We are delighted to share that Aishu Lingarajan has been recognised as a Highly Commended recipient in the recent Southeast Asia Writing Competition, run by the University of East Anglia in the UK. This prestigious university is renowned for its Creative Writing course, and boasts critically acclaimed alumni such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan and Anne Enright. The competition judges are all professors in the Creative Writing department at the University of East Anglia.  

 
The competition was launched back in March this year, with the over-arching theme of ATTENTION, and Aishu was keen to participate because she really likes English and very much enjoys any opportunity to write. Aishu won this award for her entry, You Remind Me of Lake Vostok, which was inspired by an article she read a few years ago about lost worlds. It shone a light on places in the world that most people do not know about, including Lake Vostok, which is a subglacial lake in Antarctica, named after the Russian Station that it lies beneath.

 
To celebrate this recognition, Aishu will receive a certificate and a copy of Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel Never Let Me Go, written by the award-winning UEA alumnus. Congratulations, Aishu, on this recognition and achievement! 

Here is the poem: 

You remind me of Lake Vostok 

Ice-cold, dark and dangerous 

Unpredictable and full of strain – 

A surface that hides much beneath the surface,a 

Waiting for someone to see, 

To pay attention. 

Unseen, it churns in anger, 

The urge to hide—to push away. 

But once in a while, 

When the sun breaks through, 

When land pays attention and stillness falls, 

The Lake Vostok reveals its true colours, 

A flash of warmth, a softened glow. 

And I know deep down, 

With careful eyes and a careful gaze, 

You are compassionate  

And full of smiles, 

Just like the Lake Vostok.