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Thousands of visitors to the kingdom’s unique social media platform www.gdnlife.com enjoyed some sizzling stories during their summer holidays as Bahrain’s literary talent displayed and shared their writing skills.
Our panel of judges were mightily impressed too and have been busy choosing the monthly winners of our popular competition for July and August and encourage wordsmiths to put their literary talents to the test throughout September.
The first BD25 adult prize went to Indian expatriate Ilyas Ibrahim for his riveting entry entitled A journey in search of a friend that attracted more than 2,900 views.
“This is an incident that my father told me when he was in Bahrain and I made it into a story,” explained the 26-year-old cashier who lives in Adiliya. “I was very surprised and delighted when I got a call to inform me that I had been chosen. I thank the entire GDN team of judges for selecting me as the winner.”
His work impressed judge Rohini Sunderam from Bahrain Writers Circle who said: “Such a different, simply told tale of friendship. There is a beautiful undercurrent of nostalgia throughout the short story that tugs at the heart. I also liked the simple, clean writing.”
Bahraini teenage talent Rimsha Mohammed picked up the U18 July prize of a pair of Cineco Cinema tickets for her poetic and moving entry called The Astigmatic which has attracted more than 2,400 views.
“I have always had a little less faith in myself than I should have but this really boosted my confidence,” said the 16-year-old Pakistan Urdu School pupil who lives in Galali with her proud parents, father Mohamed Ilyas Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed Din, a parts adviser, and mother, Narmeen. She has four siblings, Ritaj, 19, Fuad, 11, Isa, nine, and Nuraiz, six.
“I’m thankful to everyone around me for encouraging me to participate in this competition.
Astigmatic is having a fault in the lens of the eye that reduces the quality of sight, especially one that stops the eye from focusing.
“Honestly this poem was written when I was around 13 years old,” the shy schoolgirl added. “I don’t know the inspiration for it except perhaps that I have lived with glasses for almost my whole life, a burden at times but, of course, also very welcome.”
Judge Chris Fenton, head teacher of the British Primary Department at Al Noor International School, was impressed. “A dark theme expressed with a confident use of language and symbolism,” he said. “Great work, Rimsha!”
Her earlier short story entry called Lightning Matters also impressed Judge Rohini and is worth checking out too. “I really liked how the writer launched into the story from the protagonist’s point of view,” she added. “The inner change in the character’s attitude is also subtly brought about. The weaving in of Arabic words added to the authenticity of the story.”
Proud Pooja Shivram picked up last month’s BD25 adult prize and celebrated her second victory in the contest.
Her latest entry Project Lily has already received more than 1,900 views on our social media platform.
“I was inspired by a beautiful picture of lilies and I felt prompted to write a relatable story revolving around them,” the 38-year-old Indian expatriate secretary said. “I am super excited for my win and, of course, thankful to GDNlife for giving a home to short stories!”
Judge Rohini said: “Project Lily is a disturbing dystopian vision of the near future. There’s a strong undercurrent of tension which drives the reader on.”
Poetic prowess once again dominated with the judges when it came to the U18 section with schoolboy Midhun Milton’s Entangled entry winning the pair of Cineco Cinema ticket prize for August.
“You captured the drama of the situation in a few well-chosen words,” said Mr Fenton. “Great job!”
More than 1,900 viewers have also enjoyed the 16-year-old Asian School pupil’s work.
Midhan lives in Adliya with his parents, father Milton, an executive secretary, and mother, Bindhu. He has two siblings, Milbin, 28, and Milan, 20, and enjoys developing characters in his written work, which has already found success in other local contests.
“It turns out that some bad guys are not that bad after all,” he explained. “After all, it is often the passion of these characters that brings out all our emotions.
“I feel ecstatic about this win and, hopefully, this will boost my confidence to write even more fun-filled stories, poems and explore and develop new areas of literacy.”
managingeditor@gdnmedia.bh
