Shilpa is a corporate strategist. But that does not define her existence. Her corporate career is a part of life for her and poetry is the heart of it. She is a star-gazer and a romantic who has never been able to fathom how the left side of the brain works. In fact, the functioning of the brain itself has been an intimidating subject for her to comprehend. She believes she was born with a feeling apparatus only – the heart; and not a thinking one – the mind! Intellectualizing feelings and emotions is knottier than rocket science to her! She was never cut to live a white picket fence life. Being a rebel at heart in a very conformist society, she has experienced all the joys that come with it - agony, social scorn, oppression and ostracism. But the silver lining for her has been the rise of her consciousness, the awakening of her spirit, the beckoning of her calling: writing. It feeds her soul. Shilpa also enjoys coaching and mentoring students pursuing their writing dreams because she believes that following one's passion leads to discovering one's purpose and if we all align what we do to what we love doing, the collective energies of the world will make it a happy place to live in. She has delivered several sessions to budding writers and students studying in universities and institutions like Symbiosis and other renowned brands. She hopes the launch of her debut book 'love.feel.pain.heal.repeat' is the beginning of a trajectory that the Cosmos wants her to tread on to reach where she is meant to be, some day - chasing her dream of becoming a full-time writer and an entrepreneur. Because she believes that the best feeling in the world is getting paid to do what you love.
“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.
Well, if I may use poetry to answer this question, I’d say –
I would like to thank
every smile
every tear
every force
every fear
every pleasure
every pain
every loss
every gain
every blessing
every curse
every poem
every verse
that ‘love’ bestowed upon me,
so I could put this book together
with all my broken pieces.
It was solely love and pain that inspired me to write. All the people in my journey who gave me a chance to experience these emotions are the ones I’d like to thank from the bottom of my heart. I don’t think I would have discovered my calling, had it not been for them. I’d also like to thank my mentors who fuelled my passion and encouraged me to share my musings with the world when I was going through rock bottom in my life. Also, I drew inspiration from the great contemporary poets of today.
When and how did the idea of writing a book come to you? Can you tell a bit about the title of your poetry book and share a few lines from it?
The title of the book is “love.feel.pain.heal.repeat”
The poems in this book reinforce that even though love is an uphill task, it is intrinsic and beautiful and that every emotion it elicits – pain, anguish, anticipation, joy, and passion – is so worth living, at least once in a lifetime. It makes you dive into them, feel them and live them through my voyage. My verses signify that pain is inevitable, but combating it, rising beyond it, and upholding faith in love is certainly a choice. Through the sometimes heartwarming and sometimes heart-wrenching verses, I urge you not just to heal yourself, but also to rediscover your soul and its calling. The book conveys that love may or may not stay forever, but it leaves a blessing that stays with you, till eternity.
Embrace it.
This book is a catharsis of my emotions. It came to me when I could not contain them within me any longer. I thought I’d explode so I needed to share it with the world. Needed to air my wounds, talk about my vulnerabilities and the strength Universe gave me to combat adversities, loneliness and come out stronger and happier. The beauty of poetry is that it finds the one who needs it most and that is what feeds my soul – if my words help people fight their battles with a little more hope, faith and strength, then I’d feel I found my purpose.
A few lines –
no one has been able to escape the pain
some conquer it
it rules some
some get burnt by it
it fuels some
– let pain fuel you
to reach heights, you need
to understand depths, first.
and to understand depths,
you have to fall deep.
real deep.
where hell and bottom meet.
Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers?
Right now, I just want to lie back and see what my readers have to say about the book and if they can relate to the language of my heart. There are a few themes in my mind. But I’d like them to ripen a bit before I can start to pen them down. I’d like to write my heart out but also address challenges that today’s youth grapples with and share my perspectives in their rawest form.
Tell us a bit about your family, likes, and dislikes as a person.
I am a single and happy mom, with a young son who means the world to me. I hail from Mumbai but have spent most of my youth years in Gurgaon, NCR. My family, my support system and my best friends are in Mumbai but there’s something about the vibe of the millennial city now that I can’t resist.
Personally, I am an empath and introvert. My world comprises of few friends, with each of whom I share a deep connect, my Friday evenings and my darkest secrets. I don’t judge people because I believe our journeys are such personal experiences and wish people stopped judging too.
You are working in one of the top brands and shoulder a lot of responsibility. Has this ever affected the creative side of your personality? How do you manage to keep a balance in both roles?
In my professional role as well, my forte has been ‘people connect’. My strength revolves around understanding personas and personalizing experiences for them, which is in a way linked to my purpose. And as such, my personal and professional journeys converge and help me grow emotionally, spiritually and creatively.
Balancing is not difficult if you get paid for doing what you love doing. It’s just about managing priorities and setting pragmatic and realistic goals for oneself. Growth for me does not necessarily mean vertical movement, it means width, it means depth, and it means creating an impact through profound experiences. It is about the journey, never about the destination. The destination will unravel, but the journey has been beautiful so far.
What has been your most cherished experience as a poet?
I have delivered writing workshops and motivational lectures to students and aspiring writers and to witness their reactions and see how it impacts and inspires them is very fulfilling for me as a poet. When people relate to you, are able to see through your authentic self, respect you for your struggles and draw inspiration from your strength, that is a success, that is happiness. I have always dared to be vulnerable, and I think that is fashionable. People opening up about their lives, sharing their stories when I dare to be vulnerable is truly beautiful and overwhelming.
What are the 5 books which every woman should read? Who are your 3 favorite authors?
POEMS-
#Forty rules of love
#Milk and honey
#No one belongs here more than you
#Woman is no man
#All Along You Were Blooming
AUTHORS/POETS-
#Paulo Coelho
#RupiKaur
#Nicholas Sparks
List goes on…
What would say is the most key component of success? Consistency, knowledge or strategy?
Authenticity – and Consistency in it.
Can you describe/outline your typical day? How do you keep yourself focused and productive as a poet and writer in your day-to-day busy schedule?
Wellness is key for me. A healthy body, a healthy mind is a healthy spirit and healthy soul. I practice intermittent fasting and yoga to achieve balance and harmony between my mind and body. I ensure a work-life balance so that my creative juices keep flowing. Writing is not a daily practice, reading is. Writing comes to you when it has to come, it can’t be forced. When it rains, it rains incessantly and sometimes penning down the flood of thoughts becomes difficult! Poetry just happens when you feel and internalize emotions and not intellectualize them!
What is that one message you would like to give to all the aspiring women writers or path-breakers on the occasion of International Women’s Day?
Would like to recruit one of my poems, here again, to answer –
I want to become
a tradition that rebels
that transforms the heavens
and shakes the hells
– I want to break stereotypes
that societies force us to follow
and be a belief, an idea, a legacy, a tradition
that shakes the hell out of oppressors
At Sharing Stories, we have an ongoing campaign ‘Empowering Our Kids’ where we are trying to encourage and inculcate reading habit from a young age. We are trying to pick up 20 to 30 must-read books for children and try and make them available at our library in Jaipur, also take this initiative across the globe. Please suggest some books which you think every child should read before the age of 15 (mostly the character-defining age).
#Child of the Dream
#Number the stars
#Walk two moons
#Harry Potter
Rapid Fire Round
1.Favorite Place, Person, Food, beverage….Place-Leh/India and Edinburg/Scotland,
Person-my late mom
Food-vada pav
Beverage-scotch on the rocks
2.Your other Talents….stargazing, moon watching for hours
3.Your First Love….me myself – you can’t pour from an empty cup
4.Favorite Quote…..too many, but – We’re all broken, that’s how the light gets in – Earnest Hemmingway
and
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
Rumi
5.Favorite Character from a book…Shams of Tabrez from forty rules of love
What if Round
- What if you had to live with only three things all your life, what would the three things be?
Love, Love, Love
- What if you were given the power to change one thing from this world, what would you change?
The emotion of Jealousy – it murders humanity
- What if you had all the money in this world, what would you do first?
create a level playing field through economic parity because happiness cannot be bought, all other things can be.
