India, an enigmatic and epochal country, has an unparalleled and flourishing cultural legacy, which we are proud to represent. It is steadfast and unyielding, and it will never be lost to future generations. This year marks the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.

Writers are synonymous with bringing about a renaissance, whether literary or social; they function as negotiators to mediate the country’s social and cultural difficulties and, at times, become reformists. They have a legendary imagination, a distinct voice, flawless creative control of wordplay, and the ability to represent reality.

Takhte Writers & Publishers in collaboration with StoryMirror launch the literary contest ‘Anecdotes of India@75′

‘Anecdotes of India@75’ acknowledge the unacknowledged. It could be a person or an incident adding to national ethos, and you as a writer feel that others should know about it. So, start thinking, exploring and writing it in a stimulating story.

Rules:

• Participants have to submit their content on the above theme.
• Winners will be decided on the basis of editorial scores.
• Participants should submit their original content. There is no limit to the number of content to be submitted.
• There is no word limit.
• There is no participation fee.

Categories: Story

Languages: English, Hindi

Prizes:

• Top 2 winners will be felicitated with the Coffee Table Book of Rs2500/- authored by Takhte Writers
• Top 20 winners in each language will be published in an ebook by StoryMirror.
• Winners will receive digital certificates of appreciation.
• All participants will receive a digital participation certificate.

Submission phase – May 29, 2022, to June 28, 2022

Declaration of Result: August 11, 2022

Contact:
Email: takhtevov@gmail.com
Phone/ WhatsApp: +91 9311845524

Reyaansh Bhardwaj
Scottish High International School
Gurugram
Grade 4

Alex was in his science lab carrying out his usual experiments. But, this time, he had thought of making a robot, which he wanted to gift to King Andrew during his birthday celebration. At that moment, Twisha came into the lab with Oreo.

Twisha, a year younger than Alex, is a sweet, pretty and short-tempered cousin. She asked Alex about his new experiment and shared her thoughts about going to the Moon.

Alex said, “Wow! Moon. I know you always wanted to go there. However, right now, going to the moon is more like a dream as we do not have a spacecraft. One day, I will take you to the moon”.

“One day! Seriously Alex. It doesn’t seem that near now. I surely want to go now,” said Twisha.

“Oh, Twisha! Don’t lose heart. I just remembered that Dr Peter is a Rocket scientist. He lives in the U.S.A, and I’ll talk to him about it,” said Alex.

Twisha replied, “Don’t make it tough. I will take you there.”

Alex was wonderstruck and astonished and teased her, “You are not a scientist. Are you a magician?  HA HA HA HA HA HA.”

Twisha frowned. Seeing her annoyed, Alex said, “Ok, ok, so when are we going? How are we going? For how long are we going? What are we taking along?

 Oreo heard the word going. He whined as if he should not be forgotten in their plans.

Twisha replied, “So many questions in one go. Bro, relax. We’ll go after two days on the full moon night.“

Twisha patted Oreo and said, “My Lil pup, I’m sorry you can’t go this time, but I’ll treat you with your favourite bone and peanut butter.”

As planned, on the full moon night, they both go on the terrace; Twisha asks Alex to lie down on the spread carpet. It was attractive, multicoloured with stars on it

Alex gets grumpy, “Are you serious. Is this your plan? Just lying down, and we’ll reach the Moon.”

“Have patience, this carpet has magical powers, and it will take us to the moon,” said Twisha. Her mind is burdened and overworking how to calm Alex and end his curiosity. Then, as in a trance-like state, she can take him and bring him back quickly.

Twisha picks up the crystal ball and asks him to focus on it and take deep breaths.

In no time, Alex exclaims, “Wowww! We have finally landed. It’s giant. Twisha, you know other names of Moon, its Luna, Selena or say Artemis. Moon is the only natural satellite of our planet and the second brightest object in the sky after the sun. Any object on the Moon will weigh six times less than on Earth. It rests on the tallest mountain, the Mons Huygens. Twisha, you would have read too, that Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the Moon.”

Alex, for hours, kept gaping and looking around in awe. He is surprised that Twisha has not spoken and asks her, “Hey! Why are you not saying anything? You also know so much. So you should share your learnings.”

Twisha giggles and pats Alex’s shoulder, “Hey, Bro, how are you doing? I think you completely enjoyed your visit to the Moon.” Alex rubbed his eyes and looked at her with his mouth open.

Photo Courtesy – aron-visuals-unsplash

Stuti Manda
Gitanjali Vedika, Hyderabad

Urbanisation has altered the way of living. Even the animals have started adapting to the evolving environment and social transformation.

Interestingly, the birds’ lives have changed in Birdsville too. So many new opportunities flared up, more jobs showed up, and most of all, their lives have become almost similar to ours. Tina, a House Sparrow, owned a real estate company, ‘Nests for All’.

It was yet another typical day in Birdsville. Tina was in her nest, reviewing a nesting plan for one of her clients, working on her Tweet-top, eating her birdseed cornflakes. Getting a client’s call, she quickly gets ready for work. While flying to her office, memories flooded of how her parents were not convinced of her becoming a real estate agent. But, Tina visualising good opportunities persuaded them. She had built an empire now; every bird who wanted a nest came to her. The words had spread to migrating birds too. Her parents were proud of her and regretted not supporting her back then. Reaching the office, her assistant Jenny, a purple Sunbird, came in and said, “Ma’am, the Camson’s are here, the Red Vented Bulbuls. Should I let them into your office for a meeting?” Tina nodded. Jenny scampered to the waiting room and brought them into the office.

Mrs Camson saw the office covered in green moss; the walls had Tina’s achievements framed and nicely polished. Two pieces of bark from a willow tree were the doors, and the table was made of Balsam fir. It was a sight to behold. Mrs Camson was impressed.

“Please sit”, Tina said.

“Good morning,” Mrs Camson stated, “I am Lilly, and he is my husband, Keto. We recently came to Canyon Park and heard that you were the best bird in real estate. I want to know your ideas before we discuss them.”

Tina said, “We have built a variety of nests and made them as close as possible to the nest one would make on their own, like old days with available materials.” She handed them a brochure. Lilly takes the brochure and flips through the pages. While looking at the designs, her eyes gleam.

Seeing this, Tina shows them another picture and says, “We have built a nest for Coots. They had a special requirement that the nest float on water with possible amenities. You wouldn’t believe it when Coots saw our design, they were ecstatic. And now they are our premium customers.”

Tina flips to a picture and says, “We have built nests for Baya weavers. Their requirement was several rooms with two entrances to the nest to accommodate hot and cold temperatures during the day. We customised it as per their specifications.”

Jenny adds, “We have built several office nests, also one that can camouflage for maximum security. The iconic Infocorp office nest complex was designed and built by us.”

Camson’s were quite impressed by the estate agents profile. Lilly persuades Keto to sign the contract, and they finally do so. Tina signals Jenny to take control and leaves the room. Jenny moves out of the office to get Homat, a Caledonian Crow, their design engineer. She gets him and introduces, “He is Homat, your designer; please tell him your specifications.”

Lilly gives all the details, and Homat takes note of it. He confirms the design and ensures that all specifications will be sent to their Birditt ID in two days.

While leaving, Keto says, “We have two chicks and are worried about their safety.” Homat replies, “It is a very safe space as Tina mam has an agreement with predator birds, and they would not attack.”

Homat sends the nest plans to Camson’s Birditt ID. It gets approved. Next comes the decision on the construction site. Lilly wanted a densely populated location so that they could socialise.

Tina called Clara, Clark’s Nutcracker, as she had comprehensive knowledge of the area. On Lilly’s specifications, Clara suggests the Banyan tree complex. The complex was ideal as it had two trees with above 200 nests built. The design work for the new nest took three days to finish. Camson’s were delighted to see their new nest and lauded the teams’ efforts.

Nest for All company celebrated their success; they stayed late-night dancing and singing, and the birds slept in the office. The following day, Jenny flew in with the Birds’ Daily. Tina was sleeping on her desk. “Mam, look at this,” she said, handing the newspaper to Tina.

“Tree cut down in Canyon Park, 15 birds lose Nests” was the headline. Tina was shocked and shaken; numerous thoughts pounded. She immediately called for an emergency meeting.

Her entire team, including Jenny, Clara, Homat, Jacob (a Eurasian Jay and their field agent), Kelly (Kea and a troubleshooter) and Amy (an eagle and birds-prey), rushed in.

“As we all have seen from the Birds’ Daily,” Tina stated, “A tree has been cut down. Our hard work and company reputation will turn to dust. We should stop humans immediately.”

Hearing this, Kelly takes charge and starts assigning initial tasks –
“Jacob, go to the area to analyse and report back to me.”

Jacob flew to the site and found tents were set up; heavy equipment, trucks, and a construction crew were on the site. He saw a banner and understood that a big mall would be constructed. He flew back to tell the news.

Kelly understood how serious the issue was, and they quickly come up with the plan. Tina was worried that her years of hard work were going to crumble. Kelly shared her plan to Tina, “Only way to stop this is to get the Environmental Activists attention. But, first, we should send pigeons in the 10’s and 20’s near peoples’ houses around the park and create disturbances. Then, eagles and bats sit near the park and scare the people coming near it.”

Plan executed. All the birds came together and started creating havoc on the people near the park. The people were vexed and could not understand how the calm and serene area filled up with the sweet chirping of the birds turned out to be a nightmare to live in.

The area soon buzzed in the news headlines, which grabbed the attention of several Environmental Activists. They started protesting near the park; the residents also joined in.

Kelly and the rest of the team watched this and were happy that their plan worked. Next, Tina calls all the birds and says, “We are about 100 now and, more will be joining from other parks too.” She instructs the birds to occupy all the trees. Canyon Park was filled with annoying chirpings, and the sky was covered with hovering birds. The sudden strange happening came to the notice of all people walking, driving and residing around.

News reporters broadcasted this occurrence, that how the birds are fighting for their homes. People started tweeting pictures from the park; this became worldwide news.

Finally, the government stepped in and ordered the company to immediately stop the mall’s construction and find another suitable place that would not destroy so many trees and nests.

Tina’s team was delighted as the park was restored to the birds.

Next day, Tina was on her Tweet-top, eating her birdseed cornflakes.

Photo Courtesy- Unsplash