Thank you, Smitha and Vandana for
taking time to answer my questions.
Let me begin with congratulating
you for getting your wonderful poetry collection out there. Wishing you the
best for the success of Roads.
1.
How did this idea of a book of poetry originate?
Any particular inspiration?
Smitha: I’ve written about the conception of ‘Roads’ in the book
which tells you how the book originated.
Honestly speaking, I hadn’t thought I’d be publishing a book so soon. I
say soon, because until 2018 March, I held a full-time banking job that gave me
only enough time to write a post every week on my blog.
However, when I left my job and returned to India in July 2018, with my
husband, who was transferred here, I had a lot of time on my hands which
allowed me to write more. One thing led to another and it paved the way for
this book. It’s pure ‘Serendipity.’ There’s no better way to explain it.
Vandana: I had been writing poetry for anthologies for about a year
and that planted the seed of publishing my own book. I had known Smitha since
2017 through Wordpress and we liked each other’s writing. When Smitha happened
to move to India, we met in Delhi at a literary event and we decided to work
together. We first thought of writing fiction- short stories maybe (as
suggested by few friends.) I have inclination towards inspirational and
motivational writing, so we started working on inspirational stories. But,
since poetry was our forte, and this was our first book, we decided to divert
our energies to the genre in which our hearts believed.
2.
Have either of you been published before?
Smitha: My poems have appeared in a few anthologies and online
magazines. Again, it all started after moving here. The first was in August
2018 where 3 poems were published in the anthology ‘Meticulous Men of Mettle,’
by Impish Lass Publishing House and subsequently others followed.
Vandana: My poems and articles have been published in numerous
anthologies. Some of these are: She the Shakti, Muffled moans; Medley of
melodies; Speak your mind; Petals of Love; Gems of Poessy; Ripples of Peace;
Lyrical Dewdrops; World peace; The spirit of India; Speak your mind; Queen;
Complexion based discrimination; Vasudha etc.
3.
Why poetry?
Smitha: I have been writing poems since I was a teenager, in my
diary.
Incidentally, one of my parent’s family friends found a resume’ that I had
sent to them in 1998, when I was looking for a job and strangely enough I had
mentioned ‘Poetry,’ under hobbies (Don’t know if people actually write their
hobbies any more in their resume’). We
actually laughed on seeing it.
So I guess it was only right that I should start off with a genre that I
was most comfortable with.
Vandana: This is interesting. Unlike Smitha
who had been writing since childhood, I discovered my inclination towards
writing, only about three and a half years ago. After quitting my corporate
career and staying at home for few years for raising my kids, my intellectual
faculties were biting me hard. So I decided to join a creative writing course
at British Council, without knowing what was in store for me. One of the
session was on Poetry and our teacher (to whom I’m grateful till this day)
showed us three pictures and asked us to write a poem on any one of them. There
was one picture depicting a dancing girl that I couldn’t take my eyes off and
words just started flowing on the paper. I wrote about 10-12 lines in the class
and went home. But till next day, I felt restless as some lines kept buzzing in
my head. The poem titled ‘Wings of
Freedom’ is a part of the book. It was then that I discovered my penchant
towards poetry, though I equally enjoy writing articles on women empowerment
and contemporary issues (as evident in my poems too, which are often mistaken
by the reader as my personal woes or experiencesJ)
4.
I love your little notes between poems. This is
not the norm, but made the collection infinitely more enjoyable and personally
relatable. How was this conceptualised?
Smitha: In my case, most of the notes were written at the time of
writing the poem. You know: a feeling, an emotion, a pain; I would just pour it
out through writing a poem and have this little note that helped clear my head.
So when the idea of the book came up and we wanted to do it differently from
the existing poetry books in the market i.e. make the poems more understandable
and accessible to the average reader who is generally averse to reading poetry;
we decided to add notes. I’m really happy it struck a chord with you. It means
we got it right. Thank you for letting us know.
Vandana: We actually deliberated over the
genre for about two months and then when we decided to go with poetry (which
was close to our hearts), we thought of doing it with a difference. We wanted
to present it to the reader in the form of an experience- the way we used to do
on our blogs. The basic idea was to let the reader experience and understand
the emotions that resulted in that particular piece of poetry. Categorising the
book into nine virtues around which our life revolves, was also an outcome of
that thought process.
If you feel that those little
snippets added to the beauty of the verses, then we are really glad to know
that their purpose has been served.
5.
If you had to choose one favourite poem from the
other’s in the book, what would it be? And why?
Smitha: It’s funny because one of my friends’ who read the book
asked me the same question and my initial answer was, ‘I like them all. Each holds
a different memory so each one is special.’ It’s like asking a parent to choose their
favourite kid, you know? Anyways, I slept over her question and the next day
morning I sent her a reply in which I had chosen 5 of my 30 poems. They were,
‘I buried what we had,’ ‘Hush Daddy! Don’t Fear,’ ‘Miss you when you’re gone,’
‘Courage to start from scratch,’ and ‘A Friend is Valiant.’ These are all poems
that were the result of very strong emotions and maybe that’s why they’re very
important to me. Answering her question has prepared me for yoursJ.
I like ‘Who Am I?’ and ‘ Let me Unwind,’ which I somehow always end up
calling the ‘Coffee poem’. It’s a feel good, warm poem.
Vandana: This reminds me of the question that my two boys often ask
me, “Mom, whom do you love more- me or my
brother?”
All the poems carry a very strong set of emotions with them. The opening
verse of the book that starts with, ‘On
the blank page of life’ and ends with, ‘But
I never fail to inscribe each day, as I never fail to breathe each day,’
describes my state while having to choose one J
‘Who am I’ is close to my heart
as I often find myself debilitating over my identity in an attempt to unravel
the mysteries of life as reflected in another favourite of mine ‘The conundrum of life.’ I also love the
conflict portrayed in ‘Writer vs. Woman’
as I struggle to balance my personal life with my passion for writing and then
reading a few lines of ‘Believe in
yourself’ instils life.
From Smitha’s collection, ‘Second
chance- when its’ worth your life’ and ‘Hush
Daddy-don’t fear’ are close to my heart.
6.
How has co-authoring been? What were the trials
and rewards?
Smitha: Co-authoring has been an amazing journey. I jumped headlong
into it when Vandana proposed it. But when the idea sank in, I wasn’t too sure,
if it would work. Fortunately, Vandana is a great partner to work with. I’m not sure if I would have been as easy with
anybody else. Having worked in and managed teams for 20 years, I know how
difficult it can be. And since writing a book is a creative process, it can be
a lot tougher. Also, I believed writers’ as most creative people could tend to
be a little cranky or even a tad bit egoistical. However, working with Vandana
eased all those niggling doubts I had, when I began. The rewards were ample. We
focused on our individual strengths which complemented the other. Vandana’s great at managing excel records and
she is extremely patient when it comes to fixing and re-fixing the document.
This is not one of my strong points. So she handled this very efficiently and
allowed me to sit back. On the other hand, when it came to the cover, she gave
me the freedom to alter the colours and the image sent to us, by the
Publishers. Also, being a first book, having another person on the same journey
helped. Because the truth is, it can get lonely along the way.
I think, she’s set the bar pretty high for anybody else to work with me.
At the end, I think our strengths worked for us and I hope the readers
feel the same when they read the book.
Vandana: Writing is generally a lonely road and its challenging to
attune to or trust other writer with your thoughts and ideas.
Co-authoring with Smitha has been an incredibly beautiful journey in
itself. Being a novice, I had never imagined to strike chords with someone in the
literary field, especially with someone whom I hadn’t even met personally. But
working with Smitha was like reliving my youth days. We were so different in
our habits and interests and yet perfectly compatible. We discussed for hours,
we laughed heartily, we interrupted each other to share our thoughts, we argued
to reach consensus and we patiently waited for each other’s availability (that
was very critical as we both have families!). We ensured that every word that
went into the book appealed to both of us, without thinking it was her poem or
mine (no matter how long the discussion went). It was ‘our’ book. The trust we had in each other gave us the confidence
and strengthened our bond. Of course we had concerns, but we always clarified
them in time. Since both of us had been from corporate world and that too same
industry (banking), we knew the importance of communication and this ensured
that there was no scope of misunderstanding. I’m grateful to God that our paths
crossed and paved the way to ‘Roads.’ I
proudly call her my ‘Writing Partner.’
7.
Do you have any tips for people wishing to
co-author books? What do you think is the one major requirement for this to be
successful?
Smitha: For all those who want to co-author a book, its’ really important
to know yourself first. Go for it only if you’re comfortable working in a team.
You have to be ready to listen sometimes and to let go at others. It can’t be
‘My way or no way!’ Secondly, choose your co-author well. In mine and Vandana’s
case, we had been following each other’s blogs for over 2 years and so we knew
what to expect from each other. Also, we respected each other’s individual
styles which you’ll see is not the same. Respecting and being flexible I think,
is a major requirement.
Vandana: Trust and patience are the two key elements of every
relationship. You have to trust that your interests are aligned and you must
have the patience to accept and respect other’s choices and ideas. Harping on
strengths of each other and ignoring the weaknesses can only foster the
relationship. Each person is unique and we should not try to find our mirror
image in our partner. You must respect other’s writing style and not construe
one as superior or other as inferior.
8.
Why ‘Roads?’
Smitha: We thought of 50 -60 names before ‘Roads’ came up. It was
always really ‘Roads,’ just in different words. But the meaning was the same – which
was to showcase life’s different hues. Every day we’d come up with 10 different
names and every night we’d sleep over it only to wake up to not liking any of
the names we previously thought of. Somewhere in between, we even said, ‘What’s
in a name?’ But, the answer is ‘There is a lot in a name.’ When ‘Roads’ came up
we decided to follow the same process of sleeping over it. First day, we woke
up and we still liked it. And when we liked it, on the second and third day, we
knew we had found our name. ‘Roads,’ metaphorically depicts our journey through
life while stating that one must keep moving on with courage, strength and
hope.
Vandana: This brought a smile to my face J
I can’t tell you the number of titles we deliberated upon. I have an excel
listing all the titles! Every day, we would come up with few names and Smitha
would speak it out loudly in her sweet accent. We would then try to connect and
feel the title. And next day, one of us would say, ‘You know what, I think this isn’t what we want. This doesn’t portray
our poems correctly. Let’s think more.’ Even our families got tired of our
title suggestions. We wanted a name that indicated the journey of life, the
challenges, its varied hues (I remember having stuck with ‘Hues of Life’ for
many days!) And this continued for many days until one day we came up with
‘Roads.” And when that stayed with us for few days, we knew that’s what we
wanted our book to be titled!
9.
What inspires poetry? And how is it different
from prose?
Smitha: Anything can inspire me to write poetry. It could be as
simple as my children arguing with each other, a change in the seasons, a
conversation with friends or a newspaper article. For me poetry writes itself.
But when it comes to prose, I would need to structure it, think about what it
is I want the reader to focus on. It’s a more deliberate process.
However, saying this, the truth is, I can’t write only poetry or only
prose. And therefore, I write both: poetry and prose, in my blog:
https://lifeateacher.wordpress.com
Vandana: For me, poetry is everywhere.
Every streak of light, every ounce of nature, every emotion, every experience,
and every breath of life inspires poetry. You just need to be in the frame of
mind and you can seek inspiration from the most mundane things. I have written
poems on uninteresting topics like lizard, shoes, closet, eagle, to nature
represented by ocean, hills, sky, to emotions evoked by love, to experiences to
woman, to relations and what not.
To address the second part of the question, poetry warrants expression in
few words. You should be able to express your feelings in carefully articulated
words that touch the reader in the manner you want. In prose, you have the
liberty to elucidate same thoughts in as many lines as you want. Rather the
reader expects you to elaborate your thought process.
I write both as I feel both demand and expand your creativity.
10.
Are we looking at any works on the cards from
you? Please tell us about your future projects.
Smitha: I would like to write Fiction maybe
in the future. Maybe a collection of short stories or just a novella. But
that’s going to take some time. For now, I’d like to get ‘Roads’ rolling
because I strongly believe it’s more than poetry and it has the power to make a
difference in people’s lives.
Vandana: Well, I was planning to work with Smitha on our next poetry
collection but she has some family commitments in the near future. So not sure
if we will be able materialize that as of now. So I haven’t clearly planned
anything. I might start working towards another inspirational book.
Roads: A Journey with verses is a collection of poems on various topics, published by Notion Press.
Blurb:
"Roads" is a poetic rendezvous that takes the reader on a panoramic journey, making one pause, ponder and celebrate life.
The book is a light, alluring read that instantly strikes a chord and elevates one's spirits. A trove of 60 poems, it is quilled with beads of nine virtues: Courage, Wisdom, Serenity, Love, Hope, Strength, Joy, Compassion and Gratitude. The verses encapsulate life's ebbs and flows while prompting the reader to enjoy its simple pleasures.
"Roads" is a book that you would want to keep on your bedside, for a quiet read before retiring for the night or for the morning wisdom to seize the day. With poems revolving around emotions that each of us experiences, "Roads" very easily develops a personal connect with the reader that is defiantly refreshing.
"Roads" is a journey with verses. Take it on yours.
It can be purchased in the following links.
For Paperback :
