The Literature Times: What inspired you to write your poetry collection Char Akshar – Bas Yun Hi and what message do you hope readers take away from it?
Capt. Manindra Nath Jha: My father was a literary personality. The initial inspirations of writing I got from him. However, I was unable to muster enough courage to unfold it publicly. It was encouragement from my colleagues and my children that inspired me to publish my poetry collection Char Akshar – Bas Yun Hi.
Readers will find meaningful insight reflecting day to day experiences with an inspirational message in each poem to take away.
The Literature Times: Your professional journey has included serving in the Indian Army and working in several important security roles. How have these life experiences influenced your writing and poetic perspective?
Capt. Manindra Nath Jha: My professional journey of more than 30 years starting from Indian Army and continuing through different elite organisations credited me with both good and average experiences which definitely brought emotional depth in my writing and poetic perspective. Professional influence is clearly evident in few of the poems.
The Literature Times: The poems in Char Akshar – Bas Yun Hi reflect various emotions of human life. How did you choose the themes that appear in this collection?
Capt. Manindra Nath Jha: I never choose themes of my poems. It automatically flashed at my mind on certain happenings or weak moments. I just gave words to my thoughts.
The Literature Times: Your poetry uses simple yet impactful language. Was this simplicity a conscious choice to connect more deeply with readers?
Capt. Manindra Nath Jha: As I have stated earlier, there is no selection of words, language or theme. It is what has come in the mind while penning down the emotions.
The Literature Times: Many of your poems touch upon introspection and spiritual reflection. How important is inner dialogue in your creative process?
Capt. Manindra Nath Jha: I am not a natural author. I am unable to phrase answer of this question. Only thing I know is that all poems are part of my inner dialogue reflecting a specific thought process.
The Literature Times: Among the 35 poems in this collection, is there any poem that is particularly close to your heart or based on a personal experience?
Capt. Manindra Nath Jha: All poems have come from the heart, hence all are close to my heart. However, I will keep ‘Rahe Anguthe kaa Saath’ as closest since it is my totally an out of box emotional thought process.
The Literature Times: After a long and disciplined professional career, what motivated you to step into the literary world and express yourself through poetry?
Capt. Manindra Nath Jha: It is release of something which was buried and silently growing inside, may be as a hobby of a growing age. Professional career has certainly aided in maturing the thought process.
The Literature Times: What challenges did you face while writing and compiling this poetry collection?
Capt. Manindra Nath Jha: Since, writing was occasional and straight from the heart, there was no challenges. Gradually, it got compiled. Only challenge I was having in my mind was how to go about printing and publishing it. Astitva Prakashan, made that also very smooth.
The Literature Times: How do you think poetry can help readers understand life and emotions in a deeper way?
Capt. Manindra Nath Jha: Poetry is a powerful way of expression of emotions, feelings, imaginations, ideas and experiences. Hence, it touches the reader’s heart directly in their joy or sorrow or varied delicate moments, helping them to understand life and emotions in a deeper way.
The Literature Times: Do you plan to continue writing in the future, and can readers expect more poetry or perhaps other forms of literature from you?
Capt. Manindra Nath Jha: Yes, I plan to continue writing in the future. As my command over language is not so good, so I will prefer Poetry to express my feelings. As, it has got the highest of the capacity to pour diverse feelings that to in-depth, in only few words.
