At first glance, Gouri Dash, Meera Sashital, Dhiruben Patel and Ambika Sirkar may pass off for a bunch of grandmas. But they are all established authors who have carved a niche for themselves in the world of literature. With their latest works being published by Leadstart Publishers, these writers talk about what keeps them going at an age when retirement beckons most people.
Gouri Dash, author ofStories from Piplivan
A writer-cum-translator, Gouri's Stories from Piplivan is a series of books on a forest called Piplivan. The characters have names and individual identities; each book has a different story with the same characters with some new faces being introduced. Best known for her translation of Ashapoorna Devi's trilogy – Pratham Pratisruti , Subarnalata and Bakul Katha – Gouri enjoys writing and translation but bemoans that translators don't get due credit despite it being such a challenging craft. Married at 14, Gouri says, “I could not complete formal education but have always had a penchant for languages. I picked up spoken and written Bengali from a friend and then translated several Bengali books to Oriya. I started learning English when my kids started school and gradually widened my vocabulary with comics and kids' literature.”
On a parting note: “I look at writing as my companion now. I have no worldly responsibilities left; I spend all my time praying, reading and writing. Being published and getting a warm response has been a matter of immense satisfaction for me. My publishers keep forwarding book reviews and a few mails they have received for my work; these keep re-charging my batteries.”
Ambika Sirkar, author ofNo Crystal Stair
A professor of Economics; teacher of Buddhism to Dalit women; and an ace translator who has translated a variety of literature from Buddhist texts to Bernard Schlink's novels, Ambika Sirkar avers “From the age of 17-18, my first love has been fiction. I not only read it but started to write in my teens; and have always felt the drive to write more and more. I don't feel old; I am 79 years young, especially when I am writing! However in the last year I have had trouble with my eyesight and haven't been able to do much. I know many writers of my age who continue to write, so my writing is in the same tradition.”
Ambika, who enjoys reading Marathi authors, Graham Greene and John Steinbeck among others, opens up about No Crystal Stair . “The novel explores the enduring love between a son and his mother. How the mother deals with life's vicissitudes while helping her son and how the son also deals with various situations in his life without losing his independence and individuality is the crux of the novel. He remains his own man but has lasting and deep commitment to his mother. The novel depicts the intertwined lives of mother and son along with her husband and his wife.”
Dhiruben Patel, author ofAgantuk (Rainbow at Noon)
Born to a freedom-fighter mother and a journalist father, who treated her as an individual with a right to live her way, Dhiruben Patel started writing at a young age. “My parents gave me all facilities but did not interfere in any way. This led me to become a professional writer in my teens. Due to my academic career, I was invited to be a lecturer as soon as I finished post-graduation. I had no difficulty in fulfilling my childhood dreams of becoming a writer and a professor. The real challenge came later. My male colleagues did not like working under a woman; that too a younger one. Writing is an integral part of her being. “I feel happy when I write, I may stop publishing when I am not able to write well because of my age but I just can't imagine not writing when I have a strong inner urge.”
Agantuk is the story of a person striving to gain a spiritual high. This sincerity and purity makes him a misfit in modern society. Dhiruben agreed to have it translated by Shri Raj Supe because “I felt that he would understand my hero and his struggles as he has travelled the same path.”
Meera Sashital, author ofWorship Essentials
Influenced by the works of Swami Vivekanand and Rabindranath Tagore, Meera Sashital believes that “my multi-tasking and multi-pronged education led me to understand literature, life and religion in a much deeper way. Once you open your mind to newer ideas you can learn more effectively. Challenges in writing happen when the DNA of the idea is not clear. If the idea is clear, it will find its own way of expressing itself through one's writing; for, clear thinking leads to clearer communication.”
Age has never been a constraint for Meera's expression. “Writing comes to me as naturally as breathing. It is my mode of expression; I do not need an external motivation to write. Irrespective of whether my work gets published or not, I keep writing. I do not write for money or for fame; I write for myself, as it nourishes my soul.”
On Worship Essentials , she explains “Today, amid the rush of modern living, our ways of worship have become practice-by-rote, without individual understanding of either the object used or the ritual and, ultimately, the form of worship itself. Worship Essentials re-acquaints us with the meaning and purpose behind the objects we use in puja , whether at home or in the temple. It gently informs and adds meaning and value to that most private of all human practices: worship. My understanding of philosophy and a natural thirst for knowledge of our religious practices prompted this book.”
Sunil Poolani (Publisher, Leadstart) and Chandralekha Maitra (Executive Director, Editorial, Leadstart) on what prompted them to publish these veteran authors:
‘Seniority' is never the issue while publishing books. A literary work will stand the test of time if narrated and written well, and especially so if it carries a social message with clarity and conviction. All these works fall into that category. All these authors have carved a niche in their respective fields, irrespective of age, language, gender or creed and the respective works are masterpieces in their own respect. Age is but a thing of the mind.
