𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗦 𝗣𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗔 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘺𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘪

 ABOUT DEYASINI 

Deyasini Ganguly is an engineering junior who's passionate about reading, writing and recording moments, both personal and professional. Been introduced in the universe of writers at the age of fifteen, Deyasini's articles have spanned from her personal opinions on worldly affairs to alternate endings of popular stories. Her initial open letters have been featured on well acclaimed writing pages like The Anonymous Writer and Commas and Half Strokes. 

Deyasini started her writing ventures with small quotes in 2014. Thereafter, she has written more than 20 poems on Mirakee and a number of stories on her blog. It was in the lockdown of 2020 that Deyasini started blogging on a more regular basis. 

She is an avid reader, a movie buff and an audiophile. She also enjoys music and loves spending  time in self-actualization. 

To know more about her, visit her blog(www.deyasinithinks.blogspot.com)

• What made you decide to start your blog?

Back in 2015, I started this blog to record my feelings and opinions in an online journal. I had no intention of becoming a blogger or creating a sensation. I just wanted to document everything I write in the same place.

• Do you blog in small batches or just write a post as you get the time?

I’m a temperamental woman. Since the blog I gravely personal, I dance to the tunes of my whim in what to write and when to write and post them. Also, I barely post everything. What you see on my page is probably just 40 percent of what I have written. Others are just too personal to be posted.

• Best/Worst blogging experience so far?

The best experience is always with the personal opinion ones. As for me, readers belong to the category of youngsters, people trying their hands at newer things, working hard to make themselves seen by this world, I think they resonate with my content more. There hasn’t been a terrible writing experience, so far but yes, in the early days of my writing, I struggled a lot with the designing of the pages and the font styling. often, had to repost everything from scratch. 

• Has being a  blogger changed your sense of identity?

Not really. Blogging brings out the most vulnerable parts of me, challenges me to be the best version of myself whilst embracing the worst of me.

• Did you always love to read? Even as a little kid?

Yes, in fact, some of my earliest memories are of reading Enid Blyton’s Famous or Secret Seven. I started reading at age five. At seven, I was already reading novels like Wuthering Heights.

• Has anyone ever made fun of you for your love of reading?

Luckily, I was a part of a circle where all of us were readers or admirers of literature. So, nobody made fun of my habit in school but after I got into college, people behaved obnoxiously about my fiction-reading-habit. A lot of ‘grown-ups’ think fiction is useless. And I think they’ll never understand the sense of growing up.

• Do you prefer a physical book, e-book, or audiobook, and why?

A physical book, any day. Reading a physical book is a whole experience: its smell, the creases on its page, the texture- everything adds to its appeal. However, when i am busy, An audiobook comes in very handy. I listen to audiobooks all the time. When I am working out, cleaning my room, or dozing off to sleep.

• If you could force the world to read one book, what would it be?

Since I am a big admirer of Khaled Hosseini’s work, the book would be The Kite runner. Its poignant, honest and gives a clear account of how Afghanistan changed after the Taliban overtook in 1996. If you want to read non-fictional, it can be He Named Me Malala By Malala Yousafzai.

• What is one book that has changed your way of thinking in a particular way and how?

Atomic Habits by James Clear has been the most significant book in my life in addition to Ikigai and As A Man Thinketh. They are all self-development books and they affect your thoughts, your actions, and your approach toward each day and life, as a whole. I was shaken by the number of theoretical explanations there is behind every decision we make. Together, these three books can make you a better person, decisive, intelligent, and persevere.

• What’s the BOOKISH destination you’d like to go to someday?

Anne Frank Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. I read about Anne Frank for the first time when Idon’tto It’sI was in Class 8, age thirteen, a similar age Anne was at when the diary was originally written. Experiences shape our existence and mold our thoughts and understanding. Therefore, she could peruse and comprehend ideas that are beyond my comprehension even today, let alone at 13. The only tribute I can give her is to visit her memorial and museum and experience her legacy.

• Why do only a few Indian authors make it to the international level of literature?

I do not agree. There are a lot of Indian authors who are internationally acclaimed for their works. To start with, Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai are winners of the Man Booker prize. Other than that, contemporary writers like Rabindranath Tagore, Saratchandra Chattopadhyay have been read and translated by thousands into languages for easy comprehension of the international audience.

• With the rising popularity of English fictional books, is the literature of regional language dying in India?

Yes, and it has more to do with our obsession with English and our consideration that it is a superior language to our regional ones. Also, regional language literature doesn’t get covered half as much as English literature.

• Who are your biggest influences(as writer and blogger)? Who do you admire most? Who or what inspired you to do what you’re doing now?

The creation of my blog was inspired by my English teacher who told us it’s an excellent practice to write in a blog if you are to improve your English skills. Writers from all over the world and writing in all different languages have influenced me. To start with, Rabindranath Tagore and William Shakespeare have been the greatest contemporary influencers. Lang Leav is a modern poet who deals in pain and love who is my current inspiration. Nicholas Sparks, a romance novelist, and Agatha Christie, the queen of crime novels have taught me the art of storytelling snd all the elements one can put in it to hold the reader’s attention.

• Have you written any new poems during this lockdown? If yes, can you share an excerpt from it?

Yeah

                                                          FIRST LOVER 

                             I'm my lover's first lover and I hate it so much

                                      I hate it that I'll spoil his fairytale

               His fairytale where there's a 'once upon a time' and a 'happily ever after'

                               Where lovers meet and nothing goes wrong

                          I hate it because I'll have to break it down to him

                                      Broken dont always need be fixed.

         I'm sorry that it'll be through me that he will see the dark side of love; the real one that

                                                    fairytales don't talk

                   Sorry that he'll realize that the closest ones give the most fatal blows

                 I'm sorry to have to break it down that all holes need not be closed

                                     Nor are always meant to be healed

                             That happiness is not in being unbroken ever

                            But to stand up pulling all the pieces together

            I'm sorry that his love is so pure that the purity chokes on my liberty and dances in my dreams

              and screams making me fall weak on my knees and doubt my worth: I'm sorry

                         I'll try the hardest but I think his love bubble will burst

                            And I'm sorry cause I think the pin is in my hand.

• Have you ever faced writer’s block while writing and reader’s block while reading? If yes, then how did you overcome it?

Yes, happiness gives me writer’s block. You keep me too happy, I cant write. SO, every once in a while, I get myself caught in a tough spot!

• Best fiction and Non-fiction books that you have read so far?

Fiction-Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

 Non-Fiction: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.

• Which are your personal favorite Rabindranath Tagore’s works and why?

Its very difficult to choose one of his works, specially when i have grown up on his works. The best part of being Bengali is my ability to read Rabindranath Thakur in his original language. My most favourite has to be Chokher Bali and Chitrangada( a dance-drama). Among the shorter stories, my favourite is The Postmaster. In poems, Hothat Dekha resonates with me on a personal level. My story “Why Didn’t We Stay” is partly based on the thought which Hothat Dekha discusses.

• What are your views on book adaptations into movies/series? Best/worst book adaptation according to you?

In most cases, the book is better than the movie. The only instance where I found the movie to be as brilliant as the book is Harry Potter. Most of the movies that have received the Oscars through the years are adaptations of books. I don’t want to comment on the worst but be assured, if you have liked a movie, go back and read the book; chances are you’ll like it better.

• Satyajit Ray’s movies faced criticisms(particularly from some Bollywood film personalities) for “selling” Indian poverty to the western audience. What are your views on this?

True, but at the time when Satyajit Ray was making films, directing, and shooting, India was poor. His most iconic work, Apu’s Trilogy which is the most talked of in the Western circles shows the life of a pauper, Apu, and how he loses. And yes, it is heart-breaking, stoic, and sometimes, impossible to watch but it’s the reflection of society. You can’t be angry at someone for being too honest in his work or because it isn’t appropriately sugar-coated for your dinner-table discussion. Satyajit Ray did his best to capture the rawest emotions and went to any extent to do that. I think that is commendable and much more than something I can say about today’s directors. And although he was criticized by a circle, his works, his style has been adopted and he’s praised by international directors over the years.

• Like Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray was much more appreciated abroad than in India(except Bengal), the main reason being that all(except one or two in Hindi and English) of his films were in Bengali. Do you think these two personalities are underappreciated in the northern belt of our country?

Absolutely yes. In the northern belt of our country, both Ray and Tagore were considered to be Bengali filmmakers and writers respectively at least at the time they were alive. Due to the absence of modern technology and the unavailability of subtitles like we have on OTT platforms these days, it became difficult to present Bengali films to audiences who did not know the language. However, this is true for modern-day directors as well. Even if you look at directors from before a decade, you’ll see language acts as a barrier in distributing their films. That changed with the arrival of Netflix. Now, look at the shows that are phenomena around the world- Money Heist(A Spanish show), Lucifer(audiences belonging to every place on Earth irrespective of whether or not they know English), and Dark(a German show ).

• Web Shows all of a sudden have become very popular in India. With that being said, many people are being offended over the content of some web shows and are demanding a ban on various shows. What are your views on this?

It’s very sad for two reasons. One, Indians seem to have a problem with everything. Nobody wants to give filmmakers any creative freedom. They try to make a Padmavati and people beat the director and openly threaten to kill the lead actor. Such a shameful thing can only be allowed in our country. And instead of controlling this divide, politicians add fuel to the fire. Two, it shows the unnecessary attention people can give to things that are meant for your entertainment and the serious things that they take for granted. I’ve never seen riots happening due to the increasing price of petrol and diesel but you make one movie about a king who lived centuries ago, suddenly it’s a violation of our culture.

• Do you think the representation of women in mainstream cinema has changed over course of time?

Women have indeed found their places as more than relations to their male counterparts in Indian cinema and are now depicted in roles that carry more weight than men. However, there’s a long way to go. We need to normalize the culture of women playing important roles and not having to prove their mettle every time. Similarly, the gap between men and women in international acting exists even though it is not as glaringly visible as is in India and is closing slowly with time.

• Best woman-centric movies you have watched and would like to recommend to others?

Hunger Games. It was delightful to watch Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, volunteering herself at the Hunger Games to save her little sister, Primrose. High recommended for anybody who likes dystopian movies.

• Best Indian web show you have watched so far?

Delhi Crime 

• Does best global web show you have watched so far?

I just can’t choose. It would be so unfair to choose one when there are so many. Dark, Quicksand, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez.

• You have written blogs on self-help. What would be your advice to a the person who’s facing mental issues and existential crises?

1. Don’t judge yourself for feeling low. It’s the worst thing you can do to yourself.
2. Pen your feelings in a journal, your high low, and lows.
3. Talk to someone you trust. If there isn’t someone like that, join support groups and discussion rooms.