THIRTEEN OR THIRTY

Young poet Alisha Chandranath may be just about 13-years-of-age. But her poetry in the recently published work ‘Thirteen or Thirty’ surely brings in a thought if an individual really needs to be thirty to be reflecting on life and everything else that surrounds it.

How did publishing of the poetry collection happen?
I never thought of publishing my collection of poetry. I just kept documenting my thoughts and writing poems as they came to my mind. Individuality, identity and intuition came my way, as my soul kept speaking.

What inspires you to write poems?
There is nothing particular for inspiration. Whenever the mind feels like penning down thoughts that flow due to whatever is happening around us, I start writing. Sometimes there are occasions that inspiration can come from as vivid areas such as watching a film.

A film titled’ The Danish Girl’ revolves around portrait artist Gerda Wegener who asks her husband, popular landscape artist Einar Wegener to stand in for a female model who is late to come to their flat; to pose for a painting she's working on. She decides to paint him as a woman.

The act of posing as a female figure unmasks Einar's lifelong identification as a woman, whom she has named Lili Elbe. And actually here is a man who is struggling and fighting to have an identity that he wants in his life. This made me write a poem.

What kind of stories get into your poems?
Some stories are not meant for the dinner table. Some are made into movies that people watch, while some become books. All beautiful things do not define the life around us. But there are stories, which will knock inside your heart and demand to be written. They get their way into my poems and prove that they exist too.

What are the issues that find space in your poems?
Well as I said, there is something happening at every moment in this world and our minds. The best way to answer this question is to narrate a poem ‘The Cigarette’.
“The cigarette was twirled in his fingers,
He smiled at the strong desire he had for her.
He took her and blew her out drag by drag,
And watched as she vanished slowly,
Transforming into ash.
Her burnt ends spurred his longing for her,
Shook his head,
And moved to another one who was exactly like her,
A cigarette,
Waiting to be burnt.

What are your views about ‘Life on Earth’?
We are all having different identities. We are flesh and bones. Our identities should be universal than our culture.

Who are the poets on your mind?
I have read Rabindranath Tagore and love his works. I have read Munshi Premchand but have enjoyed Urdu poetry of Ghalib and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Pablo Neruda’s work inspired me to write my poem ‘Tonight, I Shall Say It All’.

What are your future plans?
I have always believed in the person I am. I am always developing and becoming a better person than I was; as my journey keeps moving. I am learning and I want to learn more.

By: Jaywant Naidu