Shreya Modi is a writer, poet and author of ‘The (Un)fettered Mind’. She was born in Kolkata, West Bengal. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” is a quote by William Shakespeare, which draws a reality in Shreya’s life. The designation of a ‘poet’ is nothing but a ‘powerful role’ for her, to stir a difference.

What made you driven towards writing? Tell us something about the time you started writing?

I used to write/compose poetries from a very young age.
“Messages and impulses are going from your brain, down through your arm, into your fingers and then onto the page.”
Perhaps, if my vocal folds would express, it would sound balderdash to many and if I would generate that to writing instead of composing, it would require a philologist to decipher its denotation. Haha! (Laughs) Roistering. It is advisable, not to consider the previous few lines with gravity because who knows, one day I decide to pen stories or articles? Cannot quash the future sales, haha! (Laughs) . Presently I feel like owning a time machine to trot a decade back, in order to encode my impression of my first draft and to answer this question! As I used to compose poetries from a very young age. Possibly, the first hour I was content with my draft and the second hour I was cynical about it, and maybe again the third hour I was content. I am sure the sanguinity had overpowered the negativity and therefore, here I am, giving my interview for my book!

What is your favourite genre? Who are your favourite authors?

I like to read books of various authors and poets, of different genres, styles, categories and themes, but among them, my all-time favourite genres are non-fiction, science fiction, drama and thriller. My favourite authors and poets are,
William Shakespeare, Ruskin Bond, William Wordsworth, Roald Dahl, Robert Frost, Elisabetta Dami, Satyajit Ray, Upendrakishore Roy Chowdhury, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay and Rabindranath Tagore.

Their prodigious and legendary ways of dealing with ‘their crafts’, transfix me; their exquisite ability to make readers read their books at a stretch, and absorb their minds completely into the pages and lines, drive me to admire their work.
Precisely, their talent to subtly cast a spell on the reader’s mind and to push that into thinking, solely with their writings, make me applaud their work.

How did you decide the plot or theme of the book?

The world around us, the world in which we are living, give me the reasons to pick up the pen and compose poetries, every time.
For me, every ‘object’ is the ‘subject’.
Nothing is out of the blue and not everything is specifically inspired by events. Thus, bits and bricks to treats and tricks!

What is the one advice you would want to give to the budding writers?

I believe that, the ‘art’ is subjective to the ‘artist’. It does not require somebody else’s nudge. It is the artist’s distinctive platform or medium, through which he or she conveys – words, messages, creativity, etc, in his or her own way.
The rest can definitely guide them or us.
I would only advice or request them to channelize their skill or skills – to prod a difference.
To have the power, to pen poetries or stories or writings, is beguiling. Let not the external pressures, internal pressures, stereotypical patterns, creative blocks, etc, impede us from writing.
If one wants to know more, regarding what else I can advice to the budding writers, then in that case, I would like to plug the poem –  ‘Artist’, from my book – ‘The (Un)fettered Mind’. By now, my manager and the marketing team would be impressed by me, haha! (Laughs) .

What makes your book the one to read?

There are readers who love to read poetries, there are readers who carry various other tastes, but that does not deter their reading – of my book. ‘The (Un)fettered Mind’ can be read by everyone, with any interest, belonging to any age-group and at any point of time.
Some are sonnets, some are free verses, etc, but few points that all my poetries have in common are:
1. The ability to generate impulses.
2. The ability to forge inescapable thinking or thoughts.
3. The ability to keep you on your toes.
Having an amalgamation of both ‘light’ and ‘serious’ aspects, to avoid monotony in a particular type, making room for varied interpretations, with open and mixed themes, giving the book an unparalleled and a classic touch.
I do not want to be solely known as a ‘poet’, I do not want it to be limited to that, even if I am designated as a ‘poet’, I would consider this as a golden opportunity to say that, “I have a power which can be channelized to achieve greater aims and to leave footprints (handprints!) of transmutations, which is my primary goal, not settling for trendy, attention-fetching poetries but trying to bring up poetries which can have indelible impacts and can gain ageless proclivities.”

What was the best advice you got while writing?

Quoting Ruskin Bond, “To succeed in anything, you have to care desperately for the thing itself, and not for the benefits that come with it.”
I think, this resonates to a great extent and acts as a strong advice for me. Even if a handful of people read my book, I would want, my poetries to create impacts on their minds or at least try to stir impulses of thinking, as every action begins with its bare-bones step – ‘thinking’ and in order to succeed in that, I have to care for ‘my art’ desperately and only then will I be able to mutate the minds, of my readers, into what I wish to.

Which part of your story connects the most with you and why?

To procure something out of any subject, I think it is imperative for me to get into the skin of that subject, concurrently being the person to write about it. Additionally, to generate my art to the readers, it is salient for me to connect ‘at the fullest’, with each poetry that I pen and not one in particular.

Interviewed by : Subhechcha Ganguly