Sharing Stories Interview with Author Anupama Dalmia

2020-09-242020-09-24 Sharing Stories 3 Comments

In Conversation with Author Anupama Dalmia

Q1. You decided to quit your Corporate Career and follow your dreams. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I realized this after posting my very first blog itself. It was about my experience at a school for special kids and in the post, I had mentioned bank account details of the organization where people could donate to support the wonderful work being done there. I was overwhelmed to see how many of my friends and readers came forward to help and that is when I knew instantly that writing gives me the power to create an impact.

Q2. ‘Aarohi’ was your first book. How did the idea of writing a complete book occurred to you? Please share a few lines from any of your books and maybe give a bit of background too.

When my blogs began getting read and appreciated widely, the thought of writing a book came to my mind. However, I did not want to rush into it because I feel that you must put the best possible content out there for the world. I wanted to take my time to learn and grow as a writer. The plot of “Aarohi” was on my mind for a while and I was just waiting for the moment when I felt ready to finally give it the shape of a full-fledged novella.

Then one day I read about the Amazon KDP Pen to Publish Contest and I decided “Aarohi” will be my entry for it. I did not have much time left to meet the deadline but the writer within me gave me the push and I wrote relentlessly. Till date, the story has been receiving a lot of love from not just friends and fellow writers but also strangers, and this is always a boost to write more.

Sharing a few lines below from my story “The Vicious Circle” which was published in the anthology book ‘Muffled Moans’:

She lay down on her bed gazing at the family picture collage, zooming on a candid photograph of her childhood in which she was cocooned in her mother’s lap. She sighed and slipped into deep slumber again. This time, the voices didn’t come back to haunt her. She had broken the vicious circle – of silence, of tolerance and of everything in between.

The story is about breaking the cycle of abuse, tolerance and pain. This is something we all struggle with. We go through something and then end up, knowingly or unknowingly, behaving the same way with someone else. Because of this the toxicity never ends. These lines highlight the strength shown by a character in breaking the vicious circle.

Q3. ‘Beyond The Box’ nurtures the talent of writing from an early age in the kids. How has the experience of working on children’s writing skills affected your own writing process?

This is quite an interesting question because I have often talked about how nurturing someone else’s writing skills helps you hone your craft too. This is all the more applicable in case of kids because I constantly keep coming up with creative ideas to make the sessions fun and engrossing for them. In the process, I think I have definitely got a lot of fuel to up my own imagination. Also, when we have discussions on various aspects of writing, I get enriched too. Now I do a lot more research to ensure I am exposing them to various writing techniques, books and activities, and this automatically becomes a part of my own writing process too.

I remember once a child had shared with me how he asks his mother to read out his story to him with actions and expressions to see if it creates the intended impact. I liked the idea and tried it too. So, it is always a co-learning experience.

Q4. You are a serial entrepreneur and a doting mom. How do you maintain the perfect balance between both the roles? What is the most difficult part of your work process?

Well, because I am into multiple lines of work, balancing is genuinely difficult. It may seem am managing it smoothly but each day throws a different challenge. The most difficult part has always been time management but I am getting better at it with time. I think prioritization is key here. It is also important to stand by these priorities. Also, I feel very strongly that we need to shed the motherhood guilt to be able to balance our roles well. Of course, we may not be able to let go of it completely but we do not need to succumb to society’s expectations from us. Just to give an example, one day I had a class and an event. My cook informed me at the last moment that she won’t be coming. I did not have time for anything else so we had Maggi for dinner. I did not feel any less of a Mom for not feeding my daughter healthy food for one day. The point is that if we look within, we will get the answers of what we really want and what is it that truly matters to us. Once this is clear in our heads, planning and organizing our tasks becomes much easier.

Q5. Awards and Accolades have now become synonyms to the name ‘Anupama Dalmia’. How do you keep yourself so grounded and focussed?

Thank you for the kind compliment. I am blessed to have received these recognitions for my work. Honestly, I do not put in much effort to stay grounded and focused because I have been like that in essence always. Credit for this goes to my mother because as a child itself I learnt from her that being smug hinders growth and I do not want to be boxed. The very reason I won these awards and accolades is because I was focused on my work, and I have full realization of this. Tomorrow, if I become complacent or arrogant, it will definitely affect the quality of my work. Also, I feel that we are all tiny specks in this universe at the end of the day. So, I feel there is so much to learn and do, and that is why after every award/accolade, I feel thankful but also think about “What next?”

Q6. Along with the accolades and appreciation, a public figure often faces brickbats and trolls. How do you deal with this?

That is true. I have been fortunate that largely I have only received love. But, yes trolls/brickbats are a part of this profession too. I do not really bother much about the trolls from random strangers. I only engage when the point being made is done respectfully. I do not take these comments personally, hence I am pretty objective while responding to criticism. We have to accept and appreciate that people have a right to their opinion. For the ones who cross the line, I give it back or report the profiles.

Q7. Tell us a bit about Anupama Dalmia, the person. Is there a boundary line between Anupama, the entrepreneur and Anupama, the person? Your family, likes and dislikes.

Yes, there is definitely a line. What people know and see is a significant part of me but not the only part of me. In fact, unlike what people perceive of me, I am not very open when it comes to sharing my personal issues or problems. As a person, I am fun-loving, talkative and crazy. My family knows my flaws too so while they are proud of me, they do not view me the way the world views me. Once it so happened that I was giving a telephonic interview and the person asked me “How does your family feel about having a successful social media celebrity at home?”. That very moment my Mother was screaming at me because the home was messy with clothes lying all around. I burst out laughing and I love it this way. Even my close friends know me as their caring and madcap friend and you will see a different crazier side of me when am around them.

Q8. As a social media influencer, what guidance and tips you would like to share with other aspiring women entrepreneurs.

I always say that even am still learning but a few tips that I can share are:

Do not rush into anything. Patience is a precious virtue. A step at a time towards a vision has worked well for me.
Spend time to learn the tropes of the industry you have decided to get into. You need to understand consumer behaviour and the market dynamics.
Do not follow “A one size fits all” approach. What works for another business in the same line may not work for you. Always focus on why are ‘YOU’ doing it. What did you set out to achieve?
Shed inhibitions about using social media and realise the importance of leveraging it for a greater reach
Having a USP and sticking to it is crucial as today there are multiple options for a customer for everything. What different are you providing? Think on this and market your brand accordingly.

Q9. According to you which are the 5 books, everyone should read and also who are your top three Authors and what impact they had in your journey as a writer?

This is a tough one because I have a whole lot of books to recommend. But if I have to pick, I would suggest the following 5 books:

Wonder by R.J.Palacio

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Becoming by Michelle Obama

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

I have grown up reading books by Ruskin Bond, J.K. Rowling and Enid Blyton, so undoubtedly, they have greatly impacted me as a writer.

Q10. Dancing, Cooking, Writing, Teaching, Social Entrepreneur…What Next?

Haha! I am always ready to explore more about myself. I am already donning the new hat of an anchor as a part of my recent initiative “Vicharsthal”. This is my humble attempt at coming up with unique video content in the form of conversations with everyday stars to take inspiration from their ideation. Also, not many know this but I enjoy singing. So maybe that too someday! 😊

Q11. At Sharing Stories, we have an ongoing campaign ‘World Harmony through Writing’ where we encourage writers to pen down their deepest internal thoughts, daily for at least fifteen minutes. Their new ideas and profound thinking shall help to bring out some positive changes in the world we live in. We would love to hear your thoughts about this initiative. Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?

This is an absolutely brilliant initiative. As a part of my work, I have interacted with so many kids and women and have realized that very few of us actually sit down to reflect. I also falter here. We just get so busy that we do not get down to listening to our minds and connecting to ourselves. This campaign would encourage constructive reflection and for sure will lead to many enriching thoughts and ideas. Writing is a spiritual practice because as I mentioned, it helps us to connect to our inner selves in the most creative way. It gives a vent to our feelings and also a definite form to random thoughts. We get to know ourselves better and get closer to what we are by the medium of writing.

What if Round

What if you had to live with only three things all your life, what would the three things be?

I assume these are to be non-living things so they would be my mobile, books and food

What if you were given the power to change one thing from this world, what would you change?

Well, there would be a lot of things I would like to change but at this moment, I would definitely want to bid a forever farewell to the Corona Virus.

What if you had all the money in this world, what would you do first?

Travel with family and donate for a cause.

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