for dissemination or broadcast, as determined by ManipalBlog.com in its sole discretion.
• Meet the deadline.

Entries not satisfying these criteria in any respect will be disqualified. If ManipalBlog.com, in its sole discretion, has reason to believe that any entry contains any material that may infringe or violate any law or any rights of a third party, or that the use or broadcast of such entry in the manner described herein may infringe or violate any law or any rights of a third party, ManipalBlog.com may immediately disqualify such entry

5. How to Enter: There is NO FEE to enter this contest. Follow these steps to enter:

• Complete the contest entry form here, and attach the word/.txt document and click on the submit form button.
• The entries must be received by 11:59pm on May 31st, 2012. The link will be inactive thereafter.
• By submitting a story entry, the entrant grants to ManipalBlog.com:
• The right to edit the Story for grammar, spelling and punctuation; and
• A non-exclusive, assignable, perpetual, license to produce, publish, distribute, transmit, exhibit, exploit, and license the Story and any portions thereof in any format (collectively “distribute” or “distribution,” as applicable) by any and all means, uses and media, whether audio, print, audiovisual or otherwise, now or hereafter known, throughout the universe in all languages without financial compensation.
• Incomplete or illegible entries may be disqualified.

6. Judging and Awards

• Like last year, we will be having prizes in the popular choice and critics choice categories for both short stories and poetry.
• The popular choice awards will be based on the traffic, Facebook ‘Likes’ and Tweets the short story/ poem generates between 1st June 2012 and 1st July 2012.
• Critics choice awards will be based on the scoring by our judging Panel. The judging panel may include: teaching professionals, librarians, children’s author, illustrators, and editors. Judging will begin on June 2, 2010 and the winners will be announced on or about August 15th, 2010 at the website www.manipalblog.com . The decisions of the judges are final and binding.
• Certificates will be given away to all the participants via mail or in person if they live in Manipal/Mangalore.
• Cash prizes for first place , second place , and third place will be offered in each of the categories (short stories and poetry).
• 5 entries in each category will receive online gift vouchers.
• There will be separate awards for popular and critics choice winners.
• The prizes in each category will be announced on 2nd June 2012. (Last year the total prize money was Rs. 10000/-and this year it will be much more than that!)
• Prizes will be awarded in Cash (If based in Manipal/Mangalore) or via Bank transfer only! We will not be mailing cheques or Demand Drafts to the winners.
• ManipalBlog.com reserves the right to refuse to award prizes in any category if the entries are considered to be of insufficient merit.

Entries that do not follow all of these instructions will be disqualified.

THE TOPICS AND THEMES for the Annual Manipal Blog Short Story & Poetry competition: Illuminati 2012 are as follows:

Short Story Topics:

• The first day of college, a love note, and I suddenly saw a light at a distance…
• A young student, corruption in the college, joins politics to save country
• The Tablet, 21/12, Technology saves humanity from the Mayans.

Poetry Themes:

• The girl at the fair
• Wonderland
• The sweet taste of Revenge

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: mail to contests@manipalblog.com with Illuminati 2012 as the subject line

For submissions: visit www.manipalblog.com/illuminati2012 (link will be activated on 1st May 2012 at 12:00 am)

Website: http://manipalblog.com

The Portrait of a Lady: Introduction to Khushwant Singh

  BRIEF BIOGRAPHY

Khushwant Singh, one of the best -known Indian writers of all times, was born in 1915 in Hadali (now in Pakistan). He was educated at the Government College, Lahore and at King's College, Cambridge University, and the Inner Temple in London. He practiced law at the Lahore High Court for several years before joining the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in 1947. He began a distinguished career as a journalist with the All India Radio in 1951. Since then he has been founder-editor of Yojana (1951-1953), editor of the Illustrated weekly of India (1979-1980), chief editor of New Delhi (1979-1980), and editor of the Hindustan times (1980-1983). His Saturday column "With Malice Towards One and All" in the Hindustan times is by far one of the most popular columns of the day.

Khushwant Singh's name is bound to go down in Indian literary history as one of the finest historians and novelists, a forthright political commentator, and an outstanding observer and social critic. In July 2000, he was conferred the "Honest Man of the Year Award" by the Sulabh International Social Service Organization for his courage and honesty in his "brilliant incisive writing." At the award ceremony, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh described him as a "humourous writer and incorrigible believer in human goodness with a devil-may-care attitude and a courageous mind." The Indian external affairs minister said that the secret of Khushwant Singh's success lay in his learning and discipline behind the "veneer of superficiality."

Among the several works he published are a classic two-volume history of the Sikhs, several novels (the best known of which are Delhi, Train to Pakistan, and The company of women), and a number of translations and non-fiction books on Delhi, nature and current affairs. The Library of Congress has ninety-nine works on and by Khushwant Singh.

Khushwant Singh was a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Indian Parliament) from 1980 to 1986. Among other honors, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974 by the President of India (he returned the decoration in 1984 in protest against the Union Government's siege of the Golden Temple in Amritsar).

                                                            A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE BY KHUSHWANT SINGH

                                               Ethnic jokes always target successful communities

Khushwant singh, Hindustan Times

December 04, 2011

Ethnic jokes are assumed to be in bad taste. Nevertheless, they flourish across the world. Their principal target is always the community which has done better than others. We have Bawaji jokes portraying Parsis as crack-pots. We have jokes about Marwari Banias who are busy making money. Most of all we have Sardarji jokes about Sikhs, being feeble-minded, although they have more to their credit than other communities. What is notable is that most of these are made by members of the community itself.

Unfortunately Sikhs have lost much of their self esteem and have become thin-skinned like other communities. They take offence at anyone trying to make fun of them. So it needed audacity to publish jokes about them. This has been now done with the publication of Bantaism — The philosophy of Sardar Jokes by Bhai Niranjan Singh Amrikawale (Rupa). You can take it from me that there is no philosophy behind this compilation. It is only a ruse to deter some ill-tempered Sardarjis from taking them to court. I reproduce a couple of samples of Sardar Jokes from the compilation:

Banta Singh was enjoying tea at a restaurant. He couldn’t help overhear the conversation at the next table where a young couple were seated. The guy asked the girl “How many cups of tea can a person drink on an empty stomach?” She thought for a while and replied, “I guess three.” Her friend smiled and said, “You are wrong.” The girl, a bit irritated, asked “So what is the correct answer?”

“Think about it. The correct answer is…one,” he said. “Once you have the first cup your stomach is no longer empty.” She laughed, and Banta Singh pondered over their conversation as they left. Such a nice joke. Something the wife would really enjoy, he thought That evening he asked her. “Well, Jeeto, how many cups of tea can you have on an empty stomach?” “I do not like tea,” she replied. “After five years of marriage don’t you even know that about me? Shows how much you care.”  He parried as best as he could, telling her it was a joke. “What I mean is, if you did like tea, how many cups could you drink on an empty stomach?”

“Swaal paida nahin honda jaddon” (the question does not arise when) I don’t like it only.” After some persuasion, he managed to cajole an answer out of her. “Two,” she said. Banta Singh could barely contain his exasperation. “You stupid woman,” he hissed. “Too bad. If only you had said three, I would have told you such a nice joke.”

And: A Sardar from a village was unfamiliar with the concept of a race. On a visit to the city he chanced upon a marathon. He saw hundreds of people dashing down the road for no apparent reason. He asked his friend what was going on. The friend explained the concept of a race. He said the top three finishers would get gold, silver and bronze medals.“But then,” asked the Sardar, “Why are all the others running ?” Why indeed?

This joke highlights the stupidity of competition. It questions the many races one participates in through life, unwitting and witting: with classmates, siblings, colleagues, spouses, even children. The moment you leave the race, you realise the absurdity of it — the ab-Surdity, if you must.

For a community of less than 2% of the Indian population to produce a Prime Minister regarded as the ablest of the able, most honest of the righteous and humblest of the humble is a matter of pride. His wife, Gursharan Kaur, was the first wife of an Indian PM to discharge duties expected of the wife of the ruler of the country. The man who plans India’s future, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, is also a Sardarji.  And till last year so was the commander-in-chief of the Army, General J J Singh. So envy is inevitable. And out of envy are born jokes to even the score.

The Voiceworks Balloon Debate

 VOICEWORKS- The Literary Week

Name of the Event: 

     Taking the wind out of sails – The Voiceworks Balloon Debate

Class:  XI                                                                  Day: May 9, 2012

Details about Preliminary and Main Rounds (in points):

1.  Group division: XI A, B, C, will be divided into groups of 4 for conducting the interclass balloon debate.
2.       The premise: A person takes on a particular role and then we imagine that all these characters are together in a hot air balloon that is rapidly falling. One must be thrown overboard to save the others, but who will it be? Each participant must make a speech saying why they should be allowed to stay in the balloon. The rest of the class votes, and the loser is disqualified.
3.       Choosing the character: Each group of four will be given a theme – scientists, literary figures, painters, actors, etc. The teacher can suggest some names under each category and the students will be free to choose any.
4.    The rounds:

Click on the picture to enlarge.

   5. The levels

Intra class: Each group will undergo three rounds and one character will be eliminated in each round. In the end, each hot air balloon will have one winner and the winners will be teamed in another balloon.  The rounds will be conducted once again and the number of winners per class will be brought to four.

Interclass: The class winners will then be teamed up in a balloon (one balloon per class) and an interclass competition will be held – in the courtyard or the amphitheatre.

School level: The final group of four winners will present the debate in the Voiceworks presentation during the Literary Week.

     6.  Judging criteria:

10 - Content (facts and examples)

10 - Organization (introduction, body, conclusion)

10 - Presentation (voice modulation, punctuation

10- Body language (posture, eye contact); 10 - Language (vocabulary, creative expressions)

Total – 50

Suggested Characters for the Debate:

1.     Alexander the Great

2.     Cleopatra

3.     David Beckham

4.     Casanova

5.     Julius Caesar

6.     Elizabeth I

7.     Cher

8.     Leonardo Da Vinci

9.     Caligula

10.  Boadicea

11.  Charlie Chaplin

12.  Michelangelo

13.  Nero

14.  Florence Nightingale

15.  Marilyn Monroe

16.  Mozart

17.  William the Conqueror

18.  Louis Pasteur

19.  Elvis Presley

20.  Beethoven

21.  Martin Luther King

22.  Eva Peron

23.  Diana, Princess of Wales

24.  Thomas Edison

25.  Genghis Khan

26.  Margaret Thatcher

27.  Lassie

28.  Marie Currie

29.  Marco Polo

30.  Queen Victoria

31.  Bob Geldof

32.  Rembrandt

33.  Christopher Columbus

34.  Mother Theresa

35.  Mickey Mouse

36.  Picasso

37.  John F Kennedy

38.  Francis of Assisi

39.  Sir Alf Ramsey

40.  Van Gogh

41.  Mao Tse Tung

42.  Mary Seacole

43.  Maria Callas

44.  William Shakespeare

45.  Mahatma Gandhi

46.  Catherine the Great

47.  Andrew Lloyd Webber

48.  Jane Austen

49.  Richard III

50.  Helen of Troy

51.  Alfred Hitchcock

52.  Orville Wright

53.  Sir Francis Drake

54.  Mary, Queen of Scots

55.  Andy Warhol

56.  Charles Dickens

57.  Henry VIII

58.  Oliver Cromwell

59.  John Lennon

60.  Alexander Fleming

61.  Richard the Lionheart

62.  Marie Antoinette

63.  Madonna

64.  William Harvey

65.  Robin Hood

66.  Napoleon Bonaparte

67.  Brigitte Bardot

68.  Charles Darwin

69.  Charlemagne

70.  Garibaldi

71.  John Wayne

72.  Howard Hughes

73.  Nelson Mandela

74.  Isambard Kingston Brunel

75.  Garfield Sobers

76.  Andrew Carnegie

77.  Winston Churchill

78.  Emily Parkhurst

79.  Donald Bradman

80.  Christopher Wren

81.  Lord Baden-Powell

82.  Albert Einstein

83.  Jesse Owens

84.  Pele

85.  Benjamin Franklin

86.  George Stephenson

87.  Mick Jagger

88.  Karl Marx

89.  Leif Eriksson

90.  Amelia Johnson

91.  Berry Gordy

92.  Bob Dylan

93.  Spartacus

94.  Montgolfier

95.  Errol Flynn

96.  Christian Barnard

97.  Henry Ford

98.  Alexander Graham Bell

99.  Bob Marley

100.     Machiavelli

Guide to 'Reading'

The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read.
                                                                                                       Abraham Lincoln

There are times when we struggle with words and information . In fact, it happens most of the times.But the cure is never unapproachable. Books abound in words, expressions, information and cater to all interests. If you get intimidated by 'not-too-slim' books and find yourself in a fix about what to read to begin, here is a record of authors, poets and genres for you to begin with.

Beginners

• Begin with Popular Fiction. Pick up Indian Writers from the School Library.
• Initiate with reading a book of quotations, an informative magazine or a compilation of short stories.
• Magazines make wonderful reads along with graphics.
• Biographies and Autobiographies score highest in the list of beginners.Check the available ones  with the School Librarian and begin

Veterans in Reading

It's time you graduate to CLASSICS.

                        Classic.' A book which people praise and don't read.
                                                                                                             Mark Twain

• Prove the maxim wrong.
• Pick up a classic for its sheer beauty and unusual choice of words. Go slow and absorb the depth. Understand the undercurrents and reflection of the times they represent.

Recommended are:

• Short Stories by O'Henry
• Stories by Saki
• Essays, Verses and Stories by Ruskin Bond
• Pablo Neruda (Chilean poet, diplomat and politician)
• Khalil Gibran (Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer)
• Sylvia Plath (American poet, novelist and short story writer)
• Robert Frost(American poet in the early twentieth century)
• John Keats ( English Romantic poet, key figure in the the Romantic movement)
• Joseph Addison ( English essayist, poet, playwright and politician)
• Thomas Hardy (English novelist and poet of Naturalism movement)

Research and get going. Map the difference in you each day as you read.