"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
A scientific wonder, a tale of friendship, horror and mystery, a trip to space and lessons from nature – 51 Scintillating Tales is a diverse blend of the real and the imaginary. These stories by young writers are a reflection of a new generation which is ready to take the world by storm.
Edited By Vandana Bhagra & Sonia Dogra
To set the tone for a creative sojourn, all you need is pen and paper, and you are ready to spin a tale. We have all grown up on a staple diet of amazing stories told by our grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts – stories that inspired us, helped us dream, few that scared us or those that made our imagination run wild or taught us some important life lessons. The Covid pandemic and an inadvertent two-year long lockdown, especially for children / students, has definitely inspired all to pursue their passion or adopt creative pursuits in different fields.KEEKLI too, set out in search of young, budding authors whose imagination and creativity together, helped churn out few mind-blowing short stories. Targeting an age group of five to twenty-five years in four different categories, an ‘All-India Short Story Writing Competition’ was announced in April, 2021. An overwhelming response was received with 135 story submissions from 50 schools across 21 Indian cities, which speaks volumes about the efforts put in by the Keekli Team. The final list of 51 winners included students from 29 schools, spanning 14 cities. Our esteemed panel of judges – Ms Pramila Nanda, Ms Neelam Bhatt, Ms Priyanka Joshi and Ms Prachi Gunthay – examined, studied and critically reviewed each story and awarded marks on the basis of creativity, ideas and grammar / vocabulary. Team Keekli further assessed these stories for plagiarism and assured good quality work.All our young participants and winners deserve accolades for coming out of their cocoons and sharing their stories. A writer’s most important possession are his words and what they pen. These budding writers have taken that first step to share their innermost thoughts by participating in our story writing competition and by accepting us as their first critics. They have given us the honour to publish their stories. We at KEEKLI are proud to present this incredible collection. We have put our hearts and souls into this prestigious project, and we hope that you will cherish each moment of reading this book.
