Indian writers renew their pledge to writing

2020 has proven to be a challenging year for mostrelationships, including authors' relationship with their writing. Ahead of Valentine's Day, four Indian writers, who write on diverse topics, renew their pledges to their passion for writing, and thank it for keeping them going.

Shalini Keswani, who has penned her debut novel 'Bonds of Freedom', says that a big lesson of 2020 was that "the show must go on, pandemic or no pandemic we must always find something beautiful to hang on to. During lockdowns, I found solace in poetry. Penning down gives me an emotional high, and I believe it will sustain me long term, as a person and as a thinker. When we dissolve ourselves in writing like in meditation, that's when true writing happens."

Her vow this year? "To keep writing and keep discovering myself. Not to be deterred by any opinions expressed and to just immerse myself in the process of writing for its own sake."

For the author of 'Yellow: The Verses of Hurting and Healing', Urja Joshi, 2020's most important takeaway has been the truth that life is so unpredictable that it can change in a blink of an eye.

"Writing is my everything, if I have to put it quite plainly. Writing is my passion and it is the only thing which keeps me going through any day. I have promised myself that I will write more than I already do. I will make it a big part of my daily routine because I believe that we should engage more and more in things that make us happy. Writing has taught me in the previous year that it is extremely important to be honest on the paper, if you feel sad write about it, if you feel happy write about it, if you feel loved, write it. Acknowledge your emotions through words."

Darshan Desale, the author of 'Manu', says: "I just love writing. Original writing comes from inside, from stronger emotions. When you have a strong feeling of writing when you write in that strong feeling, we automatically do the best writing. I never plan what to write next. Because writing brings out the best, writing makes me better. It boosts creativity and imagination. You will see the world from a completely additional dimension. You will get a new perspective on life and the world. You become a better version of yourself. Writing helps you to find your inner self.

There is a saying, a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. It's also the same for the writer. A writer lives a thousand lives before he dies."

As per Prabhupad Mishra, the author of 'Tapestry of Life Cadences', there is a huge sense of satisfaction when someone loves a story written by him. "To be able to share a life changing message through a story or poem is something that is very powerful and I would never want to let it go. I will continue writing for as long as I am alive!"