The Founder and CEO of The Impish Lass Publishing House Meena Mishra Interviewed the Author Santosh Kandalkar
The Founder and CEO of The Impish Lass Publishing House Meena Mishra Interviewed the Author Santosh Kandalkar. Here are the excerpts.
1-Can you please introduce yourself to the world of literature?
I am Santosh Kandalkar. I am a teacher, teaching in Marathi medium school in Mumbai. I have done my Master’s degree from Mumbai University. I teach English to 8th ,9th and 10th std. I like reading books. I like to write poems in English and Marathi language. I think Literature depicts social, cultural and religious life of human being. English literature is very rich in the world. I am feeling very happy and proud because I can express my thoughts and ideas through the medium of English poetry. As an English language teacher, I come across various new course books of English language in daily teaching learning process which are based on NCF-2005. I think writing poems is a very nice and innovative medium for English teacher to express himself to the world! Because an ample opportunities are there in these new course books for learners and teachers to express themselves,. These course books are one of the best sources of inspiration for me to write poems as ‘Be a Poet’, ‘Write your own poem’, etc. such activities are included in these course books for the learners, so why shouldn’t an English teacher express himself through different mediums like poems, stories and other forms of literature?
2-When did you start writing?
I started writing from 2015-16. In the beginning, I wrote few poems and shared with some English teachers on WhattsApp groups. They liked my poems and suggested me to continue writing. I got an opportunity to write articles of English subject in Daily Loksatta, a leading newspaper for 10th std. students. My friends suggested me to publish a book of my English poems.
3-When did you published first?
Everyone wants to be appreciated for his little efforts put in by him. Respected Meena Mishra Ma’am is an award winning author, poet, short-story writer social worker, editor and an educator who gave me an opportunity to publish my five poems in the anthologies ‘I Owe You One’ in 2018. I have contributed to many anthologies published by The Impish Lass Publishing House.
4-Describe yourself in day to day life?
As a teacher, I am a straightforward person by nature! I like to live in the company of good friends. After school I like to read books and write poems. I am a humble, kind and soft-spoken person but firm enough to handle my daily work efficiently. I am sensitive towards poor and needy. I love my work and I believe that human life is very beautiful so we should enjoy it!
5-What are your hobbies apart from writing?
It is well said that, ‘Reading is an adventure, it never ends….’, so I like reading. I like listening music apart from writing. Reading and listening music give me pleasure. I like to learn new things in day to day life, specially regarding teaching as it is my profession. I think it’s a very noble profession.
6-Tell us more about your book?
Ok. Its a very good question. It was my dream to publish a collection of my poems. I could complete it with the help of Respected Meena Mishra Madam and the whole team of The Impish Lass Publishing House, Mumbai. Basically the poems in this book are the sweet memories and experiences of my past life. So the title of the book is, ‘Reflexiones Aleatorias- Random Ruminations’. Some poems are written in free verse and I tried my best to write sonnets like, ‘My Beloved Chums’, ‘My Beloved Pen’, and ‘To My Loving Mother’. Themes of many poems are related to our day-to-day life. I am very optimistic person so I tried to express my optimistic views through the poems like, ‘Life’, ‘Words’, and ‘The Makers of Fate’. I am quite sure that readers will like these poems.
7-How do you manage your writing time?
As a teacher I have to do a lot of work and complete the responsibilities. I am working as a teacher in secondary school in the morning session. After school timing, I try to write in the evening after 6.00 pm. Though my schedule is very busy, my learners, my school and my family give me energy to do this creative and constructive work of writing!
8-What do you think of modern day relationships?
Faith is the foundation of all relationships. So one should be honest and sensitive towards the people around you.
9-Which is more important to you Content or marketing ?
It’s a very nice question. Actually content should be rich but if the writer wants to reach upto the most readers he should know the marketing skills. So I think both are important in today’s scenario.
10-Your favourite writer and why?
Sudha Murthy, Chetan Bhagat and Subroto Bagchi are my favourite writers. I like the writer Chetan Bhagat because the language he uses in his books is very easy to understand and the themes and issuses he uses are related to today’s social situation. Sudha Murthy’s all books are very motivational and thought provoking. I like Subroto Bagchi’s ‘The Professional’, ‘The High Performance Entrepreneur’, are very useful and interesting books which give life lessons to the young professionals. I like to read R. K. Narayan and Gustav Flaubert too.
11-What are your upcoming projects?
I am planning to write poems on certain themes which are related to human life. I would like to publish one more poetry book in this year. If time permits me , I would like to write some interesting short stories for youngsters. As earlier I have mentioned that I like to write poems in Marathi language also, so I am planning to publish a book of my 50 Marathi poems! And I am sure it will be the best treat to the poem lovers!
12-Any tips to the upcoming young generation.
I would like to suggest to young generation to limit their daily screening time. Instead of spending to much time on mobile and other gadgets try to read good books, try to learn new things, take exercise daily at least for half an hour because health is very important in our life. Share your thoughts and ideas with your parents and other elder persons. These constructive things will help you to build your career and to be successful in your life. I think the youngsters should be able to differentiate between the real world and the virtual world.
13-Describe yourself in one sentence.
I am very optimistic person and I believe in integrity and honest hard work to achieve my SMART goals!
14. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
This is an interesting question. When wind blows it carries several seeds from different trees to a far off land. The seeds settle on a new ground and if any of them find the earth at the new place fertile and conducive to grow, it stars growing fearlessly. The fertile ground in this narration is our mind. So many beautiful ideas that can be a great story are floating around. A fertile mind can easily grab a few of them and help them grow with its loving touch, knowledge and candour.
You can contact Mr.Kandalkar via the details below.
Mr. Santosh Kandalkar, M A (English) B. Ed.
Email address- santoshkandalkar@gmail.com
Mb. 9757215221
Thank you so much Ms Meena and Mr Santosh for giving your precious time and sharing the interview with us.