Write a Story on a post card  - Contest -

NAGPUR: Remember using a post card or listening to a story or reciting one? These things are slowly disappearing legacies which, though regarded with great fondness by most, are hardly practiced by any.  In what can be termed as an effort to bring the story telling tradition back, Settle Stories, United Kingdom, Katha Kosa, Mumbai and India Post have come together to organize a competition, 'Stories on a Postcard'.  The participants have to write a story just long enough to fit on a post card. "Contestants have to write the story on the blank side of the postcard. And on the left side of the address box, they have to write their name and contact details, including address and phone number," said Dhara Kothari, founder, Katha Kosa. The entries have to be sent to Katha Kosa, C/O Director, Mumbai GPO, Mumbai-400001. The last date for submissions is September 15.  "This is a very interesting project and I am very excited about it. This will surely draw a lot of attention to the postal department and might help attract the younger generation," said Vandita Kaul, post master general, Nagpur region.

'Stories on a Postcard' was the idea of Sita Brand who founded Settle Stories, UK. "Brand and I being story lovers, when she recently came to India we decided to launch the programme in India. Story telling is an intrinsic part of our culture and it needs to be revived," said Kothari.

The entries can be in English, Hindi and any other Indian regional language. Some entries will be sent to the UK for an exhibition during the Storytelling festival while the rest will be exhibited in the Mumbai GPO during the National Postal Week between October 9 and 15. Similarly, the winning entries will be published in a book to be printed in the UK while all the rest of the stories will be compiled into an e-book by Katha Kosa.
//times of India//10.08.2013//