'We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect
-Anais Nin
The world has been observed differently by different
writers. This article is an attempt to bring together the diverse shades
of ideas around writing expressed by a few writers, on various levels:
regional, national, international and universal.
According to Hemingway, the best early training for a writer
is an unhappy childhood. Stephen King, in his memoir 'On writing' says that he
doesn't believe that writers can be made either by circumstances or self will.
'The equipment comes with the original package. Yet it is by no means unusual
equipment; I believe large numbers of people have at least some talent as
writers and storytellers, and that those talents can be strengthened and
sharpened.'
I recently interviewed the Founder of Kaafiya, and poet called
Yaseen Anwer and asked about his
relationship with writing. He replied that 'For me, writing comes when nothing
else is possible, when something strikes me deep within to an extent that it
will tear me apart. It forces me into some state that can make me go mad till
it comes out. Writing can never go out of me. When I am not writing I am still
writing something and erasing, those not erased come out for others to see'. He
laid a special emphasis on universality and timelessness of a work that surpasses all boundaries and reaches out to a
wider audience. He asserted that good writing is a proof of bad society. Indeed,
in an ideal society, what would be left to write?
Sufyan bin Uzayr
is the author of 'The Apocalypse'. For him, writing is a temporary refuge from
reality. He says that there is a lot of negativity in the present life and
writing history serves to provide better comprehension of today. Writing
fiction helps him picturize a better world. I asked him about the difficulties
faced by writers today. He replied that 'writing is just a part of the picture.
The biggest challenge today is marketing and promotion; with so many writers
out there of which many are below par, getting yourself noticed is really
tough. Plus, publishing houses tend to favor money over literary skills.' For
him, immortality is impossible via writing. At best, one can only prolong one's
memories. Immortality would be an overstatement. He makes a valid point that
one should write to express and not to please.
Ralph L. Wahlstrom
in 'The Tao Of Writing' describes
Writing as natural, flow, creation, detachment, discovery, change,
unified yet multiplied, clarity, simplicity, personal, universal and open
ended. 'Tao' refers to the source and guiding principle of all reality
according to Taoism (A Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao-tzu that
stresses living simply and honestly and in harmony with nature). In the
Preface, he mentions one of the most familiar Taoist phrase: 'The journey of a
thousand miles starts with one step' and adds that the writer's journey begins
with a word and, like the river and the wind, flows on. He states that 'writing
allows us not only to explore and discover the world around us in its countless
manifestations, but it can show us paths to our inner worlds as well.' The power
of writing is used by therapists to help patients deal with trauma and
emotional concerns. Psychics use a practice call 'automatic writing' (writing
with a subconscious mind). These methods pave a way for self discovery. Writing
has a healing power. It unburdens our minds and replenishes its surface with
creativity.
The Wordsmiths, edited by Meenakshi Sharma includes the exciting conversations of finest Contemporary
Indian writers, rooted to their various rich, regional languages.
UR Anantha Murthystates that 'Our analytical and conceptual articulation comes from the English
Language. But only our mother tongue can provide us with metaphors that describe
our emotional states. All these regional languages are now developing a kind of
artificial prose. There is nothing wrong in this but the living language is the
language that is spoken in the streets.
He talks about the vulgarity of articulation in our daily
life and that all Indian writers who write in the regional languages have
access to the deep springs of life for our language is well preserved there.
He proclaims that 'Reading and writing, is an asocial act-an
act outside of our obligations and privileges within the shared assumptions of
our communities. It is our deepest desire to belong authentically to our
community, which prompts us both to read and write, for we want to renew
ourselves in the naked truth of our experience and shed all falseness and
dishonest agreement to the ideological imperatives of our communities.'
Krishna Sobti (Sahitya
Academy award winner) talks about her writing habits: 'Washing utensils is my
favorite way of reducing thinking to a bare minimum. Or I read shikaar stories.
I love them or even cook. Add all the right masalas. Make it perfect as if I
won't be cooking again for the next ten years. The process of writing is such a
cerebral one that you have to make it a little physical too, to balance it. Anyway, writing is not my only priority. I want to
live life. I want to have fun.'
She mentions that 'a blank paper gives her the most
fantastic feeling possible, as if you are on a mountain peak, with all this
clear space before you. A good piece is
not only the result of memory and imagination woven with words, it is
invariably the outcome of a complex process of intellectual and emotional
intimacy with the subject. A language is nothing if it doesn't convey a certain
sensibility.'
She feels that men don't allow women to share the world they
inhabit and region outside the house becomes male dominated. Her choice to live
alone and inhabit both the worlds is commendable. She goes on to say that
having a family of one's own may be a writer's handicap. Firstly the husband (a
dominating force) may object to wife's writing. Secondly the 'noise' in a
family situation. She calls a married existence in a family as 'anti-writing'.
Mahashweta Devi
firmly believes that every writer should have a social conscience and must take
up the cause of the oppressed and the downtrodden otherwise history will not
forgive her.
MT Vasudevan Nair, the most popular living writer in Kerala, talks
about a writer's practice of developing an individual style and that it takes
many years of experimentation. He advices young authors to be bold enough to
reject quite a bit of what they write.
Waqas Ahmad Khwajain his book titled 'Writers and Landscapes' records his experiences as a member
of the International Writers Programme, with the mixed flavor of a memoir, travelogue,
critical evaluation and storytelling. It's about the coming together of writers
from different corners of the world and redefining the act of writing and
unleashing of creative energies though debates, discussions, conversations,
etc. It's of utmost necessity for a writer to stay social, meet and converse
with people, go beyond one's small circle and contribute towards the betterment
of society with ideas and their execution. He rightly asserts that 'writers
must not be expected to collaborate with the military or the mullah, the
politician or the entrepreneur. They have their own battles to fight--against
illiteracy, superstition, prejudice against totalitarian attitudes, vanity,
false pride.'
There's a question we often come across: is writing a way to
attain immortality. He says 'it seems storytelling overcomes or replaces death.
It is the passport to survival, this ability to recount tales, recover and
recount them, to embroider and amplify them in order to delay the threatened
annihilation.'
To conclude, it can be said that each person has a share in
the fountain of life. Some choose to be spectators (the anti-action kind), some
become water itself, erupting with the rhythm of their heartbeats (whom we call
writers) and some are never able to spare a moment to gaze at the fountain,
being severely engrossed in the vicissitudes of life, the marginalized ones.
And a writer's duty is indeed to live as many lives as possible, hunt for as
many realities as possible and become the mirror of society. Despite the
regional and national borders, a writer's art knows no boundaries but
timelessness and universality.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth
writing
-Benjamin Franklin
