Winning Entries for Essay Writing Competition

 Thought Lantern recently conducted an Essay Writing Competition on the theme "Imagine if you could spend a day with your favourite author, fictional character, or poet and the winning essays by our winners have stunned us. So here we are to share these creative essays wth you. 

Our winners are - 

1. Jeevasini Patnana

Winning Essay - 

“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one remembers to turn

on the light.” – Albus Dumbledore

Such an inspiring line from my favourite book series, Harry Potter. It is truly a breathtaking piece of art, in my not-so-humble opinion (no Harry Potter reference intended), with over a million carefully chosen words that have captivated readers across the world.

If I ever had the chance to spend an entire day with my favourite character, I would choose Harry Potter himself. A Gryffindor seeker, a lover of Quidditch, and someone who always stands up for what is right, Harry is brave, kind, and selfless. He also has a humorous side and a strong love for his friends, which makes him even more admirable. Spending a day with him would be nothing short of magical.

The day would probably begin with a warm breakfast of buttered crumpets, porridge, toast, and a glass of pumpkin juice in the Great Hall, before we head off to our classes. The first lesson would be Charms, where we would practise spells like Accio, Wingardium Leviosa, and Lumos. Hermione would, of course, correct Ron for mispronouncing a spell, while Harry and I tried to keep up.

Next would be Potions class, where things might not go as smoothly. Knowing my skills, I would probably end up exploding a cauldron alongside Harry. After that, we would attend Transfiguration, attempting to turn our pets into teacups, though I might accidentally create a feathery glass instead.

In Herbology, while planting mandrakes, I would likely struggle to stay conscious even with earmuffs on, as their wails are famously unbearable. Then we would move on to Defence Against the Dark Arts (DADA), where we would learn how to protect ourselves from dark magic, study unforgivable curses, and practice casting Patronuses.

At lunchtime, we would return to the Great Hall and enjoy soup, sandwiches, and pumpkin pasties, followed by treacle tart or jam doughnuts for dessert. After lunch, we might attend a rather sleepy History of Magic class, which would be fun if Professor Binns’ voice did not make everyone sleepy.

Once classes were over, we would complete our homework in the Study Hall- writing essays, practising wand movements, and accidentally breaking teacups while attempting to duplicate them. Later, we would explore the castle, using the Marauder’s Map to discover hidden passages and secret corners of Hogwarts.

Back in the Gryffindor common room, we would relax by playing wizard’s chess, exploding Snap, or even debate whether Malfoy is truly evil or just annoying. Dinner would include a delicious spread of baked potatoes, vegetable stew, and treacle tart.

As the day ends, it would be time to return home. Although it would be difficult to leave such a magical place, the memories would stay with me forever. Just as Dumbledore wisely said, “We must all choose between what is right, and what is easy.”

2. Dr. Romila Chitturi 

Winning Essay - 

Title - A Day with Rana — The Man Who Drove Through the Noise

If I could spend a day with any character from the world of film, I would choose Rana Chaudhary - the quietly extraordinary taxi owner from Piku, brought to life so effortlessly by Irrfan Khan. Not because he is a hero in any grand sense. But because he is something rarer: a man completely at peace with himself in a world that never stops arguing.

I imagine the day begins early, before the city wakes. Rana is already there, leaning against the Innova, sipping tea from a small earthen cup, utterly unbothered. He doesn't greet me with enthusiasm or ceremony. He just nods - that particular Irrfan nod, the one that says I see you, and I'm not going to make a fuss about it. And somehow, that is the warmest welcome I have ever received.

We drive. The road unfolds and so does conversation - not forced, not performative. Rana talks the way he breathes: naturally, unhurriedly. He tells me about the taxi business, about difficult passengers, about how he has learned to let other people's chaos pass through him like wind. I ask him how he manages it,  the Bhashkor Banerjees of the world, the ones who demand and complain and philosophise endlessly. He smiles, eyes still on the road, and says something like, "You just listen. You don't have to agree. You just have to be there."

I realise, sitting beside him, that Rana is a masterclass in a quality we rarely celebrate: the dignity of non-reaction. He is present without being consumed. He cares without losing himself. In a film full of noise and bowel movements and generational tension, he is the still point around which everything else rotates.

We stop for lunch at a dhaba - nothing fancy. He eats without commentary, without his phone, watching the road the way some people watch the sea. I try to make conversation, and he lets me, but he also lets the silence breathe. By the time we finish, I understand something I hadn't before: that listening is its own kind of generosity.

By evening, as the light turns amber and the city hums around us, I feel strangely rested - the way you feel after a long sleep you didn't know you needed.

Rana drops me off without ceremony. Another nod. And I think: that was enough. That was, in fact, everything.

3. Suhas Lahurikar 

Winning Essay - 

पसंदीदा लेखक के साथ एक दिन की कल्पना करना अपने आप में बहुत सुंदर और जादुई विचार है। अगर ऐसा मौका मुझे मिले तो मैं मिलूँगा  द ग्रेट मराठी लेखक पी एल देशपांडे. प्यार से हम सब उनको पुल कहते हैं. उनकी लेखनी हमें हँसी, संवेदनशीलता और रोज़मर्रा की जिंदगी की खूबसूरती सिखाती है।

सुबह की शुरुआत उनके साथ चाय पीते हुए हुई। वे मुस्कुराते हुए मेरे आसपास के लोगों की छोटी-छोटी आदतों पर मज़ेदार टिप्पणियाँ कर रहे थे उनकी बातें सुनकर मुझे एहसास हुआ कि जिंदगी की सादगी में ही असली आनंद छिपा होता है। मैंने जब VyaktianiValli की कुछ झलकियाँ याद कीं, तो लगा जैसे उसके सारे किरदार हमारे आसपास ही घूम रहे हों। जैसे वे कई बार कहते हैं, “जगा इतके की आयुष्य कमी पडेल, हसा इतके की आनंद कमी पडेल…"(जियो इतना कि जीवन कम लगे, हंसो इतना कि आनंद कम लगे…)

दोपहर को हम दोनों पास के बगीचे में टहलने गए   वे हर गुजरते व्यक्ति को बड़ी दिलचस्पी से देखते और उनके बारे में छोटी-छोटी कहानियां गढ़ने लगते। उनकी नज़र में कोई भी साधारण नहीं था — हर इंसान एक अनोखी कहानी था। तभी मेरे दिल में उनके सभी कहानियों के किरदार घूम रहे थे. उस पल ऐसा लगा अंतू बर्वा, नारायण, नंदा प्रधान, सभी मेरे साथ बैठकर बातें कर रहे हों. पुल का एक प्रसिद्ध उद्धरण है “माणसं वाचायला शिका—पुस्तकं तर सगळेच वाचतात” (लोगों को पढ़ना सीखो—किताबें तो सब पढ़ते हैं)

शाम को उन्होंने मुझे लिखने के लिए प्रेरित किया। उन्होंने कहा कि जिंदगी को ध्यान से देखो, महसूस करो और फिर उसे अपने शब्दों में ढालो। उनकी ये बात मेरे दिल में बस गई आज का दिन मेरे लिए सिर्फ एक कल्पना नहीं था, बल्कि एक अनुभव था — ऐसा अनुभव जिसने मुझे सिखाया कि खुशी बड़ी चीजों में नहीं, बल्कि रोज़मर्रा की छोटी-छोटी बातों में होती है।

पुलने अपनी कुछ मराठी कहानियों, नाटकों और लघु नाटकों को हिंदी में अनुवादित किया ताकि अधिक लोग उन्हें पढ़ और समझ सकें. बटाट्याची चाळ (Batatyachi Chaal) को हिंदी में मंच और रेडियो के लिए रूपांतरित किया गया. ऑल इंडिया रेडियो और हिंदी रंगमंच के लिए उन्होंने हास्यपूर्ण लघु नाटक और स्केच हिंदी में लिखे.आख़िर में, मैं कहूँगा पुल हमेशा कहते थे “हास्य हे दुःखाचे सर्वात सुंदर रूपांतर आहे” (हास्य दुख का सबसे सुंदर रूपांतरण है)

4.  Dr. Rajesh Ramachandran

Winning Essay - 

Title - A day with Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man: Building the cleanest city on this Planet

It would be a dream come true, if I could get a chance to spend a day with my favourite

fictional superhero Iron Man. This would not only fulfil my dream but grant me an

opportunity to make my city, the cleanest and most inclusive place on planet.

If I met Tony Stark, I would not be very much eager to see his suits or take me for an

adventure. Instead, I would ask him to give his skills to help me solve real problems that

affect us everyday. We would use technology and innovation to make the city where I live a

better place.

The first step would be sanitation and waste disposal. Using Iron Man’s sophisticated AI

systems, we’d create smart trash cans that would automatically separate refuse and notify

authorities when to empty them. Drones are self-governing cleaning systems that would

ensure the cleanliness of streets 24/7. No garbage spilling from the bins, no dirty corners or

streets, only a clean, healthy place.

Then, we would focus on adding greenery to the city. We would plant trees and build parks

along the streets. Create vertical gardens on the high-rise buildings. These green spaces would

not only make the city look beautiful but also purify the air and provide citizens with places to

relax. The air will no longer be polluted; it will be clean, and the air will be healthier for

everyone.

Traffic is another one of the major ongoing issues. With the mega genius Tony Stark’s brain

smart systems, traffic would be carried out by identifying the bottleneck, thereby

alleviating its movement. Signals would adapt to real-time conditions, reducing delays and

accidents. People could travel without using a car. Public transport would be available

everywhere so that everyone can take it efficiently.

We would also prioritise utilities. There would be clean, properly kept toilets available where

ever necessary in the city for everyone including persons with disabilities, who always face

challenges because of the toilets not being accessible and neat. Roads would be smooth and

safe for pedestrians, cyclists and persons using assistive devices.

The most important change would be social transformation. I would ask Iron Man to help people who are seeking alms by giving them jobs and opportunities. We would enable everyone to live with dignity through skill development and employment programmes.

By the end of the day, my city would be cleaner, kinder and more inclusive. With Iron Man’s help, it would be a model for the world, a place where technology serves humanity and progress is inclusive.

A great city is not just clean; it is kind and inclusive, filled with hope.

5. Dr. Neha Tekwani 

Winning Essay - 

Title - Busting My Irresistible Mafia Leading Lady Simone Thompson from The Mafia Duology

In this patriarchal world, there’s an abundance of hype over the underworld men and their stories—but when

the time came for me to explore this genre, I created a woman who swore to protect the women trafficking

victims and women entrepreneurs through her Anti-racketeering organization.

But there’s a catch.

This woman protects, but she kills at the first sign of trouble. Neither is she a saint, nor a hypocrite, but a

hypervigilant Don who looks like a Diva and works like a criminal to get whatever she thinks she deserves

to own or remove from her path.

And as our stars got aligned and I picked my pen to jot the second book in the duology, Simone

materialized—I blinked my eyes several times to confirm that this lady who oozes with dynamism and

danger stood in front of me with a gun tucked in her jeans.

“You came to meet your creator with a gun!” I said in exasperation.

‘How can I flinch like a coward in front of my own character?’ She glared at me as if she were still in the

book.

"Gosh! Such a drama!" Simone teased. "Did you want me to bring Ben N Jerry’s while flying out of your laptop?" She twisted her mouth and raised a brow at me.

“That would’ve been such a nice treat before wrapping your story, Ma’am?” I gave a sly smile.

“Finally!” She sighed, plopping down on the couch.

“You could’ve left that gun in the book? I’m trying to make you humanistic.”

“What??” She shrieked, startling me and in a jiffy, grasped my wrist and dragged me out of my home office to the parking lot. Without a second thought, she shoved me on the passenger seat of her Audi; took her place on the driver’s seat and throttled the gas.

“Why are you kidnapping me? Haven’t I made enough people in your world to control?”

Simone smirked; shrugging her shoulders, she pressed on the accelerator.

 I clutched the seat and eyed her from my peripheral vision. ‘Oh God! Out of all my babies, why doesn’t she listen?’

Simone halted the car in front of a deserted area; following her lead, I got down, and I had to read thrice before facing the reality: “NehZ Creations.”

In silence, we stepped inside the studio, and I could almost hear our heartbeats. We went through each of my storyboards, smiling at each other as we took in the ambience of my creative space. I knew, somewhere in her, she had her humanity, despite the bloody life she thinks she can’t leave behind.

She eyed herself in the mirror and murmured, “Will I even look good dying like a human when I’m unkillable?”

“That’s for me to decide, my lady.”

My characters seldom disagree with my choices of development, but at the end of the day, I reflect upon their actions and words. This short meeting, though out of my conscience and memorable, brought me to a conclusion: “The sword is mine to use.”