Bina Shukla is an author of Phool ka Prapanch.
यह सफर है एक फूल का जो गंगा के किनारे एक बगीचे में जन्म लेता है और लोगों की मज़ेदार गपशप सुनते हुए खिलता है । एक दिन वह वनस्पति की दुनिया से निकलकर हमारी दुनिया में प्रवेश करता है । वह इस सफर में समाज के विभिन्न स्थानों और वर्गों में घूमता है, हमारी गतिविधियों को करीब से देखता है और उन पर अपनी प्रतिक्रिया देने से नहीं चूकता । कभी हंसता, कभी हंसाता, आखिर क्या है इस फूल का प्रपंच?
About the author
Bina was born in Uttar Pradesh, India. She is M.A. B. Ed. in History and has been a teacher for over 25 years in prestigious schools of Mumbai and Ahmedabad. During her teaching career she has written numerous articles in newspapers and magazines about creative learning methods, addressing mental health issues among students and managing exams related stress and pressures. She is written a number of dramas and plays for her school annual day programs that have received coverage across press and media. Along with her students, she has written a manuscript ‘Unheard deeds of Valour’ – a tribute to the unsung freedom fighters of Indian history.
Bina is a loving wife and mother of two children. Now retired, she continues to follow her passions by learning classical dance, home and community gardening along with weekly yoga sessions! Bina truly believes that there is no ‘right’ time for following your dreams – only the right attitude! With that in mind, she has recently released her first ebook in 2021.
Interview:
Tell us about the idea behind the book?
The idea behind this book is highlighting the disparities in the society which we often fail to see or perhaps consciously notice. Social disparities are everywhere around us – whether that is based on gender, or class, or economic status. Living in our ‘normal’ often makes us overlook the ‘unusual’ or the ‘unfair’ or the ‘abnormal’. Sometimes you need an ‘outside in’ perspective to see the stark reality around us. Hence, the idea of writing this book from the perspective of a mere flower, that becomes part of our world – travelling with us from a garden, to a temple, to adorning a lady’s hair-bun to our homes and can’t stop but comment on the abnormality behind our normal.
How much time did it take in the process of writing?
Writing a book had been my dream for a long time. However, as a teacher, I struggled to dedicate the time that writing would have needed during my career. Now that I am retired, I recently read about the Amazon KDP Pen to Publish contest in the newspaper – which really motivated me to fulfil my dream and get writing. My book is a short story (laghukatha) which took me about 3 weeks to write – self-publishing on Amazon KDP has been a blessing for new authors like myself! Of course, the idea had been in my mind for a while and I am glad that the contest gave me a hard deadline to publish my book.
What did the process of writing this book teach you?
I am retired and I wrote my first book – not knowing the first thing about publishing a book! The journey of writing has reaffirmed my belief that there is no ‘right’ time to fulfil your dreams – only the right attitude!
What inspired you to write this book?
Books have always had an impact on my life – whether that was inspiring me as a child or as a tool to educate young minds during my career as a teacher. I have witnessed how written word has the power to inspire minds and change behaviours. A small effort from my end, could have a positive impact on the society to elevate the position of women – that has been my hope and my inspiration. Of course, turning my ideas in to a book that is available for purchase is a daunting thought. However, my family’s faith in my capabilities motivated me to venture in to unventured territories and turn my dreams in to reality. A special shout out to my forever inspiration and my loudest cheerleaders – my son & daughter!
5 books one must read in a lifetime
Bhagwat Gita
My experiments with truth – M.K. Gandhi
Godan – Munshi Premchand
Madhushala – Harivansh Rai Bachchan
Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
A book that had an impact on you, which helped you in writing this one?
Great poet Kalidas’ description of the nature and beauty around him in his books such as Abhigyan Shakuntalam, has greatly inspired me to choose a mere but mighty flower as the main protagonist of my book.
Tell us about your publishing journey in 5 words.
Challenging, inspiring, fulfilling, grateful, beautiful
Tell us about your plans? Planning a new book?
I feel that creativity cannot be planned. So the plan is to live life, stay positive and when creativity finds me, I am sure I will find myself writing my next book!
What is a literary success for you?
If the reader is able to connect with my book, with the sentiment that I have tried to convey, then I have succeeded.
A message for all the readers.
First of all, thank you – for taking the time to read about me and my book. I hope that through the journey of the flower in the book, like him, it also provokes you to think about the disparities in gender and economic status that consciously or unconsciously exist amongst us. I hope it makes you want to address the inequalities between men and women, rich and poor – in all aspects of life. I hope it makes you want to make a difference by calling out the injustices when you see them in a hope to create a more equal & fair world for all.
