My writing journey started purely by accident. My obsession with rhyming extraneous sentences has gotten me here. I’m thankful to God and many of his messengers who have guided me along this path.
First and foremost, my mother. She’s been an absolute inspiration and I can’t thank her enough. She saw potential in me even when I didn’t. She has proofread every single poem of mine and has attended every open mic as well. One of the greatest motivators to publish the book was her optimism and belief that even I can write. I look up to her and always will. She’s the greatest Human being I know. She’s someone from whom I’ve never felt the need to hide or masquerade any of my thoughts and experiences, as she’s been my best friend as much as she’s been a mother.
Along with her, my Nani, my uncle Ravi, my sister Mehar, my aunt Deepa and my brother Khush have always lent great support to me in all my endeavours. They perpetually shower me with love and blessings whenever I’ve ventured into anything. It’s always endearing when some members of the family fully encourage you in all activities. They are people I can talk to without percolating anything too. Their guidance and support have guided me through all walks of life.
Some of my teachers have been guiding lights at various phases. My 4th-grade teacher Ratna Ma’am was a teacher who saw potential in me to excel in academics and she was a formidable source of support in my growth as an agile individual. My 8th grade English teacher Sumaiya Ma’am was the first one who ever heard my poetry and she encouraged me more by allowing me to recite my poetry in class as well as start participating in competitions. Then came my French teacher, Thanu ma’am. She was one of the first people to suggest that I move to an IB school, and frankly, my life changed completely because of that. Thanks to her suggestion and my mom’s research and perseverance, I was able to discern Shakespearean Literature and Wilfred Owen's poems in my new school. This made me evolve tremendously as a thinker and a writer. Plus, I got an opportunity to be taught by Ms Noonan, Ms Brandt and Mr Pownall, who all nurtured my growth throughout and made sure I remain focused, dedicated and sustained the appetite to learn.
The writing communities on Instagram played a pivotal role in getting me to where I am present. 2 writers namely ‘Moments’ and Nandini Goel gave me a massive opportunity to be part of their Instagram Community ‘Eunoia Prompts’ and host live reading shows. That helped me develop my skills as a writer and a spoken word artist. I gained the confidence to participate in more open mics in various prompt challenges. Speaking of challenges, I started developing my book only after winning a writing challenge organized by ‘Split Poetry India’, who eventually published my book. Will forever be grateful to them. After Eunoia, Niveditha Navin offered me to join their community ‘Heart of Quill’. These 2 communities are where I had immense fun interacting with all writers and I’ll be forever indebted to all the members for the wisdom they’ve showered upon me, as well as their warm reception towards my writing. They all made me feel a part of their illustrious families from the first day itself.
Disha and Gauri, are 2 gems who have supported me immensely by being so affable and receptive in all their lives and being the first who was willing to interview me and promote my book extensively. Whatever I say about them is less. They’ve been an incredible support for me along with being exceptional writers and human beings. They’ve always given me such constructive and helpful feedback which has enabled me to evolve as a content creator. They’re the first 2 people I go to in the writing community whenever I have something different planned because I always trust their word.
Prachetan Sir, Anmol, - Shivangi, Fatima, Adya, Adrisha, Abby, Gurneet, Margaret,Zahra, Keith, ‘Fankaar Open Mic’, Lajja, Bhawna, Vaibhav, Ojas, Chris (one of the greatest open mic hosts), Vartika, Saira, Fatimah and Pammy Di are my family away from home. I consider myself blessed to have met such kind and pure-hearted souls on my journey. They’re all great teachers of literature and I learn something new from them every day.
Rohan Sir and his community ‘The House of Talent’ as well as ‘Kreative Keeda’, which was started by Deepika Ji and Priya Ji are both phenomenal sources of encouragement and inspiration. I performed in my first in-person open mic for ‘The House of Talent’ and their tremendous reception made me neglect all jitters. I learnt a great deal from the craft and spontaneity of Rohan Sir and other accomplished writers. Both these communities also helped me hone my craft of Hindi poems. I do have discrepancies in the Hindi language but regular exposure to such adroit Hindi language poets aided me significantly.
My friends Deepak, Nachiket, Joel, Muskaan, Marc, Kevin, Bhumika, Chris Biju, Viral, Jaser, Michelle, Sharon, Aarya, Rosh, Kyra, Manal, George and Melody have always unabashedly supported me throughout my literary journey. They’re genuine well-wishers who have always had their hand on my shoulder and get excited about my smallest of feats. My friendships with them are sacrosanct and I can’t thank them enough for the support they gave at times of jittery uncertainty. When it comes to my book, the collaborative short film or my posts on Instagram, they have always supported me consistently. Along with Deepak, Kevin and Bhumika, Livana, Alicia and Rena were mind-blowing support during the making of our short film. They’re all creatively sound and it was great working with such amazing human beings. The proficiency and dedication shown by the whole team behind this film is something I’ve inculcated, and it has helped me a great deal.
I thank God every day for blessing my life with all these precious people.
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