In Conversation with Kalamayee Alaka Daspatnaik

 

Kalamayee Alaka Daspatnaik, a brilliant poet, artist and a story writer. She has a passion for capturing beauty of the world through her writing. She loves art, literature, and music. She draws inspiration in writing from different experiences and thoughts. She has authored several books and anthologies. She has received multiple awards in literature field. Let us know more about her in this interview.

 

1.Hello Smt. Alaka Daspatnaik, how do you describe yourself to our readers?

Alaka: First of all, thank you for giving me this opportunity to reach out to a large audience. I am Alaka. I am an author and poet. I have been writing in Odiya and recently in Hindi. I love to do painting in different mediums like oil paints, water color, Batik and Tanjore. I am a singer in Hindi classical and a musician. I love cooking and gardening. My favourite genres in writing are nature and spirituality.

 

2.Please share your journey of being a writer. How and when you started writing? What’s your inspiration behind it?

Alaka: Since childhood I have been attracted to art, literature and music. I would do sketches, paintings and stitching during my free time.

After completing my education, I got married to Shri Santanu Daspatnaik, a mechanical engineer from Baripada, Mayurbhanj district from Odisha. I travelled to different places along with my husband who had a touring govt. job.

It was in Delhi and later in Nagpur, around 3 decades ago, when my sojourn as a poet started, along with learning classical vocal and music.

While working in the kitchen, I would observe the flowers from the kitchen window including the birds who would visit me from time to time. The verses in appreciation of nature would flash in front of my eyes and I would immediately rush to pen them down on a rough piece of paper. These poems gradually grew in number which resulted in my first collection of Odiya poems ‘Gala Dina’ (Of Days gone by) that got published in Nagpur in 1997.

Since then, there was no turning back. My work was appreciated by many readers and publishers. I got known as a poet who could write poems with in-depth feelings, emotions and deep spiritual meaning using simple words. My poems found space in various Odiya magazines and the readership grew.

My inspiration has been my parents, and all the support I receive from my husband, my children and grandchildren.

 

3.How has writing shaped you and how has life transformed after being a writer? Where do you get your ideas for your writing?

Alaka: In my writing journey in last 3 decades, I realised that I developed a medium to express my thoughts through my poetry. This has immensely helped me in sharing my life experiences through the medium of literature.

My ideas in writing stem from our beloved mother nature… the trees, the forests, waterfalls, birds, flowers, bees and what not. I evolved from a nature poet to a spiritual one through the experiences I received from the spiritual environment in my family which I nurtured and cherished and passed on to my next generations.

 

4.What suggestion do you have for aspiring writers and what was the most challenging task in your writing career?

Alaka: As a woman, taking care of the family and managing daily chores, it would at times become difficult to take out time for writing. However, I held on to my dreams and goals and burnt the midnight oil to ensure I put down my ideas and thoughts on a paper. Publishing the first book amid all priorities and anticipating the response from my readers was probably the most challenging task. My suggestion to all writers is to continue believing in yourself and never give up.

 

5.You have featured in several books, how do you manage time for writing and are you writing something as of now?

Alaka: Over a period, I published many more books in Odiya and one in Hindi.

Yes, I am still writing as it gives me immense satisfaction. I manage my time between my daily chores. I have developed a fixed ‘Me’ time when I sit down and write. My current writing is a collection of Odiya poems for all the different flowers that I have researched upon as part of my gardening hobby. Currently it is in editorial phase.

I am also working on publishing my first collection of Hindi stories. It is in draft stage.

 

6.Kindly attach the link of your book so that readers can get a grasp on these beautiful reads.

Alaka: Here is a list of my published books in Odiya:

Gala Dina (Of Days Gone By)

Amabasya ra Nayika (The heroine of the new moon night)

Anya Akasha (A different sky)

Chuna Chuna Phula (A collection of flowers)

Sesha Pahacha (The last step)

Padarabinda (At His Lotus Feet)

You can reach out to me on my facebook link for the Odiya books.

(20+) Alaka Dàspatnaik | Facebook

 

My first Hindi poetry collection is:

Abhilasha (A collection of poems – mostly in praise of Lord Krishna) published in Amazon.

Book link: Buy Abhilasha Book Online at Low Prices in India | Abhilasha Reviews & Ratings - Amazon.in

 

One of my hindi poems featured in the Anthology:

Anokhe Alfaz (Published in Amazon)

Book link: Anokhe Alfaz - Kindle edition by Dewangan, Jai, Moodgal, Usha kiran , Moodgal, Tushar kiran , Beichhualai, Johly . Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

 

7.Is there any message you want to share with our writers?

Alaka: The message I want to pass on to my fellow writers is to believe in yourself. Use simple words to express your writings. This is what readers truly appreciate. Be determined and never let go of your dreams. Keep writing…