For someone who has written several successful books on love poetry, it might come as a surprise that Sidharth PK doesn't really have too much experience in the romance department. In fact, he says that he has had no such experience at all, so far. He has come all this way by just being inspired from poetic greats from the yesteryears. We caught up with him to talk about love, poetry, inspiration and his many books. Excerpts from an engaging talk with the budding author:
1. When did you first try your hand at poetry? What served as inspiration?
I was very young when I started. If I remember right, I began writing when I was in Class VI. Actually, the inspiration for it came from within my family itself. My uncle is a Malayalam writer. So I took up after him. My father egged me on as well. He used to say to me that instead of spending time squabbling with my younger brother, I should do something productive. That kind of pushed me to take up writing as a hobby.
2. Tell us about some of your early experiences.
At the beginning, I would send my poems to local publishers in the hope that they would get published. This was when I was in Class VIII-X. But it all went in vain as they were rejected and not published. It was not until the second year of college at Sacred Heart that I got published in the newspaper in the weekly poetry column. They liked the poems and soon my poetry became a regular appearance.
3. And the books? How did those come about?
I think it was during my undergraduate days that I first felt like I had enough material to turn into a book. There was a professor in the Zoology department, Father Joby, who motivated me to take it up. He advised me that I have enough material to publish not just one book but many. It was in August last year that I released my first book, The Soulful Melodies. That was the beginning and since then, I have published another nine books.
4. So let's talk about the inspiration behind the love poetry that you write.
I am a huge admirer of Lord Byron, John Keats, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. Poems like Keats' Ode to a Nightingale, Wordsworth's Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey and Byron's She Walks in Beauty are especially close to my heart. They have inspired and taught me to write about emotions and love. Also, a lot of people ask if I write love poetry because of personal experiences but that is not so. It is only through reading-inspired works that I have managed to write these poems and not from any personal experiences.
5. Tell me a bit about your current aspirations.
I took Sociology as my bachelor's major without much thought. I am more interested in learning history. I have read several books on Indian history. I have also recently written a short book on the unsung heroes of India's freedom struggle as part of a national-level competition for Independence Day. I am also preparing myself for the Civil Services exams. Now, I am pursuing a master's degree in History, where for the thesis, I wish to write about the myths and legends surrounding the Taj Mahal. I also wish to deviate from the romantic genre to a more philosophical direction. I do not have an exact idea of the content right now, but I will start on it soon. I feel like the art of writing is a divine gift and power. Those who possess it should pursue it to the maximum extent possible.
