About Kinshukyi Kumar
Kinshukyi Kumar is an emerging Indian writer and has entered this arena after an MBA in HR, a Bachelor at Law and a bachelor’s in education. She belongs to the city of Allahabad famous for its education and eminent literary figures.
She already has some published works under her name, in several Anthologies – “Until We Meet Again”, “Moments of Love”, Chankyasutrani” and ‘The Character Sketch with Tiny Tales”.
In the past, Kinshukyi had been a practicing lawyer in the High Court of Allahabad. But neither the Corporate World nor the Courts could hold her attention.
Since she has an eye for art and beauty and blessed with a great aesthetic sense, she created a craft boutique by the name of “Panigha”, where every product was handpicked and sourced from the local artisans from the various states of India.
Along with this craft boutique, the world of Academics lured and enticed her which led to her teaching English in a reputed school of her city.
It was during this journey of pursuing varied passions and different professions and meeting people from all walks of life, Kinshukyi realized her potential of observing things, people, situations and experiences and expressing them in words and took to writing. The alacrity and vivaciousness with which she puts forth thoughts and emotions is remarkable.
Her most recent publication is ‘Musings & Scribblings’, a compilation of poems, musings and quotations.
Kinshukyi has recently been selected for an international anthology of poems, ‘Global Poetic Ethos’ which is under the process of publication.
Presently she is working on a book of short stories, which would be published by the end of this year.
LiFT: Tell us about your book, the journey of writing it and its content.
Kinshukyi Kumar: “Musings & Scribblings” is a mixed platter of intense emotions – pragmatic resoluteness, mushy sentiments, contemptuous disdain, ironical melancholy and whimsical humour – a literary expression of the human ‘Kokoro’ (A Japanese word for heart, spirit, soul and mind.)
Musings and Scribblings is a compilation of myriad sentiments coined into poems, quotes and life revelations in prose form.
They are live witnesses of my despondent lows, euphoric highs and calm reflections speckled with dry humour.
The contents of this book were written over a period of 2-3 years, within which fell the pandemic phase too. The constant reassurance one needed during that period to survive the anxiety came through these words when one paused to look around and be grateful for the blessings one already had.
There are writings in this book where one can imagine the author as a die-hard romantic, willing to lay down everything for love and at times a practical person who sees through the deceit in the name of love.
At some points solitude has been highly spoken about and at times it is about being around family and friends.
There are thoughts that talk about hard work, grit and determination and then there is reference to absolute bliss in lethargy, nothingness and living an easy paced life.
So its subject matter covers the various oscillating human emotions.
LiFT: Why you chose this title?
Kinshukyi Kumar: As the name itself suggests, this book is a compilation of varying thoughts that were running in my mind at various different points of time. Some were given the shape of a poem while others were penned down in prose form. And then, there were some whose effect could only be felt in few words and were given the form of quotations.
Hence I couldn’t find a more apt name for this book.
Also there is a musical ring to the name which resonates with the fluidity of the content of the book.
LiFT: When did you realize that you want to be a poet and what’s your inspiration behind it?
Kinshukyi Kumar: See, I was always interested in writing. Right from my school days I would write elaborate and engaging essays which the teachers would read aloud in the class. Also if there was ever a speech or an article for the school magazine to be written I would always be the one to do it.
I belong to the era of hand-written letters and I would write long letters to my friends and family which again honed my flair for writing.
I belong to a family which is very expressive both in spoken and written words, so its in my genes. And grammar and vocabulary comes with regular use and since we are majorly an English speaking family, it automatically came to me.
Then again, I am fond of observing people and situations. You will always find me sitting in a corner in a crowd, and being perfectly happy with it because I am getting food for thought.
So with all these ingredients it seemed like a perfect recipe for becoming a writer.
And one most important fact that I would like to add is – I have always been termed as a rebel, a feminist and as a revolutionary thinker- but believe me I only support fairness and equality and breaking the age old moulds constructed to limit people on the basis of so many biases and prejudices.
So writing down those ideas seemed a better option than saying it aloud where you are bound to get into unnecessary and baseless arguments and then you tend to digress from your line of thought.
LiFT: Where do you see yourself ten years down the line in the world of literature?
Kinshukyi Kumar: I have set few milestones for myself in the world of writing. Firstly I don’t want to write just for the sake of it. I want the content to be relatable, interesting, rich in vocabulary and definitely grammatically correct. Post-pandemic, I have seen writers being churned out by the dozens, irrespective of the quality of the content they are creating. I don’t want to join that band-wagon. I want my work to stand out as an appreciable piece of literature. Even though I have been writing for years I still try to improve and evolve to upgrade the quality of my content. So ten years down the line, I want to be respected and referred to as an authentic part of the literary world- the financial figures can later follow.
LiFT: How much do you think marketing or quality of a book is necessary to promote a particular book and increase its readers?
Kinshukyi Kumar: In today’s environment where advertising occupies a predominant position in any and every field, this marketing tool is of great importance. But post all the marketing, its the content of the book that decides your fate.
Recently someone quoted- ‘Good advertising is a sure way to kill a poor product’- so make sure that when you are reaching out to the people then you have something substantial, authentic and worthwhile to offer them.
LiFT: What is the message you want to spread among folks with your writings?
Kinshukyi Kumar: I am very old school in my technique of writing. So apart from the fact that my thoughts are non conformist, I prefer the age old style of composing literary pieces that comprise of good vocabulary, correct grammar and logical progression of ideas in the story line. When someone picks up my book, I would like them to be enriched, both with ideas and the language in which I write.
LiFT: What do you do apart from writing?
Kinshukyi Kumar: I am a single mother of two teenage boys. So them and writing is what takes up a major share of my time. My qualifications are already mentioned so I have those choices to pursue any line of profession. But the kind of person I am, it makes me a misfit in the ‘dog eat dog world’. Writers and poets are people lost in their own thoughts and love their own company. So for me to be able to write, I prefer minimal interactions with people in general though it is not so practical in today’s heavily concentrated networking scenario. I prefer doing that virtually than face to face. So any kind of regular job is out of question for me.
I am a house-proud person so again that takes a lot of time and effort. Gardening, being in nature, crusading for humanitarian causes, reading voraciously are some of the things that occupy, what is left of my already jam-packed routine.
LiFT: What are the activities you resort to when you face a writer’s block?
Kinshukyi Kumar: Initially I use to get very worked up when I faced that blank phase. Either It was a lack of thoughts or a loss of words. But gradually I learnt that it was a chance to recharge and recoup. I just begin to do things that I enjoy and that relax me. It could be anything from being lazy, binge watching series, going for spas, cooking…..just about anything. And believe me, once you have had your fill of those, you will be automatically drawn to your laptop. So the mantra is don’t stress yourself over it.
LiFT: Are you working on your next book? If yes, please tell us something about it.
Kinshukyi Kumar: I am currently trying to wrap up a book of short stories. All the stories have an Indian backdrop. Each depicts a different human emotion-like the ‘navras’- hate, love, rejection etc. And all my works are heavily laced with satire so that makes them an interesting read. I won’t disclose more so that the curiosity remains.
LiFT: What are your suggestions to the budding writers/poets so that they could improve their writing skills?
Kinshukyi Kumar: My only suggestion is to keep the thoughts simple, relatable and flowing. Correct grammar and a good vocabulary is definitely important but I would suggest using words that are comprehensible and can be of use to enhance one’s everyday conversation. Rest, there is no end to learning and improving.
And Plagiarism is definitely a big NO!!
Click here to order Kinshukyi Kumar’s Book – Musings and Scribblings
