GOPA BHATTACHARJEE TALKING WITH NILAVRONILL

NILAVRONILL TALKING WITH

POET OF THE MONTH

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE

SEPTEMBER 2021

NILAVRONILL: Why do literature and poetry in particular interest you so much? Please give us some idea about your own perception of literature or poetry in general.

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: Only a very emotional person who does not calculate the integrities of life, in order to find solace will be a hard-core prose and poetry lover. I guess that’s what I am. To me, poetry is like loving your lover trying to unveil him slowly each day and discovering something new that makes you fall in love each day.

NILAVRONILL: How do you relate your own self existence with your literary life in one hand, and the time around you, in the other.

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: Well, being a Post Graduate in English love and interest for literature has always been into my life and curriculum. Though I am an entrepreneur for almost 26 years now but I always found time to grab all kinds of literary books to quench my thirst. Being a multitasker for many years I have been able to balance between work life and love life

 

NILAVRONILL: Do you believe creative souls flourish more in turmoil than in peace?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: In both of course. It depends upon in which mood the creative soul is. While Rabindranath Tagore has written “Where the mind is without fear” when our nation was in a politically turmoil situation, he has also written peace poems like ‘Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf’ in his poem “The Gardener”. It applies even to other creative souls.

 

NILAVRONILL: Do you think in this age of information and technology the dimensions of literature have been largely extended beyond our preconceived ideas about literature in general?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: It has largely extended beyond our preconceived ideas as today the market is more global more digitalised and a budding writer can reach millions of readers through the right use of social media. Literature has spread its wings. Readers are observing, reading your articles and if you have quality you will reach the hearts of millions.

 

NILAVRONILL: Now, in this changing scenario we would like to know from your own life experiences as a poet, writer and a creative soul: How do you respond to this present time?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: The present pandemic time period which we are all going through taught me a lot of things about life and people. It Inspires. The present time is very difficult and we all need to combat it together with patience and hope. With so much leisure time in hand we can develop our literary capabilities.

 

NILAVRONILL: Do you believe that all writers are by and large the product of their nationality? And is this an incentive for or an obstacle against becoming a truly international writer?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: Absolutely. Never an obstacle, today there is no bar raised between nations when speaking about acclaimed writers. A good literature piece if the publisher and the writer can promote universally it will be appreciated by the mass. It will reach the hands of the people in every nation around the world he might be sitting in a small town in Bareilly or in a popular city like Boston.

 

NILAVRONILL: Now, if we try to understand the tradition and modernism, do you think literature can play a pivotal role in it?  If so, how? Again, how can an individual writer relate himself or herself to the tradition and to modernism?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: Though there is a vast difference between traditional writing and modern writing. I think any creative soul should be open minded towards both the style of writings and learn to appreciate both. In that way he/she will be able to create something unique.

 

NILAVRONILL: Do you think literary criticism has much to do with the development of a poet and the true understanding of his or her poetry?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE:  Criticism can be of various kinds. In today’s self-conscious social media, negative criticism can kill a budding poet. But the right kind of criticism can help a creative soul to develop, realise mistakes and help to achieve success.

 

NILAVRONILL: Do you think society as a whole is the key factor in shaping you up as a poet, or your poetry altogether?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE:  Yes society, its people, the environment, my own life experiences, helped me to be sensitive towards different feelings and helped me to write poetry and shape me up as a poet.

 

NILAVRONILL: Do you think people in general actually bother about literature?  Do you think this consumerist world is turning the average man away from serious literature?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: The day Art and Literature will die history will rewind its pages and humans will be considered as cave men once again. In this consumerist world there is still a large number of literary lovers. Some express, some don’t. Too much of consumer culture can affect people’s mental well-being and only art and literature can give them holistic peace and satisfaction.

 

NILAVRONILL: We would like to know the factors and the peoples who have influenced you immensely in the growing phase of your literary life.

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: It’s a long list which includes my jethu, pishi (uncle, aunt) who were product of partition and the stories they read and narrated when we were small, my parents who still possess their collection of Bengali Sahitya, my professor who taught me to feel and vision poetry, my husband and son who are themselves very creative have been my greatest critics and motivators, my friends and readers who still continue to support and encourage me.

 

NILAVRONILL: How would you evaluate your contemporaries and what are your aspirations for or expectation from the younger generation?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: The young generation creative souls inspire me a lot. The world is more open to them they are more sensitive, and experimental. I get to learn a lot from them.

 

NILAVRONILL: Humanity has suffered immensely in the past, and is still suffering around the world. We all know it well. But are you hopeful about our future?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: Nothing is permanent, why would suffering be considered to be so. With patience and determination, we will reach a better world.

 

NILAVRONILL: What role can literature in general play to bring a better day for every human being?

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: Pen is mightier than sword and the right kind of literature can create new thoughts of hope and positivity among human beings. 

 

GOPA BHATTACHARJEE: An entrepreneur, a romantic poet, actor of the poetry film Kolkata Cocktail, a free-lance journalist who still loves the first showers of monsoon, eighty’s Hindi songs and maccher jhol bhaat cooked by her mother. Her debut poetry book ‘Unturned Verses’ was published in the Kolkata International Book Fair.