1. When did you find yourself in the world of words? 

I have been writing since my early adolescence for various newspapers and magazines. Writing comes naturally to me like oxygen through which I give free vent to my innermost feelings, thoughts, convictions & emotions. I never write for accolades, money, prize or recognition. I never adhere to unholy practices; I write what comes to me spontaneously & naturally. I write for my readers.

I did my Post graduation in English to gain more in-depth knowledge of the language and its writers I was immensely in love with. Being an avid reader and a bibliophile I thrive on all sort of books irrespective of whether it is English or Hindi, Bengali or French; books are the only objects to bring sunshine in my life and inspire me to play with words.

After a long stint with a leading newspaper, I shifted to Corporate Communications and began training people on the usage of English language and the art of expression. However, I continued to write for various other media apart from newspapers and magazines that stretched from jingles to short films and television serials. I have touched on subjects that may or may not have direct relevance to the socio-cultural background I belong to; sometimes my writings have crossed the boundaries of day to day realm and touched upon debatable topics like metaphysics and the ultimate power.

I do not bind myself to stereotypes or any particular form or pattern; I set my own style for I believe as long as my writing appeal to the human psyche I am good. Although I was heavily influenced by the likes of Austen and Keats, Byron and Shakespeare and the list could be endless, I am equally fond of contemporary writing. I never restricted my writing to a particular genre for I wanted to experiment with various tools and methodologies that came to me naturally.

Writing one poem a day gets me sound sleep and the dialogue of my characters keep me company day and night.

2. What do you think about the newly emerged genre "Micro-fiction"?

 Micro fiction interests me no doubt but I haven’t really made up my mind about trying this one. The fact is I have a penchant for details and I like to elaborate and simplify my thoughts. Not that I underestimate the worth of my readers but I like to leave nothing to chance. Each and every reader may not have the same mental quotient as to take a hint and digest it or they may interpret it differently; I therefore go into the minutest of relevant detail in each and every piece. I do intend to try my hands on flash fiction but only after I am done with the novel and the film I am currently occupied with. For some micro-fiction may work fine, that is when they can wrap up the entire story in minimal words. I suppose the whole game depends on the acceptance of readers and their opinion about it; after all we are nothing without our readers. Maybe it’s the new pathway to our future for those who intend to write intense, short and crisp.

3. Do you believe that we have sensationalized the concept of feminism? What is Feminism for you?

Oh yeah sure we have sensationalized the concept of feminism to a great extent. I am merely putting forth my personal opinion and conviction and am not here for any controversy or debate. Some believe that merely by denigrating the other gender they can prove their staunch feminism. Maligning a gender, casting them as villains and inciting an individual or group would neither mitigate the risks that come handy whenever a female is involved irrespective of her age or skin color. To dissuade the psychos from achieving their target they must be shrewdly dealt with so that the toughest punishment are meted out to them and they are finished for good. Some women believe that they can independently run the race and win it but I would beg to differ on that; life isn’t a short term game, life isn’t about winning or losing a race, life is about living meaningfully with good people around us.

My thoughts on Feminism is somehow different from the generalized belief that is opined sarcastically if I may be allowed to put it that way. Probably the men in my life are solely responsible for my positive thoughts. My husband and son have never stifled my artistic sensibilities and I never felt I needed space from them. Men have greatly impacted me in the most positive way. My male friends are my rocks. I therefore think that men and women must live in unison to flourish because there is this basic biological need for one another. It’s not important whether or not we accept their dictates or bow to their commands; it’s the sexual urge, the emotional fulfillment that can only come from the opposite sex (I am not discussing the exceptions here). A love between man and woman is the basic natural instinct and the urge to procreate require both. Neither men nor women have the ability to derive the basic pleasures of the body and mind without orgasm and that surely is not possible singularly. I don’t believe that merely by walking out of a marriage or a relationship one can prove her feminism; this can be pretty well achieved if one has the requisite intelligence, personality and far-sightedness to handle a man or a situation. Women’s liberation and Women’s Rights are nothing but a propaganda to draw attention. Instances like rape and molestation cannot be stopped unless women of every age are mentally and physically empowered from within. Nature has made women vulnerable, weaker than men physically and no matter how loud she screams or shouts things will not change unless women inculcate some necessary ingredients like self-righteousness, self-respect, fortitude and grip over their overwhelming emotion.

To me Feminism is just a concept that has no basis or root. Breaking age-old traditions, rituals and customs just to prove a unique identity makes no sense to me. To me feminism is to develop a mind of one’s own where she is able to stick to her decisions irrespective of anyone. To me feminism is the will power, grit and determination to be upright and upfront without succumbing to any pressure from anyone. To me feminism means financial independence, knowledge and self-respect. To me feminism means narcissism to some extent where women should love and nurture their skin, their hair, their body for their own sakes and not for attracting anyone. To me Feminism means liberation from superstition and fear. To me Feminism means setting one self-free from mental bondage, by being self-reliant, resilient and incredible. Feminism does not mean organizing protest march in black or public demonstration; women should set their homes right first and that could be initiated and achieved in a civilized way. Girls from a very young age must be encouraged to speak out, protest whenever they are touched inappropriately by anyone. They must ensure that ‘no’ would mean only ‘no’ and there would be no other interpretation to it.

4. Tell us about your book/s. 

 I have five books to my credit so far. All the books are published, distributed and sold by Amazon. They are available in the most prestigious outfits like Barnes & Noble, Booktopia and most of the leading international stores. All five books are very much in their multiple edition and selling worldwide in good numbers. Each one of them have received huge press coverage and great accolades.

I am currently working on a novel titled ‘The fourth dimension’ and another poetry book named ‘Full baked stanzas’. I also intend to make a film based on my novel. Things are more or less finalized and I am ready for a stupendous takeoff.

(a)   Spice up your Marriage: This book has been universally termed as a marriage dictionary. This book pin points the various facets that play a key role in making or breaking a marriage. Here I have discussed each and every point with real life illustrations so that my readers can relate to them directly. I have not just filled up the pages lecturing on the do’s and don’t s, instead I have elaborated on every topic realistically and have tried to provide practical solutions. Every marriage hits a rock bottom at some point of time and faces a tornado; this book provides guidance on ferrying through such rough weather without splitting up. It advises couples the techniques of holding their nerves and facing the odds with courage and determination. My debut book was published after many years of research and after interviewing almost five hundred couples all across the globe. My sole aim was to produce an authentic write and not filling up pages based on some heresy or imagination.

(b)   Uncensored Revelations: This is a collection of poems where I have delved deeply into the human psyche without adhering to any particular form or style. To be precise, here I have narrated stories in a poetic form. My poems ask a lot of questions to its readers and wait for their answers. Every poem evokes a new thought and the readers are compelled to deliberate. The subjects are as wide as sexuality to religion; deception to mockery. My poems have a lot of drama in them in the sense that in most of the poems readers are unable to decipher the final twist till the end. They evoke pleasure, pain, joy and grief. Here I have intentionally debated on lot of set principles and accepted theories to provoke my readers and study their thoughts.

(c)    5 Hot Sizzlers: This book contains 5 different stories of 5 female protagonists that fight their inner battles in their own unique way and emerge winners. Each story is filled with suspense and drama and breaks the conventional feeling that a woman should always marry a man older to him and the likes. Here I have broken free from the stereo typed and thrown all traditions to the wind. While writing this book I thought there is need for change in the mental makeup of the society; we are not regressing back and hence we must have the liberty to follow our heart. Every protagonist is starkly different from the other but all of them have a mind of their own that remain undaunted and enjoy a lot of immunity from social racism.

(d)   Sensuous love poems: This is the second poetry book that contains passionate love poems; irrespective of age and time love dominates with an unsurpassable force breaking all barriers. Every poem evokes deep passion and hope. I have used very simple and lucid language to meet the needs of different readers spread across the globe. There is an element of mystery, suspense and drama in the book. None of the characters are passive or indecisive; they are more into action and pursue their dreams.

(e)   How to become good Parents: This is probably a sequel to ‘Spice up your Marriage’. After the runaway success of my first book on marriage, I was flooded with requests from all over the world to address the need of parent-children relationship. After much deliberation and after thought when I finally decided to take up the project on this vast and complex subject I was determined to do justice to both, parents and children. Every chapter is a real story narrated from the horse’s mouth or witnessed as a first person singular number. Every chapter is a complete story in itself hence they have more of dialogues and conversations between parent and child than mere sermons that are ineffective and boring. My counseling sessions with parents have helped me a lot in realizing their worries and concern and the turbulent times faced by them when children go wayward or disintegrate. Similarly, my time with the children have helped me understand their expectations, pain and disappointments. I have also tried to put forth various healthy and positive options through which an extreme path can be replaced by a middle one. This book is a complete handbook on parent-child relationship issues that are getting complicated by the day.

5. A message for the writer's community...

 I have three messages for the writer’s community and they are my personal opinion of course.

(a)   Plagiarism must be severely and harshly dealt with; whenever we find something uncanny about a write that seems copied or stolen from another we must raise a hue and cry and bring it to the notice of competent authorities and the original writer most importantly. Very recently a lady copied stuff from another prize-winning poet and posted them on her wall, she did not stop there; she went on to submit the same for an international poetry competition and was also nominated as one of the recipients of a prestigious award. Thank God someone brought it to public notice and the woman has been banned from entering into any other competition.

(b)   We need not depend on the publishing companies to get our work published. They pretend to be demi-Gods making the writers wait for days before saying yes or no. One of my fellow writers had invested huge money with one of the leading publishers that promised her the moon but the copies that were supposed to arrive on time did not reach her even on the day of launch. While the press, celebrities and guests waited for the book to unfold she had to manage with the proof copy apologetically. I myself have had a very bitter experience with two of Kolkata’s publishing houses; Power Publishers & Future publishing. I wanted to publish my debut book and had no idea about their game. Power Publishers charged a good amount of money and barely printed a few copies; they had no tie-ups with the reputed online bookstores and ultimately I had to call it off. Future did not take any money but even their distribution was zero. Finally, I found my savior in Amazon and it’s been five years that they have been handling my books from designing the cover, to editing to publishing, selling and worldwide distribution. I am more than happy and satisfied.  

(c)    We as writers must be proud of our passion or profession and stand up for its cause. We must not let others judge us and feel demotivated by their comments; if there are merit and substance in the writing, it will shine someday or other. There is absolutely no need for feeling belittled even if some manuscripts are rejected by so-called renowned publishers or for not getting paid. After all, writing is about one’s own emancipation and liberation. The main motto is to reach out to the masses and when we have an authentic publishing house in Amazon that always willing to help,  why take recourse to the dubious?