“Sometimes, we do not get a chance to thank each one who has helped us in our Journey.” Let the readers get a chance to know about all the important people who have played a part in this Author Journey of yours.

I’ll start with my parents for the love they inculcated in me for books and reading. Dad’s trips out-of-town always ended in him bringing books for me and my elder brother. The fairy tales and the folktales we read as children took us into a world filled with possibilities. Then, my husband who shares my love for books – who introduced the world of Ayn Rand and non-fiction to me. His love for Richard Feynman, Nassim Taleb, Matt Ridley,Will Durant, Yuval Harari and so many others reminds me that I have just scratched the surface of the iceberg’s tip. Then my two children, who pull me into their own world of Harry Potter and Roald Dahl. Over the years all these people have taught me the power of the written word, the surreal world of books in which one can get lost. Had this ecosystem not existed, I would not have thought of writing. And most importantly, I am ever grateful to all those who write and all those who read – without one the other would not exist.

When and how did the idea of authoring a book come to you? Can you tell us a bit about ‘Unhustle’ and share a few lines from any of the poems?

Writing a book had been a dream since I was a young girl. My mother is a doctor by day and a Hindi poet by night with seven books to her credit. Our house was filled with hand-written poems and it felt only natural that I should write too. I remember writing poems for my school magazine but somehow that had become infrequent over the years. While I have been writing blogs and academic and non-academic articles for a while now, poetry has remained my first love. I started composing poetry again about three years back when I was building a digital platform for emotional wellness. Last year during the pandemic, a realization came that humanity has hustled for a long time now, compromising our emotional health and taking little joys around us for granted; leading nature to forcibly put us in pause mode during the lockdown. These observations and self-reflections became the theme of the poetry book I decided to write. I named it ‘Unhustle’ – for the world needed to go through just that!

From ‘Sail On’…

Shattering is not an option, you’re not made of glass

You have to have faith, cause this too shall pass

So, don’t pause; sail on, sail on, sail on…

…

From ‘Let’s Cling On’…

That which appears after a storm

That which arises when all things go wrong

That which is faint, which is feeble, which is subdued

That which helps us cope

Let’s cling on to that hope

…

From ‘Fuchsia’…

A million emotions,

these tears hum

Shaped like Fuchsia,

dancing they come

…

From ‘This is Me’…

Lift the world if I can

I am proud of who I am

Embrace me with my flaws

No conditions no clause

This is me…overwhelmingly

Unabashed unapologetically

Your book has beautiful illustrations and also you have used the phrase, ‘words that paint and art which speaks’ as the tagline for ‘Unhustle’. Please elaborate on the idea behind it.

My dear friend Namita Jain graciously agreed to join this journey and came onboard as the book’s illustrator. That was when this challenging yet exceptionally fulfilling voyage began. Our book is a book of words and art in equal measure for both the mediums compliment each other beautifully. Creating this book was a very organic process. There were times when she created illustrations for the words I wrote while at times she made an illustration first and the poetry followed. We worked on the book mostly at night after finishing up the day’s chores. The process was thoroughly rewarding and enriching, and we were able to put ‘Unhustle’ together in less than two months.

Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?

Both of us have recently collaborated for our second book ‘Moon Letters’ which is a combination of micro-poetry and line art. Parallelly I have also collaborated with budding writers and have contributed to ten poetry anthologies as a co-author. While working with young authors, I have realized that not just the virus, the exuberance of youth is equally contagious, and I look forward to keeping doing this regularly. As for a solo book, I do have a few ideas for books in mind and am waiting to discover which one supersedes others and takes precedence.

According to you which are the 5 books, everyone should read and also who are your top 3 Authors?

While there are different genres to choose from, I will share a mix from a few.

• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• The Prophet by Kahil Gibran
• Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
• Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

I have been a fan of Dan Brown’s research, J.K. Rowling’s imagination and Georges Remi’s (Hergé) creation of Tintin. They will always rank among my favorite creators.

Tell us a bit about your family, likes, and dislikes as a person.

We are a family comprising of my husband Amol Gupta, our two children – Prisha, 12 and Shaurya, 8 – and me. All four of us have such unique personalities, yet we feel that we fit in with each other like a jigsaw puzzle.

What really bowls me over are a person’s humility, kindness, and knowledge whereas I am not a big fan of sarcasm and people plagiarizing ideas end-to-end.

Could you share few tips for Young Authors?

Write. Write. And Write! For there is no other way to become an author. It is also important to read as much as possible – especially the genres that resonate with you. That also helps one to stay up to date with what others are doing and what kind of work is attracting readers. We all, including young authors, should also be ready to embrace any feedback – both positive and negative. Nowadays, there are several digital platforms that connect authors from all over the world. They constantly read and provide feedback for each other’s works.

What was the most difficult part of the publishing process for you? How can a budding author reach out to more readers using marketing strategies?

Someone wise told me once, writing is an easier process while making sure your book is read is a completely different ballgame altogether. And she was right! Of course, the immediate circle of family and friends becomes our first readers, so do not shy away from asking them to review the book on e-commerce sites where the book is available. While many will not do it, quite a few certainly will. Social media plays a vital role to reach the audience. Participate in author sessions whenever you get an opportunity and interact with those who engage with you regularly. These will turn out to be your loyal readers. Posting pictures or quotes or excerpts from the book time and again also helps.  Also, read, encourage, and promote other authors – genuinely without expecting anything in return.

Rapid Fire Round

1.Favorite Place, Person, Food, beverage….My home, my husband, dosa, ginger chai

2.Your other Talents….Closet singer, leisure artist

3.Your First Love…. Books

4.Favorite Quote….“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” — Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

5.Favorite Character from a book…Severus Snape from Harry Potter

What if Round

• What if you had to live with only three things all your life, what would the three things be?
  • Hope, Love and Common Sense
• What if you were given the power to change one thing from this world, what would you change?
  • I would wish people were kinder to one another
• What if you had all the money in this world, what would you do first?
  • Buy as many books as I could and open libraries all around