On Saturday 1st September, at Pragati Maidan, Delhi, the first ever Campfire Young Writer of the Year awards ceremony took place. The guest of honour, Sir Mark Tully, was accompanied to the stage by the Campfire Chairman, Keshav Thirani, for what was a celebration of the creativity of youth.
This ceremony was the first of three which will be carried out across the country – the other two being in Bangalore and Mumbai – to give all the winners an opportunity to attend.
The speeches from Sir Mark Tully and Keshav Thirani gave everyone present an insight into their thoughts on this competition, and how valuable this kind of activity is for young people. Children can be encouraged to explore their creativity through writing; they can discover the joy of literature through their own hand. Or as Andy Dodd, the compere of the event said:
“we want to break open their creativity, throw the shackles off their restraints once in a while, and let them loose with nothing more than a pen and a piece of paper – or more likely Microsoft Word and a keyboard.”
Following the words from Sir Mark, the award presentation began. Although Sahir D’Souza – the overall winner of the competition – could not be present, he had pre-recorded a video message which was played for all to see. After receiving her All-India Class 6 Winner award, Madirekshana Chakraborty from Step by Step School in Noida answered questions from one of the competitions’ judges, and delighted everyone with her softly-spoken and humble, yet cheerful, answers.
Just before the close of the ceremony, a short discussion was held, involving the other all-India class winners – Arohi Purnaye, Rohit Rao and Tanuj Lalwani. Questions were asked live by Andy Dodd, and the children answered them via pre-recorded video messages. Everyone present was pleased to hear what the children had to say about their love of writing, and how the Young Writer of the Year competition had inspired, thrilled and motivated them.
The all-India class winners for 2012 (who were featured at the event) are:
Class V – Arohi Purnaye from GG International School, Pune
Class VI – Madirekshana Chakraborty from Step by Step School, Noida
Class VII – Rohit Rao from Prakriya Green Wisdom School, Bangalore
Class VIII (and overall winner) – Sahir D’Souza from Shishuvan School, Mumbai
Class IX – Tanuj Lalwani – Inventure Academy, Bangalore