Author Interview: Aditya Tiwari

Untitled design (2).jpegA conversation with Aditya Tiwari, author of April is Lush, published by Bluerose Publishers

  1. Tell us about yourself.

Hi, my name is Aditya-Tiwari, I am 21-year-old, brown, queer, writer, and a storyteller, based in India.

  1. If not being an author, what was your dream in life?

My dream in life if I wasn’t an author would’ve been to become an actor or a model.

  1. Who do you attribute your success to?

I dedicate this book and the success to my family and friends, it wouldn’t have been possible without them. They are the ones who love me for me and I am so beyond grateful for that.

  1. Any message you would like to give to your readers?

I want my readers to know that there is magic their veins. I want them to believe in themselves and know that nothing or no one can stop them and always remember that it’s time they realize that it’s all inside of them. They just have to believe in themselves. It’s always been there all along.

  1. Who or what inspired you to write the book?

In this first book, I have turned all my pain. into poetry. into art. Writing is my self-expression and it comes to me naturally to me like fresh air. I poured my everything into this book – the book is inspired by a lot of personal struggles and inner battles.

“April is lush” by Aditya Tiwari

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You tell them

that you are fine,

but these are

just your

little lilac lies

-April is lush (Adithya Tiwari)

April is lush is a collection of poems written by Aditya Tiwari. The first impression of this book is its cover and title. There is nothing graphic about the cover. But somehow I liked it a lot. The tinge of red merged with black yellow, green and grey colors is the expression of the author’s poetry. This somehow gives us a hint of a rainbow without opening the book. The seasons of human life, from a pupa to a beautiful butterfly or the different emotions one has throughout their life. The definition of the rainbow is limitless. The title is also apt for a poetry collection which describes very fragile emotions of human life.

I’m truly proud that I read this book in the pride month. LGBTQIA+ community has been sidelined in literature too as well as in other fields. Their voice s important as much as ours. That’s how we can merge them to us. Being a queer writer, Aditya’s pen bleeds the emotions of utmost difficult phase in human life. The emotions are raw and thus makes it most desirable. The power he attained from broken and healing throughout the phases of his metamorphosis has been strengthened his literary senses too. This has been evident from the small poems he wrote.

The poetry collection also includes poems on love, loss, heartbreak, trauma, woman and self-worth other than LGBTQIA+ thoughts. The flow of poems is what I admired most about this book. The phase of love and loss is always a favorite subject for poets. Its because it is the truest of all emotions one has. But the specialty of Adithya’s poems is he tried explored the phase of grief much more than others. The poems on trauma and loss have tons of difference. The small differences in our thoughts and emotions during the phase of loss is essayed beautifully in these small poems. This makes the poetry long-lasting in the thoughts of readers even after turning the last page.

The language used in poems is simple making even a beginner understand what it is meant. This is a must-read for every poetry enthusiasts.

Rating: 4/5

Buy paperback here
Buy Kindle edition here

Knots by Deblina Bhattacharya

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Title: Knots

Author: Deblina Bhattacharya

Format: Kindle Edition

Language: English

Blurb

“These knots that do bind
Make thee one of a kind”

Knots is a collection of poetry and prose about love and heartbreak, tragedy and grief, survival and loss. It’s a journey through the numerous knots that we tie in life, and the ones we tangle and untangle with. It explores the realities of mental illness & suicide, social taboos & violence against women, pain & darkness, self love & healing in all its naked glory. The rhythm of Knots resonates directly with the poet’s heart, conveying to the readers that there is a way to untangle every knot in life, but sometimes, some of these knots are what we are made of.

My review

“Knots” is a collection of short poems written by Deblina Bhattacharya. The poems travel through a wide range of topics. The poems are arranged in 7 main sections such as heartbreak, love, fantasia, darkness, pain, lost and healing. I found a smooth flow of words throughout the book. The author starts her writing from heartbreak. The words are much intense at this point. This intensity gets diluted as the pages turns. In the second section, she remembers the various acts of love she experienced in her life. Every reader can relate to one or two poems here. The poems are much realistic in this section. In the Fantasia section, the true creativity of the author emerges. The expression of the magic of an imaginative world is very good. In the next two sections, that is darkness and pain, one can feel the darkness which is engulfing life. In the next section lost, I found a ray of hope. The hope emerges in the route of lost. The healing section is a perfect end for this emotionally high journey. I really loved the poems in the last section. It is really is the healing of a wounded soul.

The poems are written in a simple and lucid language. The arrangement of poems is commendable. Each section in the collection is starting with a  thoughtful quote relevant to the respective topic. This may leave you in thoughts for a few seconds. After you turn the last page, this book will surely give some serious insights into our life. Recommended for all poetry lovers.

Rating: 4/5

Author Interview: Riddhi Pranay Wagle

A conversation with Riddhi Pranay Waghle, author of To petrichor, published by Bluerose Publishers

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  1. Tell us about yourself.

Ans. I am the girl you see sitting in a park with a notebook and pen, the kind of person you see walking alongside an elderly couple, secretly admiring them, or the one who keeps short notes in the restaurants I visit, for someone who’d come to clean my table after I leave. I have been the happy-go-lucky person since my childhood, yet I grew up believing that books make better friends. I find poetry, my safe place, my home. I am pursuing English Literature currently, and with all my passion. Besides, I wish to make people read more poetry, because verses don’t lie, and lately; we’ve stopped Living and just started Surviving. I find solace in verses, and soul in fiction. I sincerely feel that words have more power, if directed correctly.

  1. If not being an author, what was your dream in life?

Ans. My impulsive trait has taught me to be versatile. I studied Science up to class 10, Commerce in Senior Secondary, and Currently, I am going with Arts. Since I like trying new things, there is no One Dream I could’ve turned into reality, if I wasn’t an Author. But I would have gone with Travel Journalism to satisfy my Wanderlust. This is on my list, for the time being. I had started writing since a very young age, since the days I had newly turned a teenager. When kids my age would wander around with their friends on their bicycles, I would hawk fiction to tuck my mind and conscious in them. My love for books is irreversible. It can be said, I haven’t really known anything else apart from Reading and Writing.

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  1. Who do you attribute your success to?

Ans. I was the student in the class, who would never get up on herself to take a stand, or even answer a question, even if I had practiced it a ten times in my notebook, and was confident about it. Everything was running fine, until I wrote my first poem. It was class 8, and I straight went to my English teacher Mr. Rajendra Singh Aluna, who not only appreciated me for that piece of verse, but also encouraged me to write more and interact more. The seed had germinated, and it brought confidence, light, hope and positivity as it grew. My paths were now clearer than before, my ship was ready to sail.

Secondly, it is my family, my home. Not only I learnt the basics of my Native language, but the basics of Life; to give, to forgive, and to achieve. I know, my parents live their life in installments, that we (I and my sister) bring to them as we walk each step towards our dreams, to conquer life. They have wholly shaped me to be a better version of myself till the day I die. Their enormous support is the reason why everything that I have achieved, was marked. So this, is for them. For making me a good human being first, and to let me design my life in my own way, to make things the way I want, to keep me in the limelight.

  1. Any message you would like to give to your readers?

Ans. ‘To Petrichor’ is a creation solely from the Heart. Each word, each verse has been felt with a lot of Gravity not only to be written, but also to make others feel the same depth as they read it. I feel readers are as important as writers, but being a good critique as you read, is more than important when it comes to a path full of writers. Find art, is also an art, which starts when you read good, and you read more.

The book I present to you, is a rollercoaster ride from 9pm to 3am, from 4:30 pm to 10:30 pm. It has perspectives, it has sentiments, it shows both, male and female perspectives, but in the end; it isn’t what I felt once, it is what we all feel every day. It is when we call take up our call and answer the universe. It is when we all, randomly find ourselves sitting and smiling, and that; is exactly when we react to the signs sent by the Universe. I sincerely hope, you find yourself in the pages of this book, that you find yourself smiling randomly as you recall one of the verses that you most connected to.