WRITING POETRY WHICH IS EVOCATIVE AND WITH A PERTINENT MESSAGE OF WOMEN UPLIFTMENT
Author Interview: Rafia Mukhtar
Rafia Mukhtar, born and brought up in Kashmir, is of the view that pen is the greatest weapon that a girl has. She has put all her efforts in uplifting the condition of women and giving them the courage to fight against hopelessness. She has recently come out with her book “Her Castle of Dreams: Eve’s Hopeful Songs”. Affected a lot by the struggles of women in the society, she thought of scribbling all the emotions on paper and giving it a shape of a book. In a candid chat 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 Rafia Mukhtar as a person.
My name is Rafia Mukhtar. My birth place is at Vessu Qazigund Kashmir and presently I reside at New Qazi Bagh, Anantnag in Kashmir. I live with my parents and brother. My father is a business man. I have done post graduation in Economics and B.Ed. from Kashmir University. Currently I am working as a teacher in a private school named Himalayan Bells International School at Bradagund, Qazigund which is near my birth place. I chose this school because I wanted to teach the village children because I've always felt that there's somehow a lack of quality education which I missed in my childhood. I have written one poem about the school titled "Himalayan Bells.” The poem starts like, "There's a school in the hamlet/ Where kids gain so much talent/ Behind the school there's a corn field/ It's long long tussles give us a shield/ People come from faraway villages/ They feel peace when kids recite there morning prayers.”
After studies, I chose teaching profession as I believe that teaching is really a noble job and children are the future builders of the nation, if we teach them soulfully they can build a strong nation by hard work and determination. As a teacher I experienced many good things and I hope it would help me in future too. I often quote this: Kids are like artists of this era, they hold colours within, help them to paint the world beautifully.
Can you tell us more about your writing journey?
I think writing is the job of sensitive minds. It’s the journey of years, observing every little thing each and every day and writing them on the paper. How it became my passion and dream, it was the journey full of emotions, struggles and eventually an epic. When I was a child, I didn't know anything about what dreams are, what passion is; perhaps it was lack of care, not perfect schools or being born in a middle class family. In simple words my own life and struggles taught me how to stand up on my own feet when no one is there for you, being patient and hopeful in each and every difficult situation, and helping those who are needy, especially girls who have dreams in their eyes but do not have any support to fulfil them.
Most of the people can't speak up or even transpire their ideas and views to others but hopefully they have the ability to poise their pens over the page to write down something that can change the entire world. If you are going to dream high, you must work on that. A time will come when you will emerge a successful writer, doctor, an engineer and anything what you love to do.
Can you tell us more about your book “Her Castle Of Dreams”?
This book is soulfully dedicated to the female folk of the society, most importantly to those who face obstacles such as poverty, gender based violence, and lack of access to education. In order to end this, we need to empower women, so that the whole world thrives. We should educate them, support them and make them feel worthy, so that in future they will approach every challenge bravely and will win the journey of life. I simply want to say, I don’t have dollar but I offer you my honour, help, hope and will power so that you can achieve your dreams by hard work, determination and patience. Before you fly your wings, remember as a girl there's something like heaven up above the sky which you can’t cross until you owe some good deeds. It’s my dream book which I wrote with lot of efforts. There's a strong building of hopes and dreams (castle) in the form of poetry in the book and I hope when they will read it, they will feel hope, peace and will-power to fight against hopelessness and depression.
How has the response of the readers been to your book?
The response of the readers has been very nice.
On what themes and topics have you written poems about in this poetry collection?
I've written poems under the themes of knots of hope, dreams, strength, education, poverty and empowerment of women, and child marriage. I wrote one poem about child marriage titled "Plea". It starts with, "Mom and dad what do you do/ You chose your son to send to school/ Waiting here to get a book/ How early my little hands can cook". And one poem titled "Poor girl can dream" starts like, “She has no fancy dress to wear/ But her dreams soar high/ Look into her eyes/ Encourage her dreams to fly/ From morn to dusk/ she toils hard/ Hoping that one day The poor girl/ can take us From darkness to light!!!”
What do you think is the literary scenario in contemporary Indian English poetry? According to you, on what themes and topics should authors delve more into?
I think contemporary Indian English poetry uses its paper and ink for almost every issue. According to me authors should write about themes which fascinate them and may be about society. It's our society that gives birth to us, nurses and makes our fortunes. So we should always try to keep it fertile. Try to eradicate it's every foul agent.
What are your favourite books? Can you share with our esteemed readers about the genres that you like and your favourite authors?
My favourite books are “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, “Only the soul knows how to sing” by Kamala Surayya Das, “The God of small things” by Arundhati Roy, “Curfewed Nights” by Basharat Peer, etc. My favourite authors are Arundhati Roy, Agha Shahid Ali, Iqbal, Paulo Coelho, Kamala Surayya Das, and Anne Frank. My favourite poems are "The Looking Glass "and "My Grandmother's House" by Kamala Surayya Das and "Shaheney" by Iqbal.
What are your other interests apart from writing?
Teaching, because it's a noble profession.
Are there any other literary projects in the pipeline?
When I was a child I dreamt of writing something new, but sometimes I found myself it is a surreal experience. Now I have attained maturity and find myself able to work on poetry. Now I have made up my mind to write a Children's story book and a book about the aggrieved situation of Kashmir.
There are many new writers and poets who are aspiring to get their work published. What would you say to them?
I would like to say to them- be determined, confident and work constantly on your dreams, your dreams can come true and you'll find yourself on top of the world. You may face criticism by different people but you must be impervious to that criticism. You may face struggles also and struggles are a never ending process but you'll attain maturity because of this because struggles, pains make us a good and tolerant human being.
Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keeps you going?
It is these two quotes- "We can see change in the World, We can see end of Discriminations, When we pay heed to educate a poor Girl." and "Education is the best ornament which we can offer to every girl."
I also like this motivational quote by Savitribai Phule- "Go, get education, be self-reliant, be industrious, work, gather wisdom and riches, All gets lost without knowledge. We become animals without wisdom; sit idle no more, get education, end misery of the oppressed and forsaken. You have got a golden chance to learn, so learn and break the chains of caste"; and this one too by J.K. Rowling- "It matters not what someone is born, But what they grow to be".