My short story in an anthology, at last!

Very happy to know that the FON South Asia Short Story Award anthology will feature my short story. Fellows of Nature initiated this international short story award to encourage Nature Writing. The book will be published by TERI Press, the publishing arm of The Energy and Resources Institute.
Nothing beats the joy of spending time with Nature, and then weaving the observed facts into a fictional piece. See the grand announcement here.
https://www.facebook.com/fellowsofnature/photos/a.1510708735900272.1073741827.1476941992610280/1657048944599583/?type=3

"Short Sorties of my Life."

Read my Middle in the 27th Feb edition of Deccan Herald here titled, "Short Sorties of my Life." I've tried to tell you why I write short stories, and how the process, despite resembling a sortie, gives me tremendous fulfillment.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/598467/short-sorties-my-life.html

Beginning the New Year with Sweet Detours.

What a pleasant surprise to see my piece, "Sweet Detours" as the lead article ( http://www.sparkthemagazine.com/) in the anniversary issue of Spark.
Read it here: http://www.sparkthemagazine.com/?p=10480

Long listed, once again.

Happy that my short story has been long listed in the DNA-Out of Print Short Story Contest 2016. Read on Page 4.

http://epaper2.dnaindia.com/index.php?mod=1&pgnum=1&edcode=820104&pagedate=2016-11-20#


http://outofprintmagazine.blogspot.in/2016/11/the-2016-dna-out-of-print-short-fiction_20.html

A beginning in a Middle

I'd always dreamed of being a published writer. But it was only when I turned 43, that this dream saw fruition in the form of a Middle in the Deccan Herald. (This was because I stopped writing after I left college. Technically my first published piece was a poem, "A Voice From The Unknown" in the college magazine that I helped edit).The first Middle was inspired by the woman who collected garbage from our street and gave us earfuls of her choicest abuses. She always hung her trademark 'garland of slippers' at the corner plot to symbolize her 'beatings with a slipper' she felt those who threw garbage in empty sites deserved. Anyway, that single publication did a great deal of good to my writing.
There's another secret reason why I love writing for the Deccan Herald. My parents are loyal readers of this newspaper and my byline makes their day. They've been my staunch supporters throughout my life and believe in my abilities a lot more than I do.
Here's my thirteenth Middle about the little family we fostered for three months. Three kittens were adopted, and two probably found their own homes (they disappeared from our house within a week of each other).
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/574091/a-cats-goodbye.html

The five kittens at the vet for their first immunization shot.

Another Delightful Win!

I'm very happy to share the news that my short story, "Memory of a Fragrance" has won the Third Place Award in Katha: Literary Fiction Contest 2016. Here's the official announcement:

https://www.indiacurrents.com/katha-fiction-contest-2016-announcement/

The story will be published in the upcoming September issue of India Currents.
This year's judges were Prajwal Parajuly and Amulya Malladi.

Snakes Among Men.

My short story in the summer issue of the biannual Papercuts from Desi Writer's Lounge is out at last. Read it here:
http://desiwriterslounge.net/articles/papercuts-snakes-men/

It was a privilege that the issue was guest edited by the noted novelist, Bina Shah.

The theme is a different take on how we perceive heroes and villains.