PAHAADI – Season-4
PAHAADI-4 Registration.
Registration has closed. However, incase you are one of those passionate writer who missed the opportunity- we will continue to accept direct registration. For that you should send a message to the organiser. Only REGULAR registration at INR 750 and Regular registration from participants living outside India @ USD 16 is accepted.
UPDATE- PAHAADI-4
ALL REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS HAVE BEEN SENT THE DECLARATION FORM AND THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. IN CASE YOU ARE YET TO RECIVE THEM, PLEASE SEND message to the organiser OR WHATSAPP SANJEEV KOTNALA.
LAST DATE FOR ENTRY SUBMISSION
PAHAADI-4- 31st March 2024.
PAHAADI- Background and Process.
Pahaadi- the English Fiction Short Story contest for writers with roots in Uttarakhand, has been conceptualised and conducted by Sanjeev Kotnala in memory of his father, the Late Shri Ram Ballabh Kotnala. It aims to provide the talent from Uttarakhand a platform to showcase their storytelling skill.
Past editions have seen writers from Dehradun, Pauri, Haldwani, Bagheshwar, Delhi, USA, Canada, and Singapore participating. It’s heartening to note that many authors have participated in more than 1 edition of the contest. In fact, Ratna Pande has featured in all three editions of Pahaadi and Suman Rawat, and Veena Kedila has featured in two of the three editions of Pahaadi. However, the contest’s youngest participant was 6 years old, and the oldest was 92. In three editions till now, Pahaadi has published 40 stories by 30 Authors.
Watch the Video of past participants here. Neena Bagga- Pahaadi3, Ratna Pande Pahaadi 1-2-3, Writers of Pahaadi-2, Deepansu Suyal – Pahaadi-1, Anil Dobhal- Pahaadi-1, Supriya Pant- Pahaadi-1 , Tanuja Khetwal- Pahaadi-1 and the Jury
ELIGIBILITY: The contest is open to natives of Uttarakhand, their spouses, and people who have parents or grandparents from Uttarakhand or who have studied or are studying in Uttarakhand. If you have any confusion about eligibility, please write to Sanjeev Kotnala.
DOES THE STORY HAVE TO BE ON UTTARAKHAND: Pahaadi is not a contest for stories of Uttarakhand. It is a contest for writers with roots in Uttarakhand. The contest loves Uttarakhand-centric stories, but it is not mandatory for the stories and the characters to be based in Uttarakhand.
WHAT IS ACCEPTED: Unpublished English Fiction Short Stories between 1,500 to 2,000 words across genres are accepted. However, we do not encourage stories of Erotica, mythology, religion and political hue.
WHAT IF I WRITE IN HINDI: If you write in Hindi and are looking for English Trans-creation before submitting it in Pahaadi-4, you can avail of our Trans-creation service at INR 2500 per short story of fewer than 2000 words. Please note that the use of trans-creation services in no way influences the jury and is in no way any guarantee of being selected in the contest. Write to Sanjeev Kotnala to discuss the same.
WHO OWNS THE COPYRIGHT: The copyright remains with the author. However, to maintain partial exclusivity, we do not expect the selected stories to be published in any medium, format or platform ( including digital) before 31 March 2025.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE: participate in Pahaadi-4, all you have to do is to register and send in your stories. Once you register, you will be informed of the rest of the process and self-attested documents needed for the contest.
CLICK TO READ 10 TIPS TO WRITE A SHORT STORY.
PRIZES: Getting published and seeing your name as an author in the Pahaadi book is one of the top features. However, the sponsors have other encouraging prizes.
- NIRVANA ORGANIC Mukhteshwar, Uttarakhand, gift hamper for best two stories.
- Ullahar – JaiHarikhal (near Lansdowne) Uttrakhand sponsors a 2N3D stay at their homestay for one of the top selected stories of Pahaadi.
- All selected stories will get a certificate of participation and selection/featuring in the book anthology.
PAHAADI -4 TERMS AND CONDITIONS
PROCESS: The participation process is simple.
Step 1: Register for the contest by paying the fee. You can pay the fee at Townscript or to sanjeev kotnala through digital payment to 9819728963.
Step-ii: In case you have made a digital payment to Sanjeev kotnala, send the screenshot of the payment along with the following details on WhatsApp (9819728963) or by email. Details should include Pronoun, Name, Age, Address, email, and WhatsApp number. Participants registered on Townscript do not need to send these details as they are captured during registration.
Step iii: Wait for the email for the participation form and format details. These emails are sent out to the registered participants during weekends. Please ensure you have added netkot@yahoo.com to your safe addresses. The form gets you to submit your identity ( aadhar- passport or Driving license), a recent passport-size black and white photograph and an undertaking that you have read the rules and that the story is an original creation.
Step-iv: Email the declaration format and the story to netkot@yahoo.com. The story must have a title, between 1500-2000 words, set in 12-point Times Roman with 1-inch margin on all sides in A4 vertical/portrait page format. The story must reach the organisers before Midnight on 31st March 2024. The story must be submitted in Word format, and the file name should be the story title followed by the author’s name. If the title is too long, please use the initial three words of the title.
Step V. Wait for the jury verdict and the results. Pahaadi follows the Blind evaluation process. The jury remains unaware of the story author’s name, gender, age or location. And every story is evaluated by at least two jury members.
CAUTION: The fee, once paid, will not be refunded. No canvassing with the Jury members will be allowed. Any participant found doing so will be disqualified. No questions will be entertained.
One belives everyone is a winner with PAHAADI. Read more on the thought here.
PAHAADI – PAST EDITIONS
JURY PANEL Pahaadi 4 :
More Jury members to be announced.
Aditya Amar is a trained Transcendental Meditation Teacher, the founder of Nirvana Organic and President of the OCS Foundation. He works closely with women farmers and children towards women empowerment, youth engagement, and education in Uttarakhand, thus creating a sustainable environment. He owns and manages Cottage Nirvana, a wellness property in Mukteshwar, a space conceived with the idea of giving due respect to traditional Indian and Eastern wisdom of holistic healing. Aditya Amar worked with leading media houses in his past corporate life for about 20 years.
Ajay Jugraan is a lawyer-poet–writer. Widely travelled, he has advised clients from more than thirty countries. A history buff and patriot, he has been a part of some of the initiatives of the National Museum Institute of India. He has also been a guest faculty at legal institutes and training courses in India and abroad. He published his first book, Antrang Satrang, a collection of seventy Hindi poems, in December 2021 and his second, The Bridge on the River Song and Other Stories from Garhwal, a collection of 23 English short stories, in November 2023. His poems and stories also appear in social media channels, newspapers and magazines. He is a hobby birder, photographer and gardener.
Dr Alok Saklani, Advisor on Quality & Academic Processes at Swami Rama Himalayan University, Dehradun, has been engaged in higher education for about 40 years. After a 25-year stint at HNB Garhwal University, he joined Apeejay group in the year 2004 and worked as a Director until 2017,
Dr. Dwarika Uniyal is Pro VC and founding Dean with RV University, Bengaluru. Formerly, he held Dean positions with FLAME University, OP Jindal University and IIM Kashipur. He has worked for more than 25 years in premier academic institutions and industry. He also taught at premier Institutions like IIM Kashipur, MICA, SPJIMR, and LBSNAA. In the academic world, he is known for his bestselling book, ‘Managing Retailing’, published by Oxford University Press. He is also a published poet and dabbles in creative writing for the advertising world.
Sanjeev Kotnala, an IIM A Alumni, is a Brand and marketing consultant with more than 35 years of industry experience. He writes a weekly column, KOTMARTIAL, on mxmindia.com, and his blog, ‘Perceptions adulterated with reality,’ has been published uninterrupted for more than 520 weeks. Sanjeev is a Director at the India Board of Aid-Et-Action, an international NGO. He is a compulsive doodler and calls it meditation. He is the author of an interesting paranormal novel- CHIMERA OF LANSDOWNE, and has curated two anthologies of real-life impact stories- ‘Life Reloaded’ and ‘Reflections”. Additionally, he has curated ‘Pahaadi-1-The storytellers’, ‘Pahaadi-2- The Runway Suitcase and Other Stories’ and ‘Pahaadi-3- The Tiger in the Mountain and Other Short Stories’. His first book of poems, ‘Always Questioning Life’, was published recently.
PAHAADI – the Experience.
Here are some of the participants and jury members sharing their experiences with PAHAADI. Neena Bagga- Pahaadi3, Ratna Pande Pahaadi 1-2-3, Writers of Pahaadi-2, Deepansu Suyal – Pahaadi-1, Anil Dobhal- Pahaadi-1, Supriya Pant- Pahaadi-1 , Tanuja Khetwal- Pahaadi-1 and the Jury
Connect with Sanjeev Kotnala, the concept owner and curator of the project, Twitter S_kotnala. To subscribe to the weekly update and blog, click here.
