Author Interview: Subhrajyoti Parida

This time we decided to interview a poet instead of a writer. A poet is more lyrical in expression, he sees and expresses vibrant notions laced with beautiful words that make the experience of reading poetry fragrant with thought and emotion. Sadly there are not many publishers who publish poetry or believe in its value and rightly so because we the Indian readers have always chosen to read prose. However a few brave souls are still born in the kingdom of poets some of whom want to express their thought and some their deepest emotions. The poet we interview today Subhrajyoti Parida, falls in the later category. 

He is a Post Graduate in Industrial Engg. from National Institute of Industrial Engg. (NITIE), Mumbai, specializing in Supply Chain & Operations Management and is an APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP). Currently, he is employed in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and residing in Bangalore. He hails from the temple city of Bhubaneswar, Odisha. When not managing supply chain, he loves spending time in poetry, photography, traveling, and of course, spending quality time with his sweet wife & his family. 

His debut anthology  ‘Bouquet-of feelings, emotions and thoughts..’  has been published by  Dreamhouse Publications, Cuttack. The book is an emotional ode to his late    mother (reviewed here: http://thereaderscosmos.blogspot.in/2017/02/book-review-bouquet-of-emotions.html ). There is much more he plans to write, lets know him better...

Q: Describe your journey into writing?

A: I never had any particular plan or an objective to write poems or stories other than as a pastime, let alone think of publishing it as an anthology.  I had this habit of writing poems on random themes as and when it struck me and they used to be saved in a folder in some corner of my Macbook. It was not until my Mother demised last year in mid-Feb when I started planning for compiling my poems and publishing them as an anthology as a tribute to my late Mother.

Post publishing of my debut book of poems, I have started contributing poems to several anthologies, especially if the theme is based on Mother, Motherhood, Love and Affection.

Q: Why did you choose poetry as a medium of expression?

A: Poetry, in my opinion, is such a medium in literature that enables the writer or the poet to record his emotions, feelings and thoughts in a manner he likes suitable. In my case, I realized that I could express myself in a better and more comfortable way when I used poetry as a medium rather than prose. Thus, I choose poetry over prose.

Q. Describe the creation process of your current poetry book “Bouquet-of feelings, emotions and thoughts..”?

A: As mentioned already in my answer to the first question, my initial collection of poem was   meant to be only stored in some folder in my laptop as my personal collection or be a part of my online blog. Upon the unfortunate and sudden demise of my Mother due to cancer, I embarked upon the journey of compiling my poems and writing a few more poems dedicated to my Mother. Actually, I wanted to dedicate something to my late Mother which she loved the most about me.  It was none other than my hobby of writing.  Hence, the final manuscript of Bouquet came into being which I first forwarded to several publishers. There were of course rejections in the beginning and finally, Dreamhouse Publications came accepted my manuscript. Rest is history.

Q. What were the major obstacles in the creation of this book and how did you solve them?

A: First, it was editing and proofreading which consumed most of the time before the manuscript got ready publishing.  Secondly, searching suitable publishers who are interested for poetry books and thirdly, the most important and difficult part, mustering the courage and patience to face and accept rejections from publishers.

The solution to all these obstacles, in fact, lies within us: lots of perseverance, patience and self-belief.

Q. How was the process of being published?

 A: Manuscript acceptance by the publisher, followed by editing and proof-reading. Once the manuscript was ready for publishing, it was the cover design and formatting. But before the start of the formal process of publishing, I entered into a contract with the publisher also paid reasonable amount towards a publishing package which included the all the above processes along with marketing, promotion and distribution (both online and offline).

      Q.   Are you a methodical writer?

A: I must confess here, I am not completely a methodical writer because I often tend get bored being methodical while writing.

Q. Tell us a little about your upcoming literary work?

A: My upcoming work is an amalgamation of prose and poetry: the prose part narrating the story behind my Mom’s diagnosis, the painful process of her treatment, high risk surgery and ultimately, her demise due to cancer, and the poetry part is a collection of poems dedicated to my Mother and all the mothers across the world in person and in all forms.

The manuscript is under editing and proof-reading now.

Q. Who are your favourite poets and writers?

A: i) Swapna Behera (Poet): Not any particular book since I love her style of poetry and content in general, and

ii) Amish Tripathy (Writer): Shiva Trilogy and Scion of Ikshvaku

Q. Share a few lines from your favourite poetry?

A: There is this poem titled ‘Missing Her’ which has the following lines :

“Sometimes brings smile on lips,
and sometimes stream of tears, 
making it hard and painful to bear,
that she is no more here."

These four lines were a spontaneous out pour when one fine evening, I was lost in my late Mother’s memories just a week post her demise.

Q. What are your views on how poetry is being perceived and read in India versus the world today?

A:In the context of this question, I would like to share this experience with my readers that when I decided to publish my anthology of poems, I was advised by many that in India, there would be hardly anybody interested in poems, so instead of poetry I should concentrate on writing prose. Though it was discouraging initially, I went ahead with my decision to publish my poems. 

Coming to the question, honestly speaking, I must say that the reader’s base of poetry in India is relatively smaller than that for prose. So a poet needs to have a lot of patience before his/her book starts making impression in the Indian market. This I believe is also applicable in other countries too.

     Q.   Advise to the budding poets?

     A:  Write from heart, follow your emotions and let your words flow; poems will automatically take shape.