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Short story, big impact

What got her the prize at the Commonwealth Short Story Writing Competition? Ask Preeta Krishna

TOP HONOURS Preeta Krishna

"Like everyone else who sent in an entry thinking they would win, I too did," says Preeta Krishna, overall winner and regional winner for Asia in the Commonwealth Short Story Writing Competition, conducted by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association based in London.

Her story "Treason" not only fetched her top honours but also prize money of £2000 which was given away on February 16 at a function in New Delhi.

The story is about an innocent, little girl who is pushed into the flesh trade by her own father. It graphically captures the plight of a trusting child, cocooned in her own world, and who is suddenly robbed of her security and virginity in the flash of a second.

Preeta Krishna who has a Master's degree in Medical and Psychiatric Social Work, dabbled in poetry and short story writing before she took up a job with an inspirational magazine called Frozen Thoughts where besides being on the editorial team she pens a column titled "Chewing gum ..... with a difference" which discusses from personal experience values, attitudes and perspectives on life and also does interviews for a slot called "Simply Great" which features people who have accomplished great things in life and yet remain simple.

As a budding author, she was (and still is) egged on by her grandfather to write more and encouraged by a cousin and published author who was always there to critique her writing. She said the inspiration for the story came from an awareness programme she had watched on television, warning poverty stricken families in the North East about commission agents who under the guise of securing jobs for young girls sold them to brothel houses in cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata. "The blatant abuse of trust and the plight of these young girls impacted me deep down," she says.

The 600-word limit didn't pose too much of a challenge for her. "I am used to writing articles of similar length. The first draft was around 750 words. I just had to be clear about what I wanted to retain and what I could do without. I wrote it in one sitting and then it was only the editing."

As for the immediate future there is only more writing on my plate, says this 27-year-old who is married to a dental surgeon. Ask her what she plans to do with the prize money and she says, "I haven't decided yet. My plans keep changing."

SUDHA UMASHANKER

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