We spoke to the poet Nitheesh Reddy Gaddam.
Nitheesh Reddy Gaddam was born in Mamidipally, Telangana. He currently works as a software engineer in Atlanta, USA. He is popularly known as niteesh_writings on Instagram. His writing style is unique, particularly due to his original technique of writing on pieces of torn paper. His first book Two Hearts & Two Bodies Part 1 was released on June 25th, 2018 in USA and Jan 15th, 2019 in India. More about the poet here.
Tell us about your writing process.
My writing process is simple. I always carry a pen and paper. Every time I feel sad or happy, I put my feelings on a piece of paper and I attach all those papers on my wall.
When you started posting your poems on Instagram, did you expect such a positive response?
Since my childhood I have loved storytelling, I always like taking people to another world with my stories. It was in March 2017 that I first posted my writing on Instagram. I didn’t post it to get likes or to impress people. I posted it only to know how to use Instagram. I posted a few of my writings for a few days. My friends and the people around me laughed at my writing but I didn’t care because people are only there to make fun. In November 2017, I wrote a small story Love, Lust and Pain in four parts and that is when people started appreciating my writing. I got many messages from people from India, Nepal and Pakistan. After a few months, students from NIFT Kannur asked me to write an article about sexual harassment of women in their college. After I wrote the article, people started respecting my writing. A few days later, I wrote a small story about how Indian parents sacrificed their dreams and goals so that their children could have better lives. That is when people started loving my writing and started respecting me. But there are a few people who always make fun of my grammar. I don’t give up because poetry and stories are not only about great grammar. They are also about feelings, emotions, happiness, sadness, love, pain, life, tears.
I turned
my tears into letters,
my pain into words,
and my love into poetry.
Why do you write on torn bits of paper?
My heart is broken into millions of pieces and I’m fixing it by writing on each torn bit of paper. It was in June 2017. I was at a coffee shop. After I drank the coffee I held the coffee cup in my hand for a few minutes. I wrote a poem on it and posted it on Instagram. I felt it was something different and unique. I started going to the coffee shop everyday not for coffee but for the coffee cup. I used to tear the coffee cup into pieces and write on them. It is always better to put your words on a piece of paper than typing it on smartphones or laptops.
You write a lot about broken relationships and dealing with depression. Tell us more about why these topics appeal to you.
I always write about what’s been happening in my life. Human emotions should be real, not fiction. I write about relationships because I don’t want people to make the same mistakes that I had in my life. Because of my stupidity and immaturity, I lost many people in my life. I never had anyone to tell me what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong. Life teaches me everything and I’m still learning. I sometimes write about depression because most educated people think sadness is nothing but depression. But people should understand the difference between depression and sadness. If you want something and you don’t get it you feel sad for a few days and that is called sadness but depression is a disorder that can kill people sometimes.
What do you do when you are not writing poetry?
I play cricket, spend time with my dog, watch movies or travel.
Who is your favorite poet or writer?
Veturi Sundararama Murthy gaaru and Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry gaaru.
Tell us about your next project.
I am working on finishing the script for my upcoming film. I also started writing a fiction novel titled Go Alia Go about the soccer player Alia.
Was great talking to you, Niteesh!