Nuances of Life — Life Is A Roller Coaster Ride, It Is To Be Accepted As It Is!

Sangeeta Sambhi, Keekli Intern

Meghna Sharma belongs to the queen of hills, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. At present she is pursuing her B.com Honours from, Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Chandigarh. Writing has been her childhood hobby and it is always a form of meditation for her. Apart from this, she likes to sing and dance, as they too provide a kind of perspective to her to write about life. She believes in living her life to the fullest, hence she published an anthology in the form of collection of thirty poems — Nuances of Life. Her key point is to observe the minutest details of life, and to enjoy life, as a roller coaster ride.

The greatest lessons are stored in the smallest of observations.

Keekli: Since you come from Shimla, how do you perceive the motivation of literary resources available? 

Meghna: I believe that mountains call upon one in order to be able to achieve greater heights. The plethora of options that I get while working by my window, are more than sufficient. The nature, or the book I wrote, which is again based upon life, makes things simpler. I believe that I can write about life, even though I am not so experienced. The true inspiration is the place where I come from, it helps me build perspective towards life and look at things closely, which I think, most of the times, the people living in urban areas forget to take a breath. Slow pace life that one lives at in the mountains, tells us to come closer to ourselves and our lives and gives us so many things to read and write about. 

Keekli: How do you manage to maintain a balance between your academic and literary aspects of life?

Meghna: Studying is one aspect of life, which is driven by passion and gives you your profession in return. There comes a point when we get tired of studying, and then comes the role of our hobbies, writing is my cup of tea. I think that there isn’t a better way to balance these two aspects of life, spending time writing and introspecting. I don’t watch many motivational videos, I only require my writing material in hand, and life is sorted for me. Like this, I try to maintain a healthy balance, it just comes naturally.

Keekli: Along with writing, listening to music and dancing, are other two activities, you enjoy doing. Do they play a role in motivating you to write?

Meghna: Definitely! Music also builds perspective towards life. If we listen to the lyrics of the songs produced, it induces the ideas into us, which otherwise would not have been conceived. Speaking of dancing, yes, I believe that when we move in and out of places, our mindset grows. Both these activities are crucial in bringing about the revolution in ones thought process, which otherwise, are hard to catch.

Keekli: How did you perceive the idea of this anthology? 

Meghna: Initially, I never thought that I would get into writing. But when I came in contact with this publication team on Instagram, I thought of giving it a try, as I was actively participating in anthologies, prior to meeting them. It was spontaneous and I grabbed my seat. Then when I was pondering upon which medium, I wanted to choose in order to write the anthology, my gut directed me towards expressing myself through poems. As stated earlier, the mountains I come from, gave me the hope to write about life, as it is a topic that everyone will hold a different opinion about, and its beauty is that every viewpoint expressed deserves to be herd and felt. And sometimes, it can happen so that what a writer writes, is something, the reader is seeking. Therefore, these are the ways in which I perceive anthology.

Keekli: When did your inclination towards an anthology begin?

Meghna: My inclination towards an anthology is quite recent. Initially, I was not aware of an anthology’s concept. It was only in 2020, that I got to know about it, and how does its field works. Thereafter, I have actively participated in competitions and have been exploring more about the genre.

Keekli: Which genre of anthology do you prefer working on?

Meghna: I have mostly worked upon open genres. Otherwise, motivational, inspirational and philosophical ones, which mostly deal with the ways of life is something, I really like and work upon. 

Keekli: What force motivated you to write this book?

Meghna: My major source of strength, support and motivation were my friends. They suggested me to bring forth my talent, for the public to read. I was not very confident at that time, as I thought, writing would require a particular skill set. But they were adamant on me writing one, as they believed in me till such an extent, for them to say; “Even if no one read the book, we will. Also, we will suggest others to do the same”. One of my major concerns during that time was the fact that these days a lot of people write, and write so well, who would probably read my book. But my friends insisted on the fact that the only thing that matters, is your passion about the thing you do.

Keekli: Is there any specific reason why you prefer expressing yourself through poems over expressing yourself through stories?

Meghna: I believe in the fact when I write poems, I want to express a lot of things, along with not revealing too much about myself. This is the ability, poems give. I would want to reveal everything about myself, along with that I would not want to reveal everything. It is the hidden power of expression that the poems give us. It brings a lot of mystery with itself.

Keekli: Since you have mentioned, that the book has been inspired from the observation of minute details of everyday life. Can you think of an incident that inspired you to conclude so?

Meghna: Everyday has a new beginning. Even if I see something grow at my house, I am inspired to write something. It is the collection of events that inspired me to write. If I had to state by example, it would be of me procrastinating. It struck me to ponder upon the thought that what was I doing with my life. I cannot continue to being a procrastinator, as it was getting heavy, and my personality wasn’t being built. While all of this personal turmoil was going on inside my head, I just picked up my pen and started writing. And one poem came out like this. Hence, the book is a collection of all experiences which I have either experienced or observed.

Keekli: What are the upcoming projects you are working on, or you look up to in the near future?

Meghna: Now that I have written some content in English, I believe that I should write something in Hindi too. Nothing would be better than expressing my emotions through the mother tongue. Apart from that, I am posting daily on my Instagram page, @Flawesome_diries, about motivational thoughts, along with planning to write a book on quotes. At present these projects are in que. 

Keekli: What is your mantra to stay productive?

Meghna: Life is uncertain, so one should live their life to the fullest. Last year, I experienced the sudden demise of my cousin. At that point of time, I realised that we always take life for granted, assuming everything will go our way, not realising that death does not have an age. Therefore, I only aspire to be satisfied while going to sleep. I always make a to-do list, and I plan to do maximum things in a day. That’s what keeps me going.

Keekli: Can you name some of your favourite anthologists of contemporary times?

Meghna: I have not explored the work of many anthologists as I only know about the ones with whom I have worked. They have been motivation under youth, dare to dream and tujhmain umeed hai.

Keekli: What is your message for your audience?

Meghna: Life is wonderful, but often times people misunderstand it. We run it the way others want it to be, but having the capacity of running through ourselves, does not give us the liberty of doing anything and everything. Keeping in mind that when we do something, we do not cause harm to others, is important. Also, it is alright to take a back foot once and just observe. Do not be heavy on yourself, and enjoy, take life, the way it is. And also, I would like the readers to have a glance at the book, to know about why I emphasise upon observing.