Mithila Saraf from Mumbai is Classmate Young Author 2006

Mumbai, Feb 12 (UNI) Mithila Saraf, a class IX student from Utpal Sanghavi School, Mumbai, has been awarded the title of Classmate Young Author 2006, by the stct National Jury headed by Ruskin Bond.

The other literary personalities on the Jury include Derek Bose, Saif Hyder Hasan, Pooja Lulla and Rupa Gulab.

Mithila Saraf has won a seven-day trip to Paris, widely regarded as the 'art capital' of the world.

Parath Shah, a class X student from CNVM, Mumbai, and Biboswan Bose, a class XI student from The Future Foundation School, Kolkata have been awarded the second and third prize, respectively. The first runner up got a laptop and the second runner up won a digicam.

The remaining 13 finalists received i-pods. ITC Ltd's Classmate Young Author Contest, (CYAC), which entered its fourth year in 2006, saw participation from over 2,00,000 children from more than 5,000 schools in 34 cities. This nationwide talent hunt for budding young writers is now the largest event of its kind in India.

Chand Das, Chief Executive, ITC Greetings, (Gifting and Stationery Business) said. ''CYAC encourages young budding authors to give flight to their imagination in the form of creative writing. At a time when Indian authors are being increasingly appreciated in literary circles the world-over, CYAC aims to provide a platform to help discover hidden talent and encourage students towards literary pursuits.'' CYAC not only triggers the creative spark in young writers but also promotes them by bringing out a book on the best stories every year.

The book is edited by Ruskin Bond and published by Rupa&Co.

'Someone, Somewhere at 23:13', 'Post Box No 99' and 'Stairway to Nowhere' featured the winning short stories of 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively.

Ruskin Bond, Chairman, National Jury, CYAC 2006 adds, ''Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to discover writing talent in girls and boys in their teens. I sincerely hope some of the CYAC winners will become full time authors in the future.'' UNI