Former Madhya Pradesh CS Tino de Sa’s story ‘Tamarind’ included in list of 25
PANAJI
A Goan who served as former chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh is the only writer based in India to be shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Commonwealth Short Story Prize’, regarded as the world’s most global literature prize.
‘Tamarind’, a short story by Tino de Sa, who hails from Divar but presently resides in Panaji, has been included in a list of 25, which have been shortlisted from 7,920 entries across 54 countries.
The shortlist, judged by an international panel of five judges, was announced in London on April 15. The judges will make the final choice of the winner from among the short list, and the prize will be announced in June.
Asked for his reaction on being shortlisted for the prestigious award, De Sa told The Goan: “I was absolutely delighted. To be honest, I wasn't expecting it. Just getting on to the Commonwealth Prize shortlist is, for me, a validation of my writing, which is a very satisfying thing for any writer.”
“Writing has always been for me a compulsion, an obsession almost. The only thing I like more than writing is reading. But when I read something really good, I feel the urge to write. It's like – not a vicious – but a virtuous cycle.”
Asked how he managed to make time for writing given his hectic and prominent services in India and abroad, De Sa replied: “True, when in government service I did not get as much time as I would have liked to indulge in creative writing. Most writing was notes on files! But when you love something, you find the time for it.”
Sometimes referred to as ‘the Booker Prize of short stories’, the Commonwealth Prize is one of the most prestigious international literature prizes. Even appearing on the short list is an honour and recognition in itself. The 25 authors who have been shortlisted belong to 18 different countries.
De Sa’s short story, ‘Tamarind’, which has been shortlisted for the prize, is set in a fictional village in rural Madhya Pradesh, and like most of his stories, has a twist at the end.
Tino de Sa is the nom de plume of Anthony de Sa, an IAS officer who retired as Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh, after an illustrious career that included a deputation to the United Nations. In Delhi, he served in the Ministries of Environment & Forests, and also Commerce & Industries, where he handled India’s negotiations in the WTO. De Sa has a post-graduate degree from Harvard in the USA, and a PhD in the Built Environment. He also served as former chairman of MP Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).
Tino de Sa has twice won the first prize in the Times of India national short story competitions – once in 2017 and once in 2019. He also writes poetry. Recently two poems appeared in a reputed literary journal JRLJ published from London. He is an active member of the Goa Writers group.
He already has three books published. Two of them are collections of short stories – ‘The Disrobing of Draupadi’ and ‘One For Sorrow, Two For Joy’. The third is a mystery novel for older children, ‘The Curious Case of the Nandikote Nawab’, which has even been included in the reading list by some CBSE schools. He is currently working on another collection of short stories.
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction from any of the Commonwealth’s 56 Member States. It is the most accessible and international of all writing competitions: in addition to English, entries can be submitted in Bengali, Chinese, Creole, French, Greek, Malay, Maltese, Portuguese, Samoan, Swahili, Tamil, and Turkish.
