Read for Pleasure and Not Out of Pressure - Simran Das

I had absolutely zero expectations of me being welcomed so warmly by the fellow bookstagrammers out there. People here are super kind and humble and nobody can deny this fact.

1. Tell us about your background and journey.

Firstly, thank you so much for having me here. Well, this is Simran Das aka booktographer from Guwahati, Assam, India. I was born in Manipur, Imphal and was bought up here in Guwahati due to some unforeseen circumstances when I was just 7.

I completed my schooling from St. Francis D'Assisi Senior Secondary School Boragaon, and now pursuing 2nd year of graduation with history as my major from Arya Vidyapeeth College.

2. When did you first decide that you wanted to create content and how did you start?

Being supremely honest, prior to this account I had my personal account wherein I shared all bookish stuff with reviews and ratings, but suddenly one fine day I started feeling very insecure about it.

I started getting a very pessimistic vibe about what and how would people judge, would they think that I am trying to show and become intelligent and smart? Which was really absurd of me to think that way, but that's what exactly hit me.

So suddenly out of nowhere, I deleted my personal account permanently and my shoulders felt so light on doing it. Later, I thought of never creating another account, until one fine day my sister Soha aka (@we_should_all_be_readers) called me and said, "you love reading, you like talking about what you love doing, so why don't you create an account where you can share your reviews and meet people who share the same feeling about books?"

And suffice to say, her words were captivating enough to just catch all my attention. Soon after two months of deleting my personal account, I created this account on 2nd May 2020 and named it BOOKTOGRAPHER.

I had absolutely zero expectations of me being welcomed so warmly by the fellow bookstagrammers out there. People here are super kind and humble and nobody can deny this fact.

3. Who is your favourite blogger and why?

My favourite blogger is Sumaiyya from @sumaiyya.books, why? Because when I used my personal account to share my views on books, she was the first book blogger I followed and her feed is an absolute goal.

I literally scrolled down 2K+ posts to see from where she grew to become what. She's a legit inspiration for me since the very first day. 

4. How and where do you find inspiration to churn out content?

Well, whenever I scroll through Instagram seeing so many beautiful contents with fellow bookstagrammers putting so much of effort in being creative and innovative, that's what actually inspires me.

Those beautiful posts whispers in my ears, "c'mon Simran, you've learnt something new today, try it out yourself with a little touch of yours."

5. What does your typical day look like?

My typical day looks like a very busy one. I feel so sad for not having an appropriate schedule for myself but whatever and however it is, it is keeping me away from my phone for a while and helping me keeping myself busy with some other works. Let me describe it a bit.

Waking up at 8 isn't a healthy way to start a day, but cannot help! Then attending my online classes, because as I mentioned, I am pursuing graduation, so there's no way that I can elope from reality.

Followed by reading my book (which is a must to begin my day with) and then getting ready to head out for cafe (yes, I also am working part-time in a cafe). So this is how my entire days go by. I am not a very organized person, so my meals are very uncertain at times.

6. Which is your favourite book and why?

I have an entire story to tell about my favourite book. First, let me tell you the name of the book, it's A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini. Ah!! Isn't the title of the book enough to motivate you to be hopeful for what you're working and thankful for what you already have?

Well, the story, in a nutshell, is, after my HS examination I visited my sister Soha for like 2 weeks and found her bookshelf filled with so many great titles. I envied her collections and how she was an ardent reader.

So I randomly picked a book and asked her if I could borrow it because I wanted to read and become a reader like her. She replaced the book that I picked with A thousand splendid suns and said, "This book brought the worm of reading in me, and I can assure, if you pick this as your first read, you'll be welcomed in the world of books with great warmth. This book is amazing yet lucidly written."

And without a second thought, I borrowed it, and voila!! Now here I am, exploring genres and writers with utmost importance and sincerity. So basically, the entire credit of me viewing this beautiful world of books goes to my sister. If she wouldn't have placed that book in my hand that afternoon, I don't think I would've ever known how amazing life with books can be.

7. What piece of advice would you like to give to future and aspiring bloggers?

Well, I am myself at a very initial and tender stage to give advice to the upcoming beautiful bloggers, but whatever it is, I would just say, BE YOURSELF. It doesn't matter how many books you read a month, or how many chapters you read a day, all that matter is absorption.

Read to learn something new every day. Read for pleasure and not out of pressure. Don't compete with fellow bookstagrammers. Don't think your content to be any less.

Don't get depressed when you see your followers unexpectedly coming down or stuck at some point because the number doesn't matter. What matters the most is you READ every day, at least one page, to enhance your ability of imagination and broaden your learning skills to the utmost.

We are readers, we read to explore and learn, not to compete.

Thank you so much!

Interview By - Amatullah