Have you come to Ranchi before or is this your first time?
I have come to Ranchi for the first time and I have liked this city very much. Earlier, I had read about Ranchi in geography books that it rains a lot in Cherrapunji and Ranchi. It was probably raining here yesterday too but right now it is sunny. Congratulations and thanks to the people of Ranchi.
You started writing at the age of 16-17, how was this possible?
Until my husband Ravindra Kalia came into my life, my hero was my father. My father was a scholar of Hindi and English and he used to work in radio. Because of him, I heard many great poets and writers live, because at that time the programs were not recorded. I had heard Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Bhagwati Charan Verma and Begum Akhtar live and I was very impressed by them. I felt very good when people came to meet him and it would not be wrong if I say that I started writing by listening to the radio, reading books and listening to writers and poets.
We have heard that you were challenged by Ravindra Kalia ji before marriage, after which you started writing stories?
Yes, I met Ravi ji in a seminar of Punjab University. There I read a pamphlet on stories. When I was coming back to Delhi, coincidentally we had the same bus and we were sitting on adjacent seats. We talked and he asked me, do you write only poetry or do you write something else too? Don’t you read stories? Don’t you read any other story writer? I did not like what he said and we had an argument. Then I took story writing as a challenge and started writing stories. Although this is not the only reason, I separated myself from poetry also because the era of poetry was ending and poems were becoming carnal. Muernest brought a Hemingway twist to our meeting. Both of us were influenced by Hemingway and we remembered his dialogues, just because of this we became friends and then we got married.
How do you see the influence of social media in today’s times?
We are people between two centuries. We have seen a lot of change. Nowadays technology has developed a lot. I have seen stories changing a lot. In today’s time, as much as there has been development, there has also been destruction.
You have more than three decades of experience in writing, what advice and suggestions would you give to the youth interested in writing.
I want to tell the youth that today the world is changing every moment. There are many topics for writing in these changing times that you can choose from. There are many characters around you in your house, you just need to understand them and write them. I also want to say that if you are in pain, then write that too. There will be many people like you, whose pain will be similar to yours. There are many questions and situations in your life which you cannot discuss with your parents, siblings and friends, but you can write them down, so write them down. My one advice is not to write pessimism, but write such that it inspires people.
While writing a story, do you reach the conclusion first or do you decide the characters first, then the circumstances and then the conclusion?
Your question is good, but it is open from both ends. Many times the stories do not reach the conclusion and remain entangled in the circumstances. To write a story it is important to understand the characters.
Now literary festivals are being organized in almost every big city? How much benefit will this give to literature?
Organizing literary festival is definitely good for literature. This literary festival takes people towards books. When people see writers by being a part of such festivals, they get impressed by them and buy books. It would not be wrong if it is said that literary festival takes people from Facebook to books. You belong to our community because you are a journalist. A litterateur and a journalist are integral parts of each other, because both do the work of reading and writing.
What is your upcoming creation and what is its name?
I am currently writing a book named Corona Kaal Ki Mohabbatein. I have not written about the horrors of Corona in this book, rather I have written a book on the survivors of that time, their sorrows and joys. Many people got married during the Corona period and had children, so there should be someone to say these things.