About The Author: Prashant V Shrivastava is a published author of Life’s Like That (published in 2013) and an IT professional. He has been writing since 1998 and has been acclaimed across various prestigious platforms like internet, newspapers, and various competitions.
The title of your book “Jo Tum Kaho” is really intriguing. What is your view on the same, and what is it all about?
Thank you. The title ‘Jo Tum Kaho’ comes from poetry that I wrote for my wife about eight years ago. When I was picking poems for the book, Jo Tum Kaho only had the first paragraph, but the title kept me interested until I decided to keep it in the book. The same evening, I wrote the additional paragraphs and completed the poetry.
The poem tells the beloved that I will ensure that in the world, everything will happen as per your wishes. Be it the Sun or moon or anything else; I will ensure it does exactly as you want.
What made you to turn a poet?
I think my introvert nature and inheritance from my parents, who both are creative writers and deep thinkers. I discovered my flair of writing when my cousin Bhawna challenged me to write a fresh poetry way back in the year 1998. She was the one who appreciated my work, and then my mom encouraged me to write often. I write with all my heart and try and express what I feel about objects and people in the world around me
How much research and efforts were required on your part to complete this masterpiece.
I already have more than 1500 poems scattered across my diaries, computer sheets, and mobile device notes. The challenge was to pick one and leave the other. I typed all the poems in Hindi with the help of Google Input Tools and kept saving the document as a PDF in my cloud drive. I used to spend one hour regularly after dinner and had resolved to add at least one poetry to the collection every day. I thank my wife Shipra, and daughter Shranjika, for their support.
How do you manage writing along with your profession?
Poetry is not an activity which needs dedicated time and conditions. I write when traveling, having dinner, walking with friends, or even during social gatherings. The moment a thought strikes in your brain, it must be jotted down else it flies away never to return. At times, I wake up in the wee hours of the night and note down a thought on my phone to develop it later. My hobby is not so demanding.
Would you diversify into short story writing as well maybe sometime in the future or have you written some in the past? Please explain.
My first novel – Life’s Like That’ was published in the year 2013. I have a few more on my computer being baked. I write short stories for my website, http://friendstime.com. I have not thought to do a short story book as my focus would be on poetry as of now. However, you never know. I had never thought I would share my thoughts in the form of poetry with the world, and it happened.
Which poet inspires you most?
I read every writer and every poet that I can. I like the writing style of Ravindra Nath Tagore, Mirza Ghalib, Meer Taqi Meer, Gulzaar Saab, Javed Akhtar, Anand Bakshi, Prasoon Joshi, and Irshad Kamil among others.
What according to you in unique about your book?
I have picked 100 poems that sound like Bollywood songs. You can read them like a song’s line, and you will be able to get the feel of the tune and music. With deep thoughts and quality descriptions, the words chosen are simple and easy to fathom. The theme of each of the poems is somewhat similar to what we all go through every day in our relations. Poetry in Jo Tum Kaho is not limited to romance or pain, and it covers all other emotions comprehensively. For example, a poem talks about the feelings of the family members of a rapist where they are ashamed and down with never-ending guilt.
How do you view the future of young poets in India?
Poets who write sensible poetry without imitating others are always unstoppable. When you let the emotions breathe inside you, you end up surprising yourself. Young poets seem to know the gist of poetry where instead of using old and used analogies, they are coming up with fresh comparisons and bringing all the freshness in the literary world. I wish everyone the very best as poets connect the dots between the tangible and abstract world.
