Interviews & Stories

Interview: Writing Haiku, Haiga and Haibun with Salil Chaturvedi

We had the opportunity to chat with Salil Chaturvedi, author of love and longing in the anthropocene.

Salil Chaturvedi is the author of short fiction and poetry and dabbles in photography. His stories and poems have been published in various journals and anthologies. He loves creating haiku, haiga (a combination of a visual and a haiku) and haibun ( a short prose piece, combined with haiku), which have been published in international journals dedicated to the Japanese forms. His poetry collection, In the Sanctuary of a Poem was published in 2017 and is available on Amazon. In 2019 he was conferred the Hindi Seva Samman by the Hindi Academy, New Delhi, for his collection of Hindi poems, Ya Ra La Va Sha Sa Ha. He lives in Chorao, Goa.

Pothi.com: Tell us about your writing process.

Salil Chaturvedi: It’s quite a messy and reiterative process. Once the first draft of something is down on paper, I tend to look at it from many angles, trying out different ways of saying it, different voices and viewpoints, so that I frequently end up with quite a few versions of a piece, complicating my life. But when one finds such joy in working with words it is a welcome complication. I can happily spend a day fussing over a single word in a poem, or a punctuation mark! The way things sound plays an important role, too. For some poems, their shape on the page becomes exceedingly important. But there are enough of those times when things happen in a more spontaneous manner and any fiddling would only spoil things.

Pothi.com: How did you develop an interest in haiku, haiga and haibun? Please tell your readers about how these forms of Japanese poetry differ from each other and which one is your favorite?

Salil Chaturvedi: Let’s tackle the forms first:

A haiku is a short poem, usually juxtaposing two images to find a leap of meaning, and in English, about 10-12 syllables long.
A haibun is a short prose piece, written imagistically and usually in the present tense, with a haiku attached, though there are other variations to it. A haiga is an image, traditionally a monochrome ink painting, with a haiku attached to it in such a way that they expand each other’s meaning.

I had known about haiku for a long time, but my serious engagement with the form began after reading Basho’s classic The Narrow Road to the Deep North. It’s a book I return to regularly. I honed my skills through reading haikus of the masters, the various online journals dedicated to Japanese forms and books. There are plenty of educational resources online, especially on the Modern Haiku website, such as essays that explore various dimensions of the form, its historic development and other finer points. Since I like taking pictures, haiga, where a haiku is juxtaposed with an image, was a natural progression.

Amongst the three, haiku remains my favourite form.

What I like most about it is how it hones your attentiveness to the world. If poetry can be imagined as a net made out of words, I think of haiku as a finely meshed net that is ideal for capturing the littlest of mundane things. As Basho said, for haiku the interest is not duck soup, but vegetable broth. For me, the single most important aspect of the haiku is the kigo (the season word) which is a nod to the larger world in which all the happenings take place. In that sense, Ecopoetics runs in the DNA of haiku. I am reminded of the feminist scholar and philosopher Donna Haraway who says: The biotic and abiotic powers of the Earth are the main story.

Overall, I can sum up my encounter with haiku thus:

thunder
inside a curled leaf
a cocoon shifts

Pothi.com: You write in Hindi and English- how different is it writing in different languages?

Salil Chaturvedi: That’s an interesting question. One doesn’t make a conscious choice, of course. The poems seem to choose a language of their own accord. I guess my Hindi roots are still alive and their tentacles seek out some vernacular nutrition. On rare occasions, I translate a poem from one language to another, but otherwise, it’s an automatic process. The Hindi poems seem to say things that I can’t possibly say in English because the idioms are so different. Taking the first few lines of a poem, Kuch Hai—

Kuch hai hawa me is vakt—
Dopahar ke sapno ki svarna lahar

Gilahariyon ki chulbul cheekhein
Baadlon ke maylon ke dholak

I wouldn’t know how to say it in English and maintain the same cadence!

I do write haiku in Hindi as well, just so your readers know that that’s possible. In fact, there are a few of them in the Hindi book Ya Ra La Va Sha Sa Ha available at Pothi.com.

Pothi.com: Tell us about how you arrived at the fascinating title: love and longing in the anthropocene.

Salil Chaturvedi: It just popped into the head! There are three sections in the book, and ‘love and longing in the anthropocene’ is the first section which brings together the body, love, techno-science, nature, refugees, wars, runaway capitalism, disappearing species…in short, everything that marks the consumptive and polluting Anthropocene era. The work was born from a dream in which I wrote a short poem, the only time I have written a poem in a dream. It was an erotic/love poem. I woke up and wrote it down immediately, and for about six months after that, I kept writing these poems to an imagined lover where the body (and the earth as an extension of the body) takes a central place. So, yes, it was a fascinating and intense process in which I seemed to be taken along for the ride. Later, I realized that the title forms a nice acronym — LALITA, meaning, pleasant, playful.

Pothi.com: How do you put a book of poems together- what is the glue that holds your poems in a certain order? Is the ordering of your poems planned or organic?

Salil Chaturvedi: So, this is how it works—I will struggle with the sequencing and arrangement of the poems for weeks, trying out many combinations. I will see myself as a reader and read through the work noticing how a poem on a page reacts with another on the facing page. I will also pay attention to the way the tone of the book develops, what moods are evoked. I will play with all this. It’s a thrilling sort of game. The poems will keep shifting and changing places and then, one day, will come together. Then I am ready to publish. After publication, I will find that I might have wanted to do it slightly differently. So, it goes! That doesn’t mean that all the thinking has been a waste, just that there is always scope for improvement.

Pothi.com: Writers are usually apprehensive about publishing their poetry. Could you advise aspiring poets about which avenues they should consider for publishing their poems?

Salil Chaturvedi: I think the best way to go about it is to first send poems to journals that accept poetry. There are a plethora of online journals these days. The advantage is that you get some feedback on your work from editors and readers. While it is easier to publish through self-publication options, including with Pothi, I feel that many people rush to publish their work. I have had a few aspiring poets who have sent me manuscripts, and my advice generally has been to take a little longer to publish, allowing the work to gestate and mature. I’m just passing on the advice that I have received from seniors.

Pothi.com: Tell us about your experience self-publishing with us.

Salil Chaturvedi: The process is easy and smooth. The staff is ultra-professional and accessible. The author dashboard is a great feature that lets you track your sales and royalties. But, one drawback of self-publishing remains marketing. While some writers are good at it, most that I know, including myself, would rather write than promote their work. But, that’s a whole different conversation. Also, self-publishing means that mainstream publications do not review your work and you have to work harder at developing your market and finding readers.

Pothi.com: Your favorite poet.

Salil Chaturvedi: That’s an unfair question, but for now, I’ll say Arun Kolatkar.

Pothi.com:Your favorite beverage.

Salil Chaturvedi: Sikkim Temi Tea.

Pothi.com: Future projects you are excited about.

Salil Chaturvedi: Right now, I’m looking forward to bringing out a short story collection which is titled The Inexact Room. It should be ready by March-April, if all goes well. Apart from that, I have a vague idea for a collection of haibun.

Thanks for the informative session, Salil! Wish you all the best for your writing!

Interview: Conan Karchang Doley Writes About Love and Dreams in Delhi

We caught up with Conan Karchang Doley , the author of I Don’t Think Straight.

Conan Karchang Doley was born on November 14, 1992. He completed his graduation and post graduation from Delhi University. He lives in Majuli Island, Assam, where he was born. He spends his time reading, writing, and taking and bringing his seven-year-old younger brother to and from school.

Pothi.com: Tell us about what inspired you to write the book I Don’t Think Straight. You could tell us if you were inspired by campus life or if any book/movie set your pen rolling.

Conan Karchang Doley : The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger inspired me to write I Don’t Think Straight. I read it when I was sixteen and the experience was mind-blowing. I instantly wanted to write a book like that. The character Omo is somewhat like Holden Caulfield—I was very happy that I could include a chapter where Omo visits her favorite teacher in her apartment, just like Holden Caulfield does in The Catcher in the Rye. I love Holden Caulfield and I think I can understand him, just like the millions of individuals who have read The Catcher in the Rye—and as an adult I am still sad, in a way, that he never looked forward to growing up—and that’s one of the reasons I love him so much—so I changed that in I Don’t Think Straight. Towards the end of Omo’s narrative, she is not afraid to grow up. Her final words are: “I have no clue where my life is headed, what lies ahead is a vast unknown. All I know is that there is going to be some love and compassion in it.”

Pothi.com: Do you plan the story in advance or do you plot it out beforehand?

Conan Karchang Doley: So far I haven’t plotted it out beforehand. There is a theme, an idea to begin with, and then the rest happens as it happens. I Don’t Think Straight is my second novel so I consider myself pretty new to writing novels. I am not good at it, in my opinion.

Pothi.com: How much has the city Delhi influenced your story? Are there any passages in the book that talk about life in Delhi?

Conan Karchang Doley: Delhi has influenced the book a lot. One of the titles I had considered for I Don’t Think Straight was ‘A Pilgrim in the City’ and another was ‘Love and Loathing in New Delhi’. (I thank you for asking this question, it’s like a load has been released from my shoulders.) Yes, there are passages that talk about life in Delhi; one reader beautifully put it in her Amazon review, “The book isn’t just about the journey of two people, it’s a heartwarming read that will take you on the roads of Delhi, the metro and the protagonist’s world.”

Pothi.com: Tell us a little more about Omo and Domo.

Conan Karchang Doley: Omo and Domo are the two protagonists of I Don’t Think Straight. They are similar in that they are both attracted to people of the same sex. And different in that Omo comes out of her loneliness and frustrations at the end of her narrative, while Domo is pretty much stuck in a rut till the very end. His final words are: “I thought that I was happy but I had a keen sense that I was stuck in a rut.” This self-knowledge that “he is stuck in a rut” although hints that there is something taking place inside him. We all know the old adage ‘Know Thyself’ and Domo suddenly arrives there at the end of the novel.

Pothi.com: Your favorite books.

Conan Karchang Doley: I love everything written by—someone, who probaby does not want to be named. (I think he does not want to gain any kind of authority or become famous in any way so I would rather not name him. But his books are my favorite.) Apart from his books, there are the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa, Pow! by Mo Yan and recently I chanced upon a novel, In Custody by Anita Desai, at a friend’s place—some writings can make you breathe like a dragon, Mo Yan for example and Anita Desai’s writing can make you fall in love, be in love, become love itself.

Pothi.com: Your favorite beverage.

Conan Karchang Doley: Tea and Coffee both.

Pothi.com: What has your experience with Pothi.com been like?

Conan Karchang Doley: I came to Pothi.com because their website said, ‘Writing is Hard. Publishing Should be Easy.’ Something about it attracted me when I saw it the first time. Then I read about their service. I agreed with what they were doing and I especially loved that they were not providing any ISBN but were telling us how to obtain an ISBN for free. And flashforward to one year later: I self-published a novel with Pothi.com.

Self-publishing I Don’t Think Straight with Pothi.com was not so easy for me- the process was not a smooth ride for me, I was trying to get things done quickly and got too anxious when the process got stuck. But every problem was sorted out step-by-step by the Pothi.com Team, which I found very satisfying. I am happy about the way things worked out and I am currently self-publishing my new book with Pothi.com again. The Cover Designing is being done as I speak.

Pothi.com: Your advice to aspiring writers when it comes to writing, publishing and marketing the book.

Conan Karchang Doley: If you know that you have something important to discuss then discuss it through your writing. It could be anything.

If you have self-published a book and want it to sell a lot then you have got to market the book, because no one is doing the marketing for you. But if you are happy with five readers enjoying your book then don’t bother about marketing, and begin writing your next book because those five readers of yours are waiting for your next book.

Pothi.com: Your next project?

Conan Karchang Doley: My next project, (not the one whose cover is currently being designed—it is almost ready) is about an island where people know how to disappear. I began writing it as a homage to the The Invisible Man and the Harry Potter books.

Pothi.com: Thank you so much for talking to us, Conan 🙂 We wish you lots of luck for your future writing journey!

Interview: Sakshi Sharma- Fiction and Children’s Books Author

We caught up with Sakshi Sharma, the author of two books at the Pothi Store: Maya Wants to be a Baker and Kismat and Karma.

Sakshi Sharma is a finance professional with past experience in companies including Johnson & Johnson, Penguin Random House and Columbia University Press in New York City. She is passionate about writing and reading and has a 8k+ subscriber base across her media platforms (@mere_meer on Instagram). As a mother of a three-year-old, Sakshi was very keen to enter the children’s book space. Maya Wants to Be a Baker is her first children’s book.

Pothi.com: Tell about how you zeroed in on such a unique topic for your children’s book ‘Maya wants to be a baker’.

Sakshi Sharma: During the pandemic, my husband did a lot of baking and I saw my three-year-old daughter taking great interest in baking donuts and chocolate cakes with her father. She really enjoyed being his sous chef.
This inspired me to write a book to introduce young minds like my daughter to unique career paths. Through this book, I wanted kids to feel that they have the freedom to become what their heart so desires, even if it is something non-traditional like a baker.

Pothi.com: You’ve written an adult fiction called Kismat and Karma. Tell us about the transition from writing books for adults to writing for kids. Why did you make this transition?

Sakshi Sharma: My daughter, Meera, loves reading new books and I’ve always wanted to pen a book for kids. Though my overall passion is writing fiction and creating new stories centered around women, I was also very keen to pen a story with a little girl as the protagonist.

Pothi.com: Tell us a little about Kismat and Karma.

Sakshi Sharma: Kismat and Karma is a modern take on the Bhagavad Gita. It is about two women, Kismat and Karma, who attempt to answer an intriguing question: “Are we resigned to our fate, or can we change it through our noble actions?”

Kismat and Karma hail from opposite sides of India. They have varied, yet almost parallel experiences of immigrating abroad (New York/London), finding love (arranged and unrequited) and facing loss and trauma. Destiny brings them together in New Delhi.

Essentially, Kismat and Karma is a women’s take on Krishna and Arjuna, wherein one woman mentors the other, but both play an essential role in shaping each other’s life.

Pothi.com: You’ve spent a larger part of your work life in the corporate space. What made you migrate to writing?

Sakshi Sharma: I’ve always wanted to be writer. I studied finance and worked as an Analyst and Accountant for several years in New Jersey and New York City.

But writing is for the soul. Some of my poems have been published in Hindustan Times and I also wrote poetry for my University magazine.
Ms. Catherine Sameh, one of my University Professors at Rutgers New Brunswick, awarded me the only “A” in her Writing class. She confided that she typically did not award A’s but that I merited the grade with the final paper I submitted to her. I still have that essay with her notes and markings. That set the foundation for me to actually think I could be a writer someday.
In 2013, I started my own blog/website when I was still working in the corporate space in the States; penning short stories, poems, and humour pieces about love, marriage and motherhood. Today, I have two published books and I am working on a thriller next!

Pothi.com: What has your experience of writing and collaborating with an illustrator been like? As a writer, how do you best advise children’s writers to collaborate with illustrators?

Sakshi Sharma: My husband connected me to Supriya, who is an extremely talented illustrator. She created sample illustrations of Maya and her baking adventures. The pictures came out better than I could ever imagine.

Writers can connect with illustrators on platforms like Reedsy, Upwork and Pothi. Another great source is to directly connect with budding illustrators on Instagram. You can see their work and engage with them directly. Look under appropriate tags like #childrensbook and #illustratorsofinstagram etc.

I was able to find a wonderful illustrator for my fiction book Kismat and Karma. He was able to create the cover for my book exactly to the specifications I wanted. He created the silhouettes of two women, one in modern and the other in traditional attire; highlighting my two female protagonists. In addition, he hid the word ‘Krishna’ in Hindi in nine different places in the front cover. The number “nine” is quite symbolic in my novel as well as the significance of Krishna as my book pays homage to the Gita.

Overall, it is important to effectively communicate your expectations with your illustrator and understand the kind of output you will be getting for the price quoted by the illustrator.

Pothi.com: What is your advice to every aspiring writer who is hesitant to self-publish?

Traditional publishing is a dream avenue for many, but there are many roadblocks to it. For example, it can take months, or even years to get a solid response from a literary agent who can then pitch you to a leading publishing house. The turnaround is slow and you may lose out on the freshness of your story.

I would advise aspiring authors to develop their own brand by creating a blog/website/media page and posting engaging and quality content regularly to build an audience base. When their manuscript is ready, I would encourage them to hire a quality editor to refine their story. Once it is edited and ready for publishing, they can easily self-publish and market their book in their circle and social media handles. There are plenty of authors who have been picked up by traditional houses because of the success of their published work!

Many years ago, authors did not have such opportunities and they suppressed their dreams of becoming published authors. I would encourage every author to self-publish. The feeling of seeing my daughter reading my own book is priceless.

Pothi.com: What has your experience with Pothi.com been like?

Sakshi Sharma: The Pothi team have been instrumental in helping my fiction novel and children’s book become available for paperback printing in India. The Pothi website is extremely user-friendly and has easy-to-follow instructions. Whenever I had any queries and issues in uploading my files, the team responded quickly and addressed my concerns. They have a cool Cover Creator which helps any novice create/edit their own book cover. During this pandemic, I really wanted to launch Kismat and Karma and Maya Wants to Be a Baker for everyone to read and Pothi made that dream a reality for me. Highly recommend Pothi to all aspiring authors!

Pothi.com: Thanks so much Sakshi Sharma! We wish you luck on your publishing journey!

Catch us chatting with Sakshi Sharma on IG Live on Nov 25 at 4 pm IST! Our insta handle is pothidotcom.

Interview: Nick Ponter- Author of Fantasy

We got chatting with Nick Ponter last month and he had quite a few tips about writing to share with us. You can check out his book on the store here: Connor Jackson and the Memory Thieves | Pothi.com

Nick B. Ponter was born and brought up in Windsor, England. As soon as he finished school, he decided it was time to see the world and do different things. He first did an apprenticeship as a carpenter, did military service, spent six years as a diplomat in Bangladesh and Pakistan, became a business English trainer and is now an author.

Pothi.com: Tell us about your character Connor Jackson. You mentioned he was a civil servant- you have worked in the foreign service- how far has your experience helped you craft your character?

Nick Ponter: Connor Jackson is a quiet, unspectacular man who has a boring civil servant job. In reality, he is an analyst for a secret government department but nevertheless remains quite unexciting. My experience in foreign service gave me some ideas for the character but Connor is really quite fictional. There are elements of my character which come out in the story and Connor’s behavior.

Pothi.com: Describe your writing journey- from the time you won a prize till you started publishing your own books.

Nick Ponter: I never had the intention of writing a book and the feeling came to me about eight years ago. I won a school prize in English at school and always enjoyed writing articles and handwritten letters. However, I didn’t know there was an author lurking below the surface, something my teachers in school obviously recognized.

Pothi.com: Tell us about your writing routine.

Nick Ponter: I have a very busy, full-time job so I do not have a dedicated writing routine. I spend a lot of time daydreaming and note taking which at some stage moved to more detailed planning. The writing itself is normally completed in short bursts when I go away to places where I can relax and feel inspired. I actually write by hand which means I can put pen to paper wherever I am.

Pothi.com: Share a picture of your writing space for this book.

At sunrise from the author’s tent in Polle at the River Weser in 2016

Pothi.com: What essential advice should fantasy writers follow?

Nick Ponter: Allow yourself plenty of time and space to come up with your imaginative ideas. For me, the most important phase is just thinking and note-taking rather than the writing itself. The main element of a good book must be the story itself with the writing style remaining quite individual to the author.

Pothi.com: Your favorite books?

Nick Ponter: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Danny, the Champion of the World

Pothi.com: What do you do when you are not writing?

Nick Ponter: I am a business English trainer and spend most of my time teaching English in the corporate environment. Outside of work, I listen to heavy metal, go hiking, canoeing and riding my motorcycle.

Pothi.com: Tell us about your experience with publishing. What should aspiring authors remember when they want to share their book out there and market it?

I advise aspiring authors to be as active as possible on social media as it allows an international audience to become engaged. Do not be scared of approaching book reviewers.

Pothi.com: What book are you working on next?

Connor Jackson and the Quest for Azoth is the follow on story to Connor Jackson and the Memory Thieves. It is finished and currently being privately edited. I have also started note-taking for my third book and already have a good outline of the story.

Thank you for talking with us about your writing journey, Nick! We wish you all the best. If you want to see more of Nick, catch our Instagram Live session on Nov 3, 2021 at 4 PM IST/10.30 AM GMT.

Interview: Vivek Hattangadi- Author of Pharma Brand Management Books

It was World Pharmacist’s Day last week on September 25. We got an opportunity to speak with author Vivek Hattangadi, author of several pharma-brand management books at the Pothi.com Store.

You can reach Vivek Hattangadi at vivekhattangadi@theenablers.org for brand management consulting, and training.

Pothi.com: You have been invested in the pharma field for several decades. Tell us how you decided to start writing books.

Vivek Hattangadi: That’s a very interesting question.

I have been inspired by my students and mentees.

Often after brick and mortar Learning and Development sessions, I was loaded with questions on email from my students. Some were very tough questions and I had to run to the British Library and rummage through the books from my small library at home, before I could respond satisfactorily.

On one occasion, my student from Kathmandu, Arpana Dangol, said, “Sir, when you write, you make even the complex topics so lucid and simple. Today, there are no books specific to pharma brand management. Why don’t you write one?”

I thought over this, started writing and even completed one:WHAT THE PHARMA CEO WANTS FROM THE BRAND MANAGER.

But who would publish it? That’s when I started looking for a publisher and learnt about self-publishing. And then Pothi.com.

I really loved the name पोथी which in Sanskrit has a lovely connotation. Since then, I have been using Pothi as my platform for self-publishing.

Pothi.com: You have published several books on our platform. What do you like about self-publishing?

Vivek Hattangadi: Oh! There are several things which I like, but the most important thing about Pothi is the high level of professionalism, integrity and even punctuality during normal times. I don’t have to look outside for copyediting, proofreading or formatting. All done under one roof.

I don’t have to worry about the logistics part too and availability on e-commerce sites.

And most importantly, Pothi is very cooperative and helpful.

Pothi.com: That’s really heartening to hear. Tell us about your writing routine.

Vivek Hattangadi: I wake up at ब्रह्ममूहूर्तम (Brahma muhurtam) and commence writing at 4.00 am continue till 6.30 am. That’s the time I can fully focus – totally undisturbed. And that’s the most suitable time to think.

Then by 9.30 am, I am back to my usual work. As my guides, two books are always on my tableside: Roget’s Thesaurus and the Oxford Dictionary. I rarely use online dictionaries.

Pothi.com: What should a writer remember while writing a non-fiction book?

Always try to make the copy conversational and articulate as a story. When you do this, you engage your readers.

Have plenty of case studies. That helps the readers in retaining what they have read.

Use simple language which even a 10-year-old can understand. Using jargon is a sin. That alienates you from the reader.

Avoid writing in the third person or else, you create a deep chasm between you and the readers. Use the second person.

Pothi.com: What books have influenced you the most?

Vivek Hattangadi: Obvious Adams written way back in 1916 by Robert R Updegraff. The lessons in brand management are relevant even today.

Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilivy. To me it is like the Bible of advertising. Everything he has written is after thorough research. Anyone in advertising or brand management should internalize the lessons from this book.

The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert Bly. It is a guide to copywriting, especially for the greenhorn writers. This is a book for everyone who writes and wants to enhance their writing skills.

Pothi.com: Tell us about the Covid impact on the pharma industry and on your pursuit of writing.

Since pharma produces drugs, many which are life-saving and boost immunity against viral infections, this industry hasn’t been affected significantly.

An interesting phenomenon during the lockdown period: strong brands became stronger because of accessibility, small brands suffered a lot. That’s a big lesson for pharma – invest in building brands.

Covid turned out to be a boon for me. I had to stop travel – which on an average used to be a fortnight every month. And there’s one book I completed in record time – 51 LESSONS FROM VIVEK HATTANGADI: PHARMA BRANDING, SALES AND LEADERSHIP – within less than three months of the lockdown.

Pothi.com: What are you working on now?

Currently, I am working on my seventh book DOCTORS AS BRAND ADVOCATES: Make Your Brand the Darling of Doctors and Patients.

In this book, in 21 steps (chapters) I have elaborated on Philip Kotlers’ thoughts on Human-to-Human Mindset (H2H Mindset). This forms the basis of the patient-centric approach in pharma marketing. Patient-centricity in marketing, which is a natural outgrowth H2H Marketing principles, will be the new marketing model for the 21^st century.

Pothi.com: Our readers would love to hear you read an excerpt from one of your books.

Vivek Hattangadi: Sure! Here’s an audio clip from one of my books:

Pothi.com: Thanks so much for talking with us and sharing your delightful audio clip! Wish you all the best for your future projects!

Interview: Chandra Shekhar Balachandran

We got talking to Chandra Shekhar Balachandran, author of Geography, Everywhere!

Dr. Chandra Shekhar Balachandran is a geographer with over 35 years of teaching experience. In 2000, he returned to India and set up TIGS. He tells his students that he ‘eats, drinks, blinks, breathes … lives geography!’

How did you get interested in geography? What kind of books and people in the field interested you?

In 1971, when I was in the 8th standard at National High School, Bangalore, the Bangladesh war broke out. Our Social Studies teacher, Sri B Narasanna, held us spell-bound for the duration of the war explaining to us the geography and history of what was unfolding daily. We didn’t touch the textbook for all those days. The seeds of my interest in geography were sown then. However, I didn’t realize it until I started teaching geography as a doctoral student at Kent State University (Ohio) in the mid-1980s where I had come under the tutelage of my next geography guru, Dr Surinder Mohan Bhardwaj.

Before that, I don’t recall any books inspiring me to become a geographer. I did rethink many books from a geographer’s perspective and found new meanings and connections in them. In graduate school, of course, we had readings of geographers such as the legendary Dr. Yi-Fu Tuan, and others.

My own guru’s writings on pilgrimages and sacred geographies continue to be a huge influence both in my life and in my geography education work. My interests today are largely shaped by the latter.

Tell us about TIGS.

I started TIGS (The Institute of Geographical Studies) as a project in 2000 when I relocated to Bangalore, after having studied and taught in the USA for twenty years. When I returned I observed how dead school-level geography education is in most of the academic endeavors. Inspired and inspiring geography education was there, but very rare. Alas, it still is.

I wanted to share what my teachers (both Sri Narasanna and Dr. Bhardwaj) had taught me with pupils and teachers alike.

Under TIGS, I began offering workshops that showed how textbook concepts connect to our lives in many interesting ways.

Over time, TIGS has been offering a variety of other activities including field trips, lectures, documentary film screenings, non-formal geography education online (a course called G.o.D. – Geography over Distance), weekly geography essays published for several years in the Deccan Herald Student Edition, online readings, quizzes, assignment ideas, and our flagship annual event: International Geography Youth Summit (IGYS). IGYS is the only formal academic geography conference for school children (standards 7 and above) in India. It has become very popular with children because they get to explore geography by conducting a project on a topic of their choosing.

Why are you on a mission to educate children about this subject?

Every discipline we engage with comes with a set of ethics and human values. When school education goes from teaching subjects to teaching disciplines, children see the value of what they are learning, and how they should use their knowledge for making a difference for the better in the world around them. Far too often, school education is about getting high marks and becoming ‘successful’, not much about how to be a good citizen of the world at all scales ranging from the family to the world.

Every discipline can offer such frameworks. I just happen to talk about geography. It is not only interesting in and of itself, it is also a naturally integrating discipline. It helps us see how things are interconnected in this world. Recognizing and engaging with these interconnections make the discipline that much more powerful. This is called PDK (Powerful Disciplinary Knowledge). Geography’s PDK empowers children to be both critical thinkers and compassionate human beings.

There are many anecdotes and tidbits in the book Geography, Everywhere! Tell us about them.

Every waking moment, I keep reflecting on what might be teachable. Thanks to my gurus, my geography lens is always helping me see how beautifully geography connects with everything. So, no matter what happens, one track in my mind is always discerning the geography aspect of life. That is a joyous experience.

I just share that with anyone who is interested.

Tell us about your writing process.

Generally, I work better when I have deadlines! I look at the goings-on in the world and in my own life to see things that illustrate geography concepts. I use these to introduce my readers to geography concepts. Through these, definitions of the concepts are tied to real-world phenomena. Sometimes, they are not real-world! I have explored cyberplaces, fiction, dreams, mythologies, psychologies, and so on through geography.

Nothing escapes the geography treatment!

I have done a lot of slice-of-life kind of writing (mainly online). Several of these have appeared in an e-zine. Here, I have to put in a lot of effort to keep the geography discourse out! These are musings from my own life.

In all cases, it is merely observing, not much digging.

How is the approach toward geography different in the west?

‘The west’ is a very broad term. Generally, in Europe, for example, teachers have a great deal more agency to develop, design, and deliver curriculums. In the USA, there is considerable political meddling in the social sciences curriculum. The effects of this are far less on geography than the other social sciences. There is much more hands-on learning because class sizes are usually small.

You have talked about zoonotic diseases in one of the essays in your book. In pandemic times, what role do you see geography playing in the spread of COVID-19?

One of the subfields of geography is medical geography. It shows how place matters. Specifically, in the context of COVID-19, geography appears in many different ways. Starting with the place of origin of the various species and their interactions with their ecosystems, we look at where the species end up and how humans interact with them (e.g.wet markets). What are the characteristics of a place that facilitate zoonosis? For instance, poor hygiene, dense human populations, transportation connections (modes of transport, frequency, etc.), and so on. The characteristics of places matter a lot!

Check out some essays related to this crisis at the TIGS blog.

Tell us about your experience with Pothi.com.

I can’t remember how I came across Pothi.com It may have been through searching online about 1½ years or so ago, when I was compiling some of my essays into a book and was looking for possible publishing avenues. In the event, we ended up publishing it from TIGS in July 2019 at the International Geography Youth Summit-2019.

Subsequently, mainly due to COVID-19, we wanted to get an eBook version published with some corrections and updates to the print version. I returned to Pothi.com to see if they could do it.

They did it! And did it well. The sequence of production was very methodical. I had never published an eBook, so the learning curve was rather steep. However, team Pothi.com very patiently helped me through the process. And now there is an eBook version of Geography, Everywhere!

Future projects.

I’ve begun work on a book primarily for school children (class 7 and above) on how they eat and drink geography. Literally. I am hoping to have this out by end of 2021. I can’t say more at this time.

Seven of my online students are collaborating with me on a very interesting documentary that connects geography with the life and works of Karnataka sangītam composer of 18th-19th century. COVID-19 has really slowed us down, but we hope to have this completed as soon as possible when we are able to travel and work safely.

We are working to have an International Geography Youth Summit-2021 entirely online. TIGS’ students are helping with this also.

Finally, we are in the process of revamping our website to make it offer more interactive spaces for school children to explore geography in their own lives.

Thanks so much for talking to us about this unique subject and we wish you luck in your mission to spread the love of geography everywhere!

Interview: Deeksha Divya Padhmanabhan

We spoke to Deeksha Divya Padhmanabhan, author of the book Personification on Planets and Sun. She collaborated with her sister Praganya while creating the book.

Why did you choose to write about the solar system during this pandemic?

I am 9 years old and as schools are closed during the lockdown period, I was getting bored. I like reading and writing so I was writing something. I wrote a page on Sun using Personification and my mother liked it very much and suggested me to write more on other planets. So, I decided to write on all planets.

How long did it take you to write it?

It took me 10-12 days to write and my sister took another few days in doing illustrations.

Describe how you and your sister collaborated on this story.

My sister Praganya who is 7 years old, lives in Bangalore. I live in Goa. So, when I started writing this personification, I thought of making it as a book. All kids’ books are incomplete without illustrations. I asked my sister if she would be interested in doing illustrations as she is very good at drawing. She happily agreed. So, I use to send her my completed part and she use to draw based on my writing.

What was your experience using the Pothi.com platform like?

My mummy and my Mausi took charge once both of us completed our book. They heard about Pothi.com and based on their experience, I can say that it is super easy and effective.

Of the nine planets, which is your favorite, besides Earth?

Besides Earth, Mars is my favorite because scientists are exploring life on Mars. After seeing “Mission Mangal’ I got more interested in this planet. I have also read that Mars might have aliens.

Tell us about your next project.

I don’t know but I think if I write again a book, I would write one on Dinosaurs.

Thank you for telling us about your book adventure Deeksha. Wish you and Praganya luck in your future writing ventures!

Interview: Bridget White-Kumar

We spoke to Bridget White-Kumar about her food writing journey.

Bridget White-Kumar is a cookbook author and independent food consultant and trainer in Colonial Anglo-Indian Cuisine at Bangalore. She has authored eight recipe books on Anglo-Indian Cuisine and has put in a lot of effort to revive the old forgotten dishes of the Colonial British Raj Era. One of her books Anglo_indian Cusine – A Legacy of Flavours from the Past was selected as ‘Winner from India’ under the Best Culinary History Book by Gourmand International Spain, Gourmand World Cook Books Awards, 2012. She also conducts cooking training workshops for staff at large hospitality houses like J W Marriot, The Oberoi Mumbai, the Taj Connemara Chennai, etc,

Her repertoire covers a wide selection of colonial dishes sand she explains the history and evolution of Anglo-Indian Cuisine and how each dish got its special moniker. She is always ready to share information and talk about recipes and food. You can email her at bridgetkumar@yahoo.com and check out her websites- www.bridget-white-kumar.com and www.anglo-indianfood.com.

Your book Anglo-Indian Cuisine- A Legacy of Flavours from the Past won the best culinary history book prize by Gourmand International Spain, Gourmand World Cook Books Award in the India category. Tell us about that experience.

I was both surprised and delighted when my book won the Best Culinary History Book from India Award in the year 2012. This award is like the Oscars for Cook Book Writers and books from all over the world enter the competition. It was indeed an honor to win it under the Best Culinary History Book category based on my account of the history and evolution of Colonial Anglo-Indian Cuisine. The awards were presented at a gala function in the Louvre in Paris in February 2013.

Your area of interest lies primarily with Anglo-Indian cuisine-how did you go about collecting recipes for this specific cuisine?

I am from the Anglo-Indian Community and grew up with this cuisine. I was always interested in cooking and I had a lot of handwritten recipes and old printed recipe books that my mother and aunts gave me. These old recipes were just written offhand with no specific quantities for the ingredients, etc. Moreover, many of the old dishes that were cooked by the older generation were becoming extinct as the younger generation was not interested in cooking them. It, therefore, became my passion to record these recipes and preserve them for posterity. I have been bringing out my self-published recipe books since the year 2014.

Tell us about the colonial influences on Anglo-Indian cuisine.

Anglo-Indian cuisine evolved over many hundred years as a result of reinventing and reinterpreting the quintessentially western cuisine by assimilating and amalgamating ingredients and cooking techniques from all over the Indian subcontinent. Thus, a completely new contemporary cuisine that was truly ‘Anglo’ and ‘Indian’ in nature came into existence. This cuisine was neither too bland nor too spicy, but had a distinctive flavor of its own. It became a direct reflection of the multicultural and hybrid heritage of the new colonial population.

Every European invasion left behind their legacy in Anglo-Indian Cuisine. It can be rightly said that Anglo-Indian Cuisine was the first example of Fusion Food in India. Many of the dishes have a unique history behind their existence. There is a certain glamour about Anglo-Indian cuisine with its quaint names like Railway Lamb or Mutton Curry, The Dak Bungalow Curry, Grandma’s Country Captain Chicken, Colonel Standhurst’s Beef Curry, Veal Country Captain, Bengal Lancer’s Shrimp Curry, Pork Bhooni, Chicken/Meat Jalfrezie, Devil Pork Curry, etc. All these dishes were a direct throwback to the conditions prevailing at the time of the Raj!

Describe your book Vegetarian Delicacies.

The book Vegetarian Delicacies is an Anglicised Vegetarian Recipe Books. I have included different recipes for Vegetarian Starters, Soups, Curries, Salads and Bakes. There are no mainstream veg recipes that are normally found in Indian cookbooks.

How do you keep track of your recipes – do you keep tweaking them or do you follow a standard method?

I believe in maintaining the authenticity of every recipe and hence I never tweak or make changes just to suit others palates. My recipes are those that have stood the test of time and endured over generations.

What advice do you have for writers who want to write and sell cookbooks?

Writing a recipe book isn’t easy. A lot of hard work goes into it since one has to get the recipe right after many, many trials and errors. Once a recipe is written, it will be the guide to be followed by many. Only when one has mastered the dish, can a foolproof recipe be written.

You’ve also written a book called Kolar Gold Fields- Down Memory Lane. What inspired you to write a memoir?

The Kolar Gold Fields of today is very, very different from the KGF of my childhood. I wanted to preserve for posterity a period of history when I was growing up in KGF as a young Anglo-Indian child. That period was the golden period of history where we had the influences of the best of old Colonial India and the new emerging and evolving India.

Describe your experience with self-publishing.

I have self-published eight cookbooks and a book of memoirs on KGF. Self-publishing isn’t easy as it involves a lot of work and investment. However, it’s very rewarding as it gives one the freedom to write and be creative and there’s no fear of an editor cutting out anything from the manuscript. It’s very rewarding to see one’s efforts in print.

Your favorite dish?

COLONIAL PEPPER LAMB CHOPS

Here’s the recipe:

A Colonial Classic – Succulent tender Lamb Chops, marinated in a pepper – garlic sauce

Serves 6
Preparation Time approx 1 hour

Ingredients:

1kg either lamb or Mutton Chops
1teaspoon chopped ginger
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 large onions sliced fine
2 or 3 green chilies sliced lengthwise
3 tablespoons oil
3 or 4 teaspoons fresh ground pepper or pepper powder
Salt to taste

Marinate the Chops with the pepper powder, vinegar and salt for about 30 minutes. Heat oil in a large pan and sauté the onions and green chilies for a few minutes. Add the chopped ginger and garlic and fry for about 3 minutes. Now add the marinated chops and mix well. Add sufficient water and cook till the Chops are tender and soft and the gravy dries up. Garnish with onion rings.

Thank you Bridget! We wish you all the best with your culinary adventure….

Interview: Rajalakshmi Prithviraj

We spoke with Rajalakshmi Prithviraj, author of Silence Under The Blue Sky and Love Under the Blue Sky

Rajalakshmi Prithviraj is a military educationist and an air warrior by profession, a psychologist, psychotherapist, life coach and military strategist by qualification and a Veer Nari as well as a mother of two angelic kids in her personal life. She grew up in the Silver City of Odisha, Cuttack and considers herself to be an eternal child at heart

Tell us about the story behind your story Silence Under the Blue Sky.

Silence under the Blue Sky is a story that echoes the sentiments of every individual associated with a martyr. Silence represents the unspoken words of this clan and the Blue Sky symbolizes the Indian Air Force. Though the story revolves around one martyr’s family, it is a tribute to every wife whose husband dies while serving his first love – our motherland. It is a toast to the spirit of every child who is forced to grow wise beyond his or her years due to the sudden and eternal absence of a father. The story also attempts to serve as an inspiration to Veer Naaris (War Widows) that life does not end with a death in the family. It symbolizes a new beginning. It also attempts to bring out that love is eternal.

Silence Under The Blue Sky

Tell us a little bit about the book and the person who inspired its creation.

The book attempts to bring out every single detail associated with the trauma that the protagonist goes through. It’s about her pain, the way she deals with the news of her husband’s death. This is a true story, hence, every single element is true and all the characters are alive. Therefore, names have been changed to protect their identities. The person who inspired me to create this story is my husband, Late Squadron Leader V Manoj. To be honest, this is our story, narrated verbatim, exactly the way things happened on that ill-fated day of 30^th August 2012 in a nondescript place in India.

Has your background in psychology aided your writing and characterization ability?

Honestly speaking, I didn’t use my background in psychology to write this story. It is a chapter from my life book. So I narrated each and everything exactly as it happened. There was no exaggeration, no distortion. The only fictional element is the futuristic narration. However, as things are progressing in my life, I am sure, it will be a reality soon. Writing this story was my first step towards inner peace.

What is your take about the literature available in India about the Air Force?

The literature currently available all revolve around operations and autobiographies. Personal narratives are also available as parts of anthologies. However, the genre of military reality fiction, especially related to the Indian Air Force, is still limited.

When you narrate a real-life incident, what kind of caution do you take? What kind of advice do you have to share with writers who are struggling to write stories about their own lives?

While narrating a real-life incident, the most important thing is to protect the identity of characters who exist in real life. In my case, the story involves men and women in uniform and hence their true identities cannot be disclosed. However, the people I’ve mentioned are aware of which character represents them. My only advice to writers struggling to write about their lives is to write from your heart. The moment you start visualizing the incident, start writing about it first. The editing can happen later. When you write from your heart, your words have the power to touch the innermost corners of the reader’s soul. Also, it is important not to stick to one phase or one incident only, unless it is the very theme.

Every individual’s life is a unique story in itself. Hence, as a writer, it is important to identify which portion needs to be written about. One more thing, our life book has chapters that are happy, sad, bitter, memorable, embarrassing, painful and the like. It is important to choose portions that do not hurt anybody. We all may be negative characters in somebody’s life story, right?

Tell us about writing as therapy.

Writing is therapeutic for sure. In my case, it helped ease my pain. So I would definitely recommend writing as a tool to get over the trauma, deal with pain and attain inner peace. Words have a power of their own. While writing helps to pour out feeling, reading the same brings out a calming effect, like a catharsis. For me, writing my story has been the therapy I had been wanting to undergo. The loss of a loved one is painful for sure and when there is no scope to mourn in the initial stages, this bottled up pain can be really harmful for the psyche. In case anybody is unfortunate enough to undergo this kind of trauma, I would recommend writing for sure. Penning down feelings is like giving an outlet to pent up emotions.

Tell us about your experience with self-publishing.

I didn’t want to give away the ownership of my story to traditional publishers, not because of fear of rejection but more because the story is my life story and I didn’t want to give away its rights to anybody. Hence, I went the self-publishing way via Pothicom, a self-publishing platform in India, and it has been an amazing experience. Pothi.com has a simple dashboard and an uploading process that is a blessing in disguise for technically challenged people like me. Also, the team is really very friendly and responsive. The writer in me is really happy because self-publishing gave me the opportunity to share my story with the world without the hassle of losing my rights over it.

Your favorite fiction.

My favorite writers are Thomas Hardy, Harper Lee and Pearl S Buck. I have grown up reading To Kill A Mocking Bird, The Mayor of Casterbridge and The Townsman; these three are my all-time favorites. I love Mitch Albom’s writings and stories by Nicholas Sparks as well. Gone with the Wind is yet another story I love to read again and again. The stories that always bring out the child in me are those by Enid Blyton. I can spend hours reading the adventures of the Famous Five and Secret Seven or vanish into the Magical forest atop the Faraway tree or enjoy the ride of my life on the Wishing Chair.

Your future projects.

My future projects include writing more stories in the Under the Blue Sky series that would bring out different facets of the life of air warriors. Again, all reality fictions for sure. I am also penning poetry, especially couplets. So those are in the pipeline as well. I am also working on two non-fiction writing projects at the moment. So right now, the writer in me is busy juggling time with the professional and the mother in me.

Thank you Rajalakshmi, it was such a pleasure talking to you! Look forward to your future work!

Interview: Surjit Singh

We spoke to Surjit Singh, author of Edwina: An Unsung Bollywood Dancer of the Golden Era, The Illustrated History of Punjabi Cinema (1935-1985) and Indurani: An Unsung But Unforgettable Heroine Of The Early Talkies.

My photo

Professor Surjit Singh is a retired Theoretical Physicist. He has been watching movies since 1952, collecting Hindi songs, movies and magazines since 1969, and has been writing about these topics since 1996. Check out his website for more.

Tell us about your writing journey.

Even though I chose Physics-Mathematics-Chemistry in the ninth grade, I always enjoyed reading and writing essays. I learnt how great essays were organized into paragraphs and how the ideas flowed naturally and logically. I used what I leaned when I was publishing Physics papers (I have almost 90). While I was at the Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, I jumped at the chance to be co-author of two Physics books. I always planned to write lots of books. I am glad that I am able to publish them using Pothi (India) and Amazon (USA).

You are a theoretical physicist. Why did you choose to write about Bollywood’s forgotten faces?

I started watching films when I was in the seventh grade, bunking school. Liked stunt films and was fascinated by the details of film production. Just as in Physics, one looks at stuff happening behind the scenes (at atomic/molecular level) to understand laboratory phenomena, I was inclined to look into details and I did not fail to notice the same minor and character artists appearing in Hindi films again and again. I started to collect music, films, books, magazines, articles and other film-related stuff about these people in the late sixties. Naturally, I started writing about them.

How did you compile Punjabi cinema’s history? While writing about movies, you must spend a lot of time watching them. Do you take notes for every movie you watch?

I really cannot take much credit for that. This was Bhim Raj Garg’s baby for almost 30 years, during which time he had been collecting data. I kept pestering him to publish it and, finally, I helped him to do so on Amazon and Pothi. For my work on Hindi films, of course, I take detailed notes. I write down the names of actors not mentioned in the credits, the ones on whom the songs are picturized, any interesting connections with other Hindi/Panjabi/Hollywood films, interesting bit of dialog, something special about the setting, scenery, historical place, about Sandhu Transport trucks, cars, just about anything I may need for my books.

How do you do research to write a book with a Bollywood theme?

As I said I have been collecting source material for almost 50 years now. This includes books and magazines published on Hindi cinema since the 30s! I have a huge collection of songs and films, again going back to the early talkies. Also, in many cases I have been lucky to be able to interview the actual people (Edwina Voilette for the book on her) or their relatives (Salim Shah for the book on his mother Indurani).

Tell us about your experience with self-publishing.

It has been wonderful! My other two books on Physics were published in the traditional manner. The publishers did publicize and lots of copies were sold, but I was not happy that the royalty was such a small percentage. For my current books, I was thinking of having copies printed and then selling them from home, as many of my friends had been doing. Then I saw one of my Facebook friends (Aditya Pant) publish his poetry book on Pothi. I asked around if you guys were any good, my friend Pavan Jha (of Jaipur) said that Pothi guys are good. So, here we are 🙂

Your favorite movie? Are you fond of contemporary movies as well?

I am a huge fan of 30s-40s films, in particular I like any film starring Saigal or Noor Jehan. Saigal’s Tansen (1943) and Noor Jehan’s Jugnu (1947) I have watched many times. I also like Madhubala and Dilip Kumar. I do watch current films, may be one or two a year. Story-wise and musically they are so much influenced by Hollywood that, in my thinking, one might as well watch the original Hollywood films on which they are mostly based.

Your favorite Bollywood book (if any) or book in general?

My favorite Bollywood book is the world-famous compilation of detailed information on Hindi Films and their songs, the six-volume Hindi Film Geet Kosh by Har Mandir Singh ‘Hamraaz’. I am an avid reader and have many hundreds of books, some of which I bought in the seventies. List of my favorite authors and their books would be very long, for now let me just name Shakespeare, Kalidas, Wodehouse, Wilde, Christie, Ghalib, Nanak Singh, Devaki Nandan Khatri, Acharya Chatursen, Ibne Safi, Manto, Asimov, Gardner, Koestler. For most of them, I have most of what they have published. As you may guess, if I like something, I would rather read it again than reading something new 🙂

Any advice you wish to give potential authors who wish to market their books?

Announce it on social media, tell friends and relatives, prepare a press release and email to relevant newspapers and websites.

What are you working on right now?

I am usually working on 2-3 books at the same time. I will soon be publishing a book on Hindi film extras or junior artistes. More books on character artists and background dancers are in the planning stage. Another big project I am working on is to put all the information in the Hindi Film Geet Kosh in the form of a searchable database on the internet.