Interview with Smeetha Bhoumik: Interview No. 3
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, the challenges ,the highs and lows , the hazards involved in writing . l 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. '
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 !
In her interaction with me in this very column , [November 2019] while talking about her Memoirs , 'Gypsy Wanderings and Random Reflections ' , Dr . Sunil Kaushal had so poignantly put it ," 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." So , we see that writing can be cathartic, therapeutic and it can also also give writers a spiritual high .
Come , let us hear what the extremely versatile Smeetha Bhoumik has to say about writing in general and her writing career in particular .
Smeetha: I had been struck by the writing bug ever since primary school when I translated arithmetic problems into linguistic counterparts, the 'equal to' sign playing arbitrator.All those cows and mangoes and workmen and hours were described in detail with scant regard for the magic number on the right side.
My rocket-scientist engineering professor Dad wasn't amused and notebooks flew across the room while eyes tried not to blink first. This continued on a long arduous trek through high math-science terrain (yeah IIT, IIM) without an iota of inclination but a desire to please and be accepted on campus, by all! Ooh! What a ride, but coming full circle (life always does) to language, colours and expression over rocky precipices is a fabulous feeling. It is home. Poetry it is for me. Prose, only if it is related to poetry.
Smeetha: This is an intriguing question! Yes, the wordsmiths of the world, are many a time swordsmiths too, and they can really strike at the roots of evil negatives. I believe that. The ideas and outpourings of poets & writers have shaped the world and made it a better place over the centuries.
Santosh Q 5 : So , let us hope that we use our pens as swords and lash out at the very roots of insanity that are creeping into this dismally skewed world .Tell us something about your future projects.
Smeetha: Interesting ideas brewing, too early to vocalise, but they do hold promise...on adventurous literary trails....
Thank you for this honour Santosh di. It's been wonderful talking to you, opening up about things I've never shared before.
Santosh: I am sure, we are soon going to see all those ideas that have been brewing in your active mind, taking the shape of books, books and more books.
Here is to those exquisite shapes -those , lissome , sleek , gorgeous beauties .Books !
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, the challenges ,the highs and lows , the hazards involved in writing . l 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. '
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 !
In her interaction with me in this very column , [November 2019] while talking about her Memoirs , 'Gypsy Wanderings and Random Reflections ' , Dr . Sunil Kaushal had so poignantly put it ," 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." So , we see that writing can be cathartic, therapeutic and it can also also give writers a spiritual high .
Today we have Smeetha Bhoumik with us .Smeetha is a poet and an
artist, and Founder of Women Empowered-India (WE). She is Chief Editor of
'EquiVerse Space - A Sound Home in Words', the inaugural creative writing
anthology from WE, edited by Kala Ramesh (haiku), Abha Iyengar ( short
fiction), Taseer Gujral (poetry), Mohammad Farhan (review). WE has poetry at
its heart and is a forum for equality, addressing the inherent sense of
empowerment and justice in every person.
Smeetha's poetry features in
national and international anthologies & publications, and her art,
mainly the 'Universe Series' has been shown in exhibitions around the world. She
endorses equality, liberty & creativity for all. The first of the WE Poetry
Series ‘REVERIE – Into the Light’ by Neha Mishra Jha, has entered into the CLMP
Firecracker Awards 2020
Come , let us hear what the extremely versatile Smeetha Bhoumik has to say about writing in general and her writing career in particular .
Santosh:
Q 1 Tell
us something about Smeetha Bhoumik - her fads, foibles, peeves, idiosyncrasies,
whimsicalities, whatever!
Her nicknames – and the nicknames that stuck ….
Smeetha Bhoumik (Smee to friends) carries hues of a nuanced fuchsia-grey reality and multicoloured fantasy intertwined in her being, the latter gaining a definite gleeful edge over solid certain constructs! Ever since she plunged head-long into poetry & art, she's been set on uncovering the layers, it's now her fad, her foible being a strange disinclination to fully conform, and her pet peeve is 'Why not this way?'
Finicky about lyrics, she insists on old songs, hot tea and a certain glimmer that only sunlight falling on tender green leaves can bring. She is in the service of cats.
Her nicknames – and the nicknames that stuck ….
Smeetha Bhoumik (Smee to friends) carries hues of a nuanced fuchsia-grey reality and multicoloured fantasy intertwined in her being, the latter gaining a definite gleeful edge over solid certain constructs! Ever since she plunged head-long into poetry & art, she's been set on uncovering the layers, it's now her fad, her foible being a strange disinclination to fully conform, and her pet peeve is 'Why not this way?'
Finicky about lyrics, she insists on old songs, hot tea and a certain glimmer that only sunlight falling on tender green leaves can bring. She is in the service of cats.
Santosh: Q 2
Oh Cats! I really love cats, and you know, cats figure in many of my short stories.
In one of my stories, there is even a ghost cat, and I have penned many poems
on cats and am immensely fond of T. S Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.
Oh, let me stop raving about cats and let us get back to brass tacks. Tell me, when did the writing bug strike you? Are you more
comfortable writing poetry or prose?
Smeetha: I had been struck by the writing bug ever since primary school when I translated arithmetic problems into linguistic counterparts, the 'equal to' sign playing arbitrator.All those cows and mangoes and workmen and hours were described in detail with scant regard for the magic number on the right side.
My rocket-scientist engineering professor Dad wasn't amused and notebooks flew across the room while eyes tried not to blink first. This continued on a long arduous trek through high math-science terrain (yeah IIT, IIM) without an iota of inclination but a desire to please and be accepted on campus, by all! Ooh! What a ride, but coming full circle (life always does) to language, colours and expression over rocky precipices is a fabulous feeling. It is home. Poetry it is for me. Prose, only if it is related to poetry.
Santosh
Q 3: What a ride, but coming full circle to language,
colours and expression over rocky precipices is a fabulous feeling. It is home.
Poetry it is for me. Prose, only if it is related to poetry.” That is a
wonderful, poetic way of putting your feelings into words, I really loved these
words. Now, another fabulous feeling must undoubtedly be your latest book.
Tell us something about Where I belong: Moments, mist and song. The cover entices, so will the contents, I am sure.
Tell me, where do you think you belong?
When the arms of the mist embrace you, what is the first thought that crosses your mind?
Smeetha: Thank you very much Santosh di, I am so happy! The cover is an old pen& ink drawing of mine. Where I Belong - Moments, Mist & Song is an expressive culmination of challenging yet poetic years, gathering together works from 2015 - 2018 into a collection presented in seven elements. Identity, Belonging, Paradise, Perception, Reality, Treasure, Of Dust are the seven elements embodying the spirit of knowing in this collection. All that life has presented - the darkest hue, the sweetest song, that old favourite lane strung with flowers, illuminate the book with a radiance of their own; because in poetry nothing is wasted.
During GloPoWriMo 2017, I was experimenting a lot while responding to the thought-provoking prompts crafted with such care by the poet-facilitators for the day. I remember waiting with bated breath for the day's prompt. One day, while responding to an emotional topic, suddenly some favourite old Hindi lyrics came to mind, and I incorporated the relevant bits into my poem ! Before I could change my mind, I had posted it and then there was no looking good back ! After that I introduced lines from old Hindi lyrics quite a few times into my poems and felt they worked well. This poetry collection carries quite a few of those treasured poems. Music and song are an integral part of my expression, an unending melodious link to conversations with Ma, who was a Rafi & Shammi Kapoor fan, (also Tagore, of course), much to the chagrin of my father.... who adored Tagore, Uttam Kumar and Utpal Dutt.
Tell us something about Where I belong: Moments, mist and song. The cover entices, so will the contents, I am sure.
Tell me, where do you think you belong?
When the arms of the mist embrace you, what is the first thought that crosses your mind?
Smeetha: Thank you very much Santosh di, I am so happy! The cover is an old pen& ink drawing of mine. Where I Belong - Moments, Mist & Song is an expressive culmination of challenging yet poetic years, gathering together works from 2015 - 2018 into a collection presented in seven elements. Identity, Belonging, Paradise, Perception, Reality, Treasure, Of Dust are the seven elements embodying the spirit of knowing in this collection. All that life has presented - the darkest hue, the sweetest song, that old favourite lane strung with flowers, illuminate the book with a radiance of their own; because in poetry nothing is wasted.
During GloPoWriMo 2017, I was experimenting a lot while responding to the thought-provoking prompts crafted with such care by the poet-facilitators for the day. I remember waiting with bated breath for the day's prompt. One day, while responding to an emotional topic, suddenly some favourite old Hindi lyrics came to mind, and I incorporated the relevant bits into my poem ! Before I could change my mind, I had posted it and then there was no looking good back ! After that I introduced lines from old Hindi lyrics quite a few times into my poems and felt they worked well. This poetry collection carries quite a few of those treasured poems. Music and song are an integral part of my expression, an unending melodious link to conversations with Ma, who was a Rafi & Shammi Kapoor fan, (also Tagore, of course), much to the chagrin of my father.... who adored Tagore, Uttam Kumar and Utpal Dutt.
The most difficult hours and experiences have yielded a rare
golden harvest and on hindsight, that's the greatest gift of poetry.
I belong to moments, mist & song....quite literally. In the arms of the mist, I am a baby once again, cuddled in Mom's arms. (The songs I sing are her songs, not mine.)Mother was a literary person with a deep love for language and her writings adorned campus cultural celebrations
Santosh Q 4 the very thought of mother’s arms gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. Do you think that if the wordsmiths of the world, change into swordsmiths they can strike at the roots of all negativities?
I belong to moments, mist & song....quite literally. In the arms of the mist, I am a baby once again, cuddled in Mom's arms. (The songs I sing are her songs, not mine.)Mother was a literary person with a deep love for language and her writings adorned campus cultural celebrations
Santosh Q 4 the very thought of mother’s arms gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. Do you think that if the wordsmiths of the world, change into swordsmiths they can strike at the roots of all negativities?
Smeetha: This is an intriguing question! Yes, the wordsmiths of the world, are many a time swordsmiths too, and they can really strike at the roots of evil negatives. I believe that. The ideas and outpourings of poets & writers have shaped the world and made it a better place over the centuries.
Santosh Q 5 : So , let us hope that we use our pens as swords and lash out at the very roots of insanity that are creeping into this dismally skewed world .Tell us something about your future projects.
Smeetha: Interesting ideas brewing, too early to vocalise, but they do hold promise...on adventurous literary trails....
Thank you for this honour Santosh di. It's been wonderful talking to you, opening up about things I've never shared before.
Santosh: I am sure, we are soon going to see all those ideas that have been brewing in your active mind, taking the shape of books, books and more books.
Here is to those exquisite shapes -those , lissome , sleek , gorgeous beauties .Books !
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