(Scroll down for photos of winners from Last two years)

The third annual Storytelling Contest has no entry fee (as before) and is open to youths 18 and under from the six New England states.  To enter the contest, they create a video under 5 minutes and submit it via whatsapp by the deadline of April 24, 2023.  A wide variety of topics related to Hindu Heritage can be selected.  Detailed rules can be found at boston.vhp-america.org/hhd23/storytelling.

Making a video requires many creative skills.  In addition to learning the subject of the story/talk, one must employ audio and visual presentation skills. It is also a collaborative fun project for youths and parents, with latter often serving as videographers.  The completed video is joy to share with family and friends and becomes a keepsake in many cases.

The webpage has many ideas for topics.  Six broad categories have been suggested on the webpage: Stories, Inspirational Sayings, Biographical Incidents, Practices, Living Dharma and the sixth one is a catch-all for any topics not covered by the above.  Advanced topics which require research and investigation (e.g. Concept of five sheath model of human body) will also engage teen-agers who are always looking for a challenge.  They can also explore some of the many famous dialogs such as Nachiketa-Yama, Yaksha-Yudhishtira, Maitreyi-Yagyavalkya, Rama-Vashishtha, Krishna-Arjuna, Gopis-Uddhava, Narad-Sanatkumar, Shvetketu-Uddalaka, Savitri-Yama to name a few.  Respectful but frank dialogs for discovering truth are an important cornerstone of Hindu Heritage.

Prizes will be handed out at the Hindu Heritage Day program to be held at the auditorium of Marlborough Middle School on the afternoon of May 20th, 2023 in Marlborough, MA.  Details about this widely attended program will be publicized in the coming weeks (free registration at hhd2023.eventbrite.com).

The accompanying collages contain photos of some of the past winners. Their videos can be viewed on the internet at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlDhuvEoW6k, which has a few entries in their entirety and samples of the rest of the entries.  The goal of the organizers is to highlight and appreciate the continuing cultural education by the parents, Bal Vihars, Satsang groups and Dance and music schools all around greater Boston area and of course their students.

One can find registration link, rules and topics at: vhp-america.org/hhd23/storytelling.  If any questions still remain, the organizers can be reached at bgarg@ieee.org or 603-560-5391 (9 am – 9 pm EST) any day.

Copy and paste this link in your browser to watch glimpses of 2022 entries on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlDhuvEoW6k