Author Interview with Abhinav Motiwal.

1. What is your favourite genre?

It is difficult to name one or even exclude any, I enjoy reading and prefer keeping it as varied as I can. I suppose, this shows in my writing as well- I want the readers to have a unique experience each time they read the poems. It is important that their experiences should reflect in my writings.  They should find it relatable.

2. What do you like to do when you grew up? 

Not die of starvation.

3. Does your parents support you in your career in writing? 

Yes.

4. What made you to write this book?

The experience of ‘Meraki’ led me to write. Meraki is a Greek word, meaning “When you leave a piece of yourself, your soul, creativity, and love in what you do. To put a little bit of yourself into something”. My poems are that. The urge to express how I feel and put it out there really inspired me to put it into words. I love playing with words and their meanings and thus poetry was the obvious choice for me.

5. How would you like to explain your book?

All the proceeds from these two parts would be contributed to the NGO, Humanity Foundation of India. Check our their work on facebook at @Humanityfoundationindia.

Sonder is a collection of deep, insightful poems about life. Each poem showcases the deep understanding and observation of the author about daily humanly struggles and happenings in the lives of every single being. Everyone has their own perspective and view points about a specific event and it's important to understand that everything that is happening to us is an opportunity to grow and gain wisdom.

The word ‘Sonder’ has its origins in neologism and was coined in 2012 by John Koenig. What does it mean? It is inspired by German “sonder”- special and French “sonder”-to probe. It has a very special meaning of the profound realisation that everyone, including strangers passed in the street have a life as complex as one’s own. 

The poems explore contrarian ideas or the flipside of reasoning or simply try making the mundane less so, weaving words in the process. While some poems tell a story, others are much removed and rely on the underlying tone to let the reader fire his imagination. In doing so, it creates a shared experience of putting connotation into the words but letting the reader discover their personal meanings within each poem- a mutual ‘sonder’ creation. 

From what I have heard from my readers- it may at times befuddle them. In my poems, even the most trivial details are expressed in much detail through the use of metaphors and attributed connotations. ‘Pluto’ discusses the vices of ignorance through a frog who is stuck in a well, mosquitoes are warriors in ‘Lil’ Rebels’, ‘Homecoming’ described dejection through the medium of a forlorn soldier, a mannequin describes the perils of overwork and such. 

The poems have a brief discussion before they start to set the tone and give a flavour of what lies ahead.

6. What are you planning to write next?

I am already.

7. What do you like to do in your leisure time?

Honestly, with my daily routine I don’t’ get time for anything else. However, in my free time when I am not writing- I usually go for extended walks and create photo portraits of people.  Sometimes, I write poems based on these photos. 

8. What did you did in lockdown? 

Work and Write.

9. How did you get started as an author?

I have been writing for a decade now, my first book was published when I was 14.

I am a Social Development professional who is currently associated with a global consultancy. These pieces amongst others are a result of more than a decade of writing whenever I get time. I am a keen observer of daily happenings and seek stories in every little detail that I see.

10. Tell us something about your new book  (Sonder)?

The underlying ideology is of ‘Sonder’. The word ‘Sonder’ has its origins in neologism and was coined in 2012 by John Koenig. What does it mean? It is inspired by German “sonder”- special and French “sonder”-to probe. It has a very special meaning of the profound realisation that everyone, including strangers passed in the street have a life as complex as one’s own. 

I like observing people and their idiosyncrasies. These poems explore the latent aspects of people which we may often miss.  Everyone has their own perspective and view points about a specific event and it's important to understand that everything that is happening to us is an opportunity to grow and gain wisdom.

11.  What message do you intend to send out to your readers through this book?

My writings are for all. It gladdens me when people find their personal meanings in my writings. Nonetheless, the poems discuss daily happenings and people- the mundane but through a ‘fly on the wall’ perspective.

12. Does writing energizes or exhaust you?

Writing is an inherently social activity — we write for others — that we most often undertake in solitude. This is one of writing’s great contradictions. We write for an audience, even if that audience is a private note to our future selves. Academic writing, though, whether it is scholarly writing or the functional writing of service obligations that keeps the university running, is always intended for far less abstract audiences. This writing too, is most often undertaken in isolation, at least initially. For this reason, not only the physical environment where we write matters, but also the social environment within which we write.

13.  What advice do you have for your readers ?

Daily experiences always hold something for you. A mistake teaches you to be better, failures teach you humility and success keeps you motivated. There is a little bit of all of this in our daily lives, nothing is too trivial to not be interesting. It demands a level of ‘stoicness’ to keep moving through the mob.  The poems are quite stoic in their narration, uninterested in thought but pretty interesting.

This book is available on Amazon and to know more, people can contact on @sonder.bookofpoems.