Interview with Dr . Sunil Kaushal about her book Gypsy Wanderings and Random Reflections Part -1

FIVE QUESTIONS
In this column  , I plan to ask  FIVE QUESTIONS to  a writer about  her \ his latest book .
The purpose is twofold.  Get an insight into an author's new book and secondly , help the novices to get an idea about the agony and the ecstasy of writing , the challenges ,the highs and lows and l

Dr. Sunil Kaushal At the Pune Launch of her book 

earn from the experiences of the writers interviewed .

Dr. Sunil Kaushal at the Kolkata Launch of her book 

  

Today , we have  Dr. Sunil Kaushal  talk about her debut book ,
 Gypsy Wanderings and Random Reflections , Part 1 . I am sure these answers are going to help not just other writers , but the diffident people who are hugging a story close to their hearts , and agonising  and burdening their hearts with untold stories .

 As Kamalini Natesan so righty puts it in the very first interview that I conducted here ,in this column [September 2019]   'there is a place for every kind of writer-voice under the sun- so never compare. Find your voice, and hone its timbre, polish its cadence. ' 

As Maya Angelou so eloquently said , 'There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you ." So , get those stories out - the bits and pieces that are lurking in small crevices of the heart and mind and  the chunks which need to come out in a gushing cascade . Persistence pays . Don't let that story suffocate inside you . As Louis L' Amour puts it ,"Start writing , no matter what . The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on." So, turn that creative faucet on , and who knows a masterpiece may gush forth ?

 I have been conducting  creative writing workshops off and on and mentoring youngsters  for a pretty long time . During this interaction, I have come across two types of students . First , the over confident , smug ones , who want to finish writing a novel in a month or two , and don't need any validation , advice or creative outputs from anyone .
  Second the diffident ones , who have the creative spark in them , but prefer to keep it well- hidden.  I feel that these conversations will help some of those bashful ones, and also the over- confident ones .
 Maya Angelou  also said, 'we need to remember that we are all created creative and can invent new scenarios  as frequently as they are needed . " So, those of us who want to do it - THEY DEFINITELY CAN !

Come on, let us get to know Dr. Sunil Kaushal better. 

 She is  a retired gynecologist turned trilingual writer- poet , awarded and acclaimed for her  writings . Her debut book , Gypsy Wanderings and Random Reflections Part 1 ,was recently published by Literoma , which also conferred the Women Achiever's Award on her. 

 It is a delight to have you with us . Dr. Sunil Kaushal , hope you will enjoy answering these five questions .
Let me tell you , I  enjoyed your book immensely . Hearty Congratulations ! It is not just  beautifully conceptualised and  written , but also appears in an exquisite get-up . Kudos to the publisher, Literoma ! 

Dr. Sunil Kaushal : Santosh Bakaya, it is such an honor for me to be interviewed by someone of your stature. Thank you so much for letting me share some more facets of my identity, my life and my writings.

 Q1 My stature ? Well ?  As I keep saying , I am five feet nothing - not much of a stature that - ha ha .
Well , let me tell you,  that while reading your book, I felt that you are a person passionately in love with life; a nomadic soul always on the lookout for a new adventure. Tell us the source of this passion.

Dr Sunil Kaushal : Gypsy Wanderings And  Random Reflections gives you a glimpse of the life I have led from childhood. You have rightly said that I have a passionate love for life. Partly, this must be a genetic code passed on from my parents, who by their own life style taught us to hold all forms of life in reverence, be it animate or inanimate.  I was fortunate to have lived cocooned in filial and sibling love which taught me to value family values and relationships , above all else. Also having lived in hostels for many years, I learnt to value home as the anchor in life.

To be able to nurture lifelong relations, one has to invest heavily in maintaining them. This not only led to pouring myself wholeheartedly into all forms of relations, but lent depth to my life in countless beautiful and sometimes difficult ways. The emotional quotient in my persona became high as I placed great value on friendships, family and generally connecting to others. I can strike up a conversation with almost anybody on my frequent travels, be it a fellow traveler, a steward, a pilot or porter!
 I find it interesting to hear different viewpoints from different strata of people.

Santosh : Well, that is exactly  what I have been  known to do ! I can stop any person and start talking to him or her . I have struck lifelong friendships with folks I have met while  travelling .  It is indeed an exhilarating experience , is it not ?

Dr. Sunil Kaushal : It definitely is, Santosh  !
 My father, an army officer trained under the British had fine taste in everything. My mother, although unschooled, taught herself the nuances of the strictly protocol bound army life, encouraged by him. Some of the refinement rubbed off on me also, but my inner core was always straining at the leash to break loose of conventional bindings. My schooling was also an adventurous journey, shifting from one station to the other, every two years or so. I have studied in some of India’s best schools and at times when my father was posted in cities where there were only Punjabi or Hindi medium schools (in those days these schools were of a very low standard),  I studied there also for short spells. It added richness to my perspective of a section of society different from what I was used to.
The army gave us an opportunity to live with people from all states, religions and backgrounds. It taught us to appreciate different cultures, foods, songs and dances. All festivals were celebrated jointly with the same fervor by all communities. The gypsy spirit was further nurtured as I kept flitting from one town to the other, celebrating a different culture and lifestyle at every bend of the road. This nomadic life was my launching pad for a multicolored life later on. All in all, everything about my life prepared me for greater adventures that I undertook as an adult and keep undertaking up to this age even, but more about that in Gypsy Wanderings Part II.

Q 2 I have already started looking forward to Gypsy Wanderings Part 2, I found the first part so riveting. The book spins around your parents, your siblings, and your sojourns in different parts of the country, and above all, it is the story of a plucky mother, who, in empowering herself empowered her children, and the world around her. Please throw some more light on it.

Dr. Sunil Kaushal : Santosh, My mother was the axis around which our family life revolved. Although she could not go to school and was married at a very young age, she picked up the reins in my grandfather’s house as a child bride of twelve, under the eagle eye of a step mother- in- law. It was probably these adverse circumstances that forced her to draw upon her inner strengths and resilience. Having grown up as the pampered, youngest child out of ten siblings, in a prosperous family, she was ill -equipped for a life of hardships but she rose above all difficulties and with unsurpassed courage and wisdom for her young age, proved to be the wind beneath my father’s sails.
For some time, she took English classes and picked up a smattering, enough to manage her way in banks, government offices or courts and for travelling all over India and abroad alone or with us children. When her father (my Naana ji) died while he lived with us in Dehra -Dun, she cremated him herself without waiting for her brothers to come from Punjab; something unheard of during the ‘50’s but her stand was, If he wanted to live with his daughter and died in her arms, it is her duty to perform his last rites also. She would say- social mores are made by us according to our convenience.

Santosh : Your mother was indeed an exemplary lady.   I salute her ! 

Dr Sunil Kaushal : That she indeed  was , be it her love for construction, buying and selling land in various cities of India, trading in the famous Doon Basmati rice or renting out the orchards at Clement Town, she was always on the go. Along with all these activities outside her home domain, she was an excellent and accomplished householder. One of the best at Punjabi cooking, she had also picked up some western dishes, especially desserts from the army ‘khansamas’. She was happiest when feeding her family or had guests visiting and felt pride in a laden dining table. Adept at stitching, embroidery and knitting, she has left behind quite a treasure of such handcrafted things which we still use. She was the first member of our family to travel alone to Germany in the early ‘70’s when even literates felt awed by the prospect of going abroad.
My younger brother, Kaka, by then a young man, was a leading fashion designer in Dusseldorf, Germany at that time. She saw the clothes that were in vogue in the European and British fashion world and came back to India all fired with plans to start an export company, sending garments to my brother.

Along with my father, her journey as a manufacturer and exporter who went on to win the President’s Export Promotion Council Award for many years makes for an inspiring story, which forms a part of Gypsy Wanderings , Part II.

But what was her most endearing trait was the love she showered on her family and friends, laced with ready wit and a great sense of humour. With a mother like that, at a very early age, we learnt to be independent. My father and she brought up me and my sister (Didi) on the same lines as our brothers. In fact, our family has never understood all this brouhaha over having sons and not daughters. Even our names were male names for my father was quite a crusader in matters regarding gender equality. Growing up like our brothers we never questioned or doubted our abilities to step out into the world and accomplish whatever we set out to do.

Q 3 What you say about the liberal values inculcated by your parents in the family is indeed very edifying. Hats off to such inspiring parents. Come to think of it, in our family too, we never experienced gender discrimination. In fact, like your family, my family also ‘never understood all this brouhaha over having sons and not daughters’. Hats off to your mother who comes across as a woman full of spunk and tenacity .I am sure you have inherited the positives from her.     
Tell me, did the idea of writing your memoirs strike you one fine morning, or had it been brewing in your mind for quite some time?

Dr. Sunil Kaushal :  Initially, I started by relating these stories to my children and then further, my grandchildren. Since I am the only surviving member of my parental family, my daughter Vidisha, thought it a good idea for me to write them down as there would be no one to relate these stories to the gen-next after I pass on. I also thought of posting them on FB by sharing these stories written on my blog.  

Santosh: Yes, I remember reading them on your blog and being mighty impressed, and immediately thinking that they could make a very intriguing book .

Dr. Sunil Kaushal:  Yes, since they were quite well received by friends and readers, who kept asking and encouraging me to compile them into a book - you being the energy that impelled me on the most….ha ha …. This book actually became a labour of love jointly with my family, friends and readers who read each episode on FB and appreciated it. I take this opportunity to thank each person who contributed to this book in different ways.

Q 4 Kudos to your daughter, Vidisha, for  coercing you into writing your memoirs. I have noticed that you write poetry and prose with equal elegance, and at times, choose  off- beat topics to write on.  Tell us about the first piece that you wrote.

Dr. Sunil Kaushal : When a writer of your eminence uses the word elegance for my writings, I am immediately catapulted to cloud nine. Thank you for this huge compliment, but I better climb down from that cloud with humility….Ha ha! Writing about off- beat topics and marginalized sections of society probably stems from an early sense of compassion for the underdog.

When I was a hosteller around age seven, we had three orphan girls studying and growing up with us in the hostel. They were subjected to a rather harsh life, not given the same food as us, wore our castaway clothes and on weekends had to do menial work. This always hurt my child’s tender heart and I would often share my tuck with them or hide some tasty morsels of food for them.
Santosh : Ah , that was so compassionate  of you!  All this is reflected in your sensitive writings , I know. 

Dr. Sunil Kaushal  : Well .....I have written poems about widows of Varanasi, transgenders, Alzheimer’s, rape victims, gender violence, extra-marital relations, wanton women, infertile women, drug addicts and alcoholics, adoption,  terrorists. These sections are considered the scum of society although they are the victims of society’s prejudices and corrupt perspectives. As a doctor, I learnt to empathize with anyone who suffers, be it a victim or perpetrator. For me, they were both sufferers, for none is born a criminal.
Santosh : Yes , I agree ....

 Dr. Sunil Kaushal : Like an emotional sponge I soaked up the pain of those around me, till my heart and head could hold no more and it would come pouring out some day, straight from the heart in simple language. As a medico,  I could not study English Literature or the techniques of poetry writing, nor did I get much time to pursue my love for reading for almost thirty years when professional and domestic duties kept me away from my first love, reading and writing. I had written my first poem in college. As a teenager, it was a simple short poem questioning the whole concept of love in all its forms, since it invariably changes or dies out. I would write off and on but did not let anyone set eyes on it. But around age thirty-five, I started writing again in between seeing patients, for the empathy factor was soaring high by then.

Often I would walk out of my labour room or operation theatre and pen the story of the patient I had just attended to. Every patient and her family members were stories for me. The first poem that emerged sitting on my out- patient desk was, “A Brave New World,  “ many years later which was published by Kaafiya and awarded by On Fire Cultural Movement. It is a poem for every woman who walked into my clinic as a helpless victim of patriarchy, domestic violence, and caste or colour discrimination, besides a huge mountain of other atrocities heaped on her. My office became my temple where I taught my patients to be strong and to love themselves before others, besides looking after their physical ailments.
Most of my patients treated me as a family member. With Sufi or spiritual music playing in my office and in the operation theatre, I created an ambience of peace and positivity which helped immensely in the healing process and also in delivering babies normally instead of uncalled for caesarean sections. I wove a tapestry of my professional life interwoven with my need to walk those few steps or even the extra mile to reach hearts.

Q 5 You come across as a very warm- hearted and compassionate person , and the feeling of positivity and good cheer seems to ooze from your very persona .  Tell us something more about your future projects. 

Dr . Sunil Kaushal : Having published my first book , I have learned that I have to tell my stories fast. My books should follow one after the other for me to stay in the reader’s memory. Gypsy Wanderings took longer because I was unfamiliar with the technicalities of the cyber world as well as the intricacies involved in publishing. Also I was not too motivated.
 Now that you have planted the seed in my head, the blossoms and fruit should come forth. I have had to learn everything from scratch, from switching on a computer to writing and editing my book…ha ha! I am now working on multiple books at the same time. My book of short stories along with some poetry is on the anvil now. Another one based on true stories from my clinic is my next baby. At the same time the Gypsy is going to wander to and fro between her present life to some more times of childhood and adolescence and perhaps early adult life in Gypsy Wanderings Part II. The most difficult project , but dear to my heart is the English translation from the German book of my late brother, P.S.Gill.

 I am so grateful to you dear Santosh Bakaya for helping me not only to publish this book,  but for having written a wonderful introduction to it and giving me this platform to speak about myself. It is a great privilege to be interviewed by you. Thanks once again. My best wishes.

Santosh :  It was indeed a pleasure having you with us . All the best for your future endeavours .Looking forward to  more and more books from you !