What are your future plans and aim?
I want to be a good human being. I find a lot of joy in writing, and I would like to continue doing so. I feel that the things you do whole-heartedly give you the best results. Right now, I’m focusing on improving the skills I’ve been blessed with.
Being a tutor, a student, an author and a poet, how do you manage your time?
Surprisingly, it fits into my daily schedule without affecting others. I go to school on week days, I am a tutor at weekends. I’ve never felt that being an author or poet becomes a burden in my schedule because I don’t think it eats up my time. Jotting down a few lines of poetry does not stress me out because I never force poetry to come out. Sometimes I may feel like writing before a math exam and then I leave everything aside.
Other interests?
I read as much as I can. And I love it. And I like to paint as much as I like to write. I also learn languages. I’ve been learning foreign languages since fifth grade. I also love all kinds of music.
Personalities you adore.
APJ Abdul Kalam, for his dedication and for his excellence; Mubarak Awadh, for world peace even when he is cast out of his own country; and my mom and dad.
What are your stress busters?
My family is everything to me. When I’m with my family I am relaxed.
What inspired you to write your first poetry book ‘The Crescent Smile’?
The joy of getting published is an incomparable feeling. Your readers are accepting you, they’re reading you as a poet and not just as a girl who writes poetry.
Your views on rural India?
I am a child of rural India. I know about life in rural India because that’s all I’ve known it for fourteen years of my life. I was born in a small village in Alappuzha, in Kerala, I was brought up there among the seas and lakes. I love rural India. It has shaped my life.
Main focus at the moment?
Studies, of course. I’m also working on a couple of novels. One of them is about terrorism, inspired by a friend in Kabul who gave me the background for the book. The other one is about rural Kerala.