My greatest inspiration has been my own personal setbacks and failures in life. Every time I face a challenge I try and find a way to rise from the situation and find success and just not a way out of the tight corner. So yes, I inspire myself.
1. Tell us more about your background and journey.
My personal details include that I am a Bengali by birth born on Kolkatta. I have lived in various parts of India in my early childhood and then settled in Chennai for Good. I am married to a first-generation entrepreneur Mr Vijay Kapoor who is the founder of a popular men’s wear brand called Derby Men’s Wear.
I am a physiotherapist by profession. I Specialize with pregnancy and childbirth and gynaecological aspects. I have been doing this for two decades conducting antenatal programs for expecting couples in my centre called Dwi Maternity Studio which was the first of its kind in South India.
I have published fourteen books in various genres both in the fiction and non-fiction category, a few of my books have been a best seller in its category on Amazon.in.
2. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
I always wanted to be an author from my childhood. Being an author was my most cherished dream but that came true at the age of 2017. Initially, I wanted to write a unique and informative book on pregnancy enriched with my experience as an antenatal counsellor and share it with as many expecting couples out there.
The years of experience working with these couples gave me the insight to increase the strength of their marriage and bond for life. Healthy pregnancy results in holistic healthy children who will become world citizens.
I would take my pen and paper doodle scribble and try to write but I never managed to write the book. I did feel disheartened about it and almost gave up on my dream of becoming an author. Then in the year 2014, I went for my first trek to Nepal to the Gokyo lakes. At 12,000 feet in the mountains, I fell sick and deemed unfit to complete my trek.
I trekked back alone through the deserted trails of the mountains of Nepal feeling like a loser and absolutely heartbroken. I managed to come back home safe and sound. That failure and setback in my life motivated me to write my first book The Girl Who Was left Behind.
After that, I haven’t looked back. Fourteen books published and four more books on the way by 2020 including a few best sellers and I feel unstoppable now. The list of my books are:
- Expecting Daddy Delivers. Be the man your partner and baby adore
- The Horse-Shoe Man. A tale of failures to success
- Deliver With Delight- Ten steps to having a healthy and happy pregnancy
- Married? Happily!? : Game On.
- Flourish Infinitely. Lord Krishna’s mantra for success decoded
- Did I Ask You For Your Opinion?
- Axe The Ex. 27 steps to get over a break up
- Espresso thoughts: When coffee and words come together
- Why Ram? Beyond the Lakshman Rekha
- Live in Peace while they RIP. Grow beyond your grief
- The Girl Who Was Left Behind
- The Girl Who Never Looked Back
- Cleopatra Had Many Lives
- Decimus. Ten Life Skills of a successful entrepreneur
There are four more books that are in various stages of publishing:
- One is on climate change and global warning
- A book on self-love
- Short stories for women on rebellions
- A book about men in general title Clothes don’t maketh a man.
3. Is it a financially stable career?
Writing alone cannot be lucrative as a career from the start which is the case for any profession. To make it as a successful author and establish oneself financially will come after a bestseller or one big hit book, especially for an author who is keen on writing Fiction.
However, writing enhances an Individual’s existing career and brand value. People from various fields coming forth to offer guidance and giving back the world to help others grow. There is a rising trend in the non-fiction reading category.
The start is always gradual and slow like I said for any profession, so initially, if an aspiring author can have a parallel profession that would support his or her livelihood, that would enable the author to focus on their writing without tension and pressure till they get breakthrough.
The passion for writing needs to constantly motivate the author to take time out to write while going about fulfilling their commitments in life.
Yes, there is a great scope for a lucrative stand-alone career with writing if the book becomes a bestseller, that can be franchised into a movie eg: Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling or a training model to become a successful coach like Robin Sharma’s Monk who sold his Ferrari.
4. Who is your favourite writer and why?
This is quite a difficult question for me to answer. I have different favourite authors in various genres because I am a voracious reader and experiment with reading different subjects. Rabindranath Tagore for poetry and short stories.
Robin cook and Sidney Sheldon for their ability to write intense and gripping stories.Paulo Coelho and Dr. Brian Weiss for philosophy and life skills.
I read a lot of books by Osho to liberate my soul.
5. Where does your inspiration lie?
My inspiration lies in commonly occurring daily life instances and the people around me. I am an observant person and pick up subtle things about people and the way they handle challenges and grow in life.
I write to inspire and make a difference to my readers. My books should have a takeaway and my writing aims at leaving a sweet after taste in my reader's life to transform them in a constructive manner.
My greatest inspiration has been my own personal setbacks and failures in life. Every time I face a challenge I try and find a way to rise from the situation and find success and just not a way out of the tight corner. So yes I inspire myself.
In my writing, you will find a lot of inspiration and inferences about my trekking experiences. The mountains are my life coach. After failing to complete my first trek I went about trying more tougher treks, some really iconic ones are the Everest Base Camp trek, Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.
6. What does your typical day look like?
I don’t do the typical. I like each day to be different and diverse in experience. I am an early riser that’s one typical thing about my day. I usually set a goal for myself for me to complete by the end of the day. The goal may vary from day to day basis, some days the goals I want to achieve are very simple, enquire about my friend, have a meal with my mom.
On some days they are huge. Submission deadlines for a book or completing a certain amount of writing. I won't rest till I haven’t completed it. Some days my goal is to do nothing and while away my time and rest. I definitely achieve that. I have days were I am busy consulting with my expecting clients.
I have a day dedicated to watching a movie and spending time with my family and never miss an opportunity to do so.
7. What piece of advice would you like to give to future aspiring writers?
Keep writing. Believe in what you write. Write from your heart and then the editing bit is done from mindfulness. You have your tribe out their who want to hear you know you and connect with you.
8. Which is your favourite book and why?
Krishna consciousness by Osho is a book that liberated my thoughts and made me the person I am. I choose to live in the moment and follow my heart and the first person I am always honest with is myself. That helps me accept my mistakes and checks my ego and it also makes me grateful for every good thing that happens in my life.
Another favourite book of mine is Only love is real by Brian Weiss. I am a romantic and sucker for emotions and love. This book, in my eyes, is the greatest love story I have ever read across lifetimes.
Interview By - Amatullah
Social