Seven students from secondary schools in Surrey have been recognized for their original Punjabi stories.
The Dhahan Prize Youth Award was created in partnership with L.A. Matheson Secondary in 2017.
"The purpose of this unique. creative writing award is to encourage the youth of B.C. to embrace the rich Punjabi culture of the generations of families who have immigrated to Canada, specifically in British Columbia, through creative writing in the Punjabi language," reads a post on the Dhahan prize website.
The award-winning students were Gurdeep Kaur Bilin from Khalsa Secondary School, Harman Singh Atwal from L.A. Matheson Secondary, Jasleen Kaur Uppal from L.A. Matheson Secondary, Gurjaap Singh Deol from L.A. Matheson Secondary, Jasmeet Kaur Dhaliwal from Princess Margaret Secondary and Harnoor Kaur Panfair from Queen Elizabeth Secondary.
Jasmeet Kaur Dhaliwal and Sahij Kaur Baath from Dasmesh Punjabi School in Abbotsford were rewarded. Each of the students also received $500.
To enter, the students had to be enrolled in Punjabi 11 or 12 at a secondary school in B.C., the work they submitted had to be their own, and they had to have a teacher who would sponsor and confirm their application. The story must be written in Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi, scripts used to write Punjab.
Soja Raven Layla Vasanji from L.A. Matheson Secondary was also awarded for her Indigenous youth poem and received a cash prize.
To enter the Indigenous Stories Award, the individual had to be Indigenous, in grade 11 or 12, at a secondary school in the Surrey School District and submit their original story.
The students received their awards Thursday (Nov. 14) at Northview Golf and Country Club in Cloverdale where additional prizes were given out.
Jinder from Jalandhar, Punjab, India, Shahzad Aslam from Pakistan and Surinder Neer from India were also awarded for their Punjabi fiction Thursday. Jinder was the winner of the Dhanan Prize and received for his collection of short stories, Safety Kit.
Jander won a $25,000 book award, and finalists Aslam and Neer each received $10,000 for their short story collections.
