WRITING PERSPICACIOUS POETRY IS HER RAISON D’ETRE

Author Interview: Divye Duheta Mahajan

Divye Duheta Mahajan is a daughter of the soil, born and brought up in Jammu. Having studied in J.K. Public School, Jammu and after doing her Bachelors of Engineering from Jammu University, she has done her Masters in Gandhi and Peace Studies. However, it is writing exquisite and soulful poetry that has been her passion. She has recently come up with the Hindi poetry book “Maan Manch”. In a candid conversation with Chirdeep Malhotra, she talks about her latest book, her writing journey, her favourite books and authors, and much more.


Please tell us more about Divye Duheta Mahajan as a person.
Divye Duheta is a daughter of the soil. The roots of my existence are deep-rooted in the city of temples, Jammu, but I owe myself to this entire creation. I belong to the Nature that nurtures us day and night without fail; that is the passion of my existence as a poet. Self is a wider subject that has been boggling me since childhood and now when I have an opportunity to elaborate upon it I am more than glad to share it with the world.
I have done my early schooling from J. K Public School (2008) and BACHELORS OF ENGINEERING as the Technical Graduation from University of Jammu in the year 2012. However, my interest grew more towards the rhymes that were flowing out of my pen and I finally decided to pursue writing for a couple of years. Afterwards, I started facilitating children in collaboration with various private schools of Jammu, University of Jammu, in articulating their thoughts, and writing poetries as a practice of self-development. I have also been working with Indian Army in their 'Special 40' initiative as a Communication expert.
In the meanwhile I have worked with Rotary International for three years as PRESIDENT ROTARACTOR CLUB JAMMU SNEH, JAMMU; and have helped underprivileged children in pursuing their education, sponsoring them with tuition fees and uniforms. Moreover, we have conducted many 'Plant a Plant' drive in our city. I am also the Associate member of The Institution of Engineers (India), Youth Hostels Association of India and Jammu Club, Jammu. In 2018, I completed Masters in Gandhi and Peace studies and now I will be putting my efforts not just in developmental aspect of our state but also in creating peace environment in all the three major provinces of the State.

Can you tell us more about your writing journey?
The aesthetic appeal of my city surrounded by lush hills added essence to my writings. I owe values of our culture and live my life with contemporary style. The exceptional blend of my understanding of nature has bestowed the ability to recognize the rhymes and rhythms jumbling from my inner self and to articulate them into poems to the outer world. The lyrical flow of my poetry has touched many human unfathomable feelings and desires. I am a freethinker who loves to explore the jungles of imagination but thinks that whatever is the creation here on Earth is Divines' chef d'oeuvre. My admiration for nature and exploration into deep human emotions are the primary areas of my writings. To that, I feel that self-realization is the ultimate aim of my prolific poetic flows. I love romancing with nature in the realm of my inner self and appreciate the quality moments of silence. I feel the sagacious divine presence when that inner realm of "Self" gets in touch with nature and everything seems dancing on the beats of musical rhymes. That is how to me, poetry, overwhelm in love for divinity, just flows from the very the core of my existence.

Can you tell us more about poetry book "Maan Manch"?
The "Maan Manch" is a beautiful amalgam of life, nature, feelings, customs and Truth. 'Thoughts are the creator of individuality'- As life goes on, the situations come in our lives, carve us in an experiences and from there one starts building perception and with perception comes thoughts. 'Maan Manch' is that poetic platform where you will find oneself walking through the passage of perceptions, to thoughts to a turn where everything dissolves in Nothingness; and that Nothingness is 'Bliss'. It is like moving from the material world on Earth to infinite cosmos.
'Maan Manch', takes us from outer materialism to real inner beauty and love through its various joyful poetic frames of Nature- in which we live, Love- to which we feel entangled, and complexity of mind- that plays in this world through its permutations and combinations of various thoughts. It takes one back to its core and makes one realize that life is meant for celebrations; lamenting, melancholy, anger, hatred are not our true nature.

How has the response of the readers been to your book?
It is fantabulous for now as I have many orders for my eBook on Amazon.com. I am positive that it will reach the Hindi readers and will touch their hearts in time to come.

What are the topics and themes that you have written about in this book?
'Maan Manch' is a song of various human aspirations compiled in a chapter 'उड़ते रंग', the beauty and treasures of nature in 'कुदरती अंदाज़', the personification of life as a poem in 'जीवन-कविता'. It shares the ancient glories of human existence in 'पुराण-संध्या', the unheard voices of mind in 'शब्दों का कहन', the societal influences that drive the mind in 'समाजिक प्रभाव' and much more.

What do you think is the current literary scenario in Hindi poetry and on what themes should contemporary authors write more about?
There are many contemporary authors who are writing in Hindi as Hindi is the first language and being an Indian, I feel the way we can express in Hindi or any other regional language is far better than how we express in English. It is important that contemporary writers must put their focus on the social issues like women empowerment, child subjugation in terms of early labor, intolerance and terrorism so that through their own sensitivity towards Nature and Creation, they inculcate the same sensitivity by their writings in the world.

What are your favorite books? Can you share with our esteemed readers about the genres that you like and your favorite authors?
I am a passionate reader as well, but my taste is more towards reading real life events of people's life and their journey of growth from scratch. As a reader, I love reading Indian mythology, specifically verses of Bhagavad Gita that touches me more than any other book in this world. Moreover, I am a great fan of Swami Vivekananda and have his Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda in my personal library. Apart from this, of contemporary world now, I like reading books written by Robin Sharma, Mitch Albom, who presents life's great lessons in the most beautiful manner.

What are your other interests apart from writing?
I am a passionate Nature photographer who loves to explore different flowers, its blooming journey and final voyage of culmination. I like cooking in my free time as my ability to mix just right proportion of ingredients in the food nourishes my ability to be precise and to the point in my writing.

There are many new writers and poets who are aspiring to get their work published. What would you say to them?
I think in today's time, finding a publisher is the hardest thing; much harder than writing a book. It'll be easier to Self-publish but promoting it in market will be difficult task as today's digital market for books is humongous and sailing oneself to the shore of success in such a huge ocean of writers is a hard task. The best is to keep building the followers through writings on social media either through personal blogs or through using social media like Facebook or instagram and publish when one has enough market value in terms of following. That will create an edge for the writer.

Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keep you going?
"Sharing makes learning better"- You too must share your learning to learn more from what you share. Cheers!