Interviews

In conversation with Purba Chakraborty

Purba Chakraborty is the author of 3 novels – Walking in the streets of Love and Destiny, The Hidden Letters, Canvas of a Mind and three poetry books The Heart Listens to No One, Letters from the Soul and Mythological Monologues.

She has contributed her poems and short stories in more than 10 anthologies and various magazines such as Colors – Shades of Life, Jukebox, Melange, Rhymes and Rhythm, etc.

She is an English Literature educator, content developer, and blogger from Kolkata. She is a voracious reader and a yoga practitioner. She blogs regularly at www.purba-chakraborty.com

I recently had the opportunity to interview her about her latest book. And here’s what she has to say:

Purba Chakraborty

Who is Purba?

Purba is a spiritual being having a beautiful human experience. She lives to write and writes to live. After finding that the purpose of her life is writing, she has written 3 novels and 3 poetry books. Her love for English Literature made her start a Youtube Channel “Learning Literature with Purba” where she teaches literature students. She is also a blogger and content developer. She finds solace in yoga, meditation and spending time amid Nature. She loves to call herself Nature’s child.

What is your latest book about? How did you come up with its idea?

My latest book “Mythological Monologues” is a collection of 26 dramatic monologues of epic characters from Ramayana and Mahabharata.  A dramatic Monologue is a poetry form that was popularized first by the famous Victorian poet, Robert Browning.

Since childhood, I have been fascinated by the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata. As I grew up, my interest in the characters escalated. I used to wonder how certain characters must have felt at certain junctures of their lives. This led to the idea of writing monologues of characters such as Karna, Eklavya, Draupadi, Sita, Lakshmana etc.

Mythological Monologues by Purba Chakraborty

Blurb of Mythological Monologues

How did Ahalya feel when Sage Gautam cursed her to be a stone?

How did Eklavya feel when Dronacharya asked for his right thumb as Guru Dakshina?

How did Arjuna feel after being enlightened by Lord Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra?

Mythological Monologues is a collection of 26 dramatic monologues of epic characters from Ramayana and Mahabharata. Listen closely to the voices, dive deep into the hearts of Draupadi, Sita, Karna, Lakshmana and others in this collection of dramatic monologues.

According to you, what are the essential qualities of a great poem?

According to me, the essential qualities of a great poem are:

  • Good imagery
  • Union of thought and feeling (“Unification of Sensibility”- A term coined by T.S. Eliot)
  • Right usage of simile, metaphor and other figures of speech.
  • Adhering to the syllable count if the poet is not writing in free verse
  • Should touch the heart of readers

Do poets have a scope of success in India?

Not many people read poetry as compared to novels. But with the rise of Instagram poets and Spoken word poetry, the scenario is slowly changing. People are taking interest in poetry these days. If the poet is able to perform his/her poetry, then naturally he/she will be able to form a direct connection with the audience and gain more readers.

What are the ways for the budding poets to get published in India?

If someone is a budding poet, he/she should have a blog. Publishing poems on the blog will give the poet confidence and valuable feedback from the readers. After the poet has written a good number of poems, he/she can publish the poetry collection on Kindle Direct Publishing. It is the best way for budding poets to get published.

People can also participate in unpaid anthologies or poetry contests to get their work published.  Very few traditional publishers are interested in publishing poetry collections of budding poets. So people should try out Kindle Direct Publishing if they want to publish their solo poetry book.

Books by Purba Chakraborty

Where can readers get your books from?

My latest book “Mythological Monologues” is currently available only on the Blogchatter platform as it is a part of the eBook Carnival. Free downloads are available till 30th June. After that the book will be available on Amazon too.
My other 5 books are available on Amazon

Let’s get to know you better:

  1. Favourite hour of the day: Evening 5-6 pm.
  2. Favourite Food: Vegetable Biriyani
  3. Favourite Poet: Rabindranath Tagore, William Wordsworth, Robert Frost, T.S Eliot, Emily Dickinson
  4. Favourite book genre: Spirituality, Romance, Thriller
  5. Favourite social network: Instagram
  6. Ebook or print book? Print Book
  7. Book or movie? Book
  8. Reading or writing? Writing
  9. Sky or ocean? Sky
  10. Fantasy or reality? Fantasy
  11. Fashion or comfort? Comfort
  12. Cat or dog? Cat
  13. Tea or coffee? Tea
  14. Party or solitude? Solitude
  15. Travel or stay at home? Travel

Check out Jyoti Arora’s Books

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Author Jyoti Arora's website and books

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