Mandrita Bose’s dream tale to become a spoken word poet

I have always wondered what dreams are made of. Is it a series of achievements in life? Financial well-being? Doing what you like? Or maybe fulfilling those carefully preserved wishes, like traveling to Egypt to see the pyramid?

Probably, each to his own thought. Probably, a combination of these.
My story in school and college was much about achieving. Doing well in class, extra curriculars. It was a lot about achieving. Of course, I felt good about that. But somewhere, when I was at home it was also a lot about love. Love for something I was nurturing in my heart for a long time. Creative writing. Poetry.

It all began when I was three or four and Dad narrated to me bedtime stories. I discovered a different world. A magical world I could be in. From, then on, pen and paper has been my closest friend. My hidden knack for writing was discovered by my friends and teachers in school who promptly informed my parents. From then on, my teachers encouraged me to perform my own written poems in the assembly in front of hundreds of students. The school which had known me for my academics and dance, now wanted to hear more of my poems. That, indeed, was the beginning of my journey to pursue poetry, seriously.

The journey of writing poetry took an amazing turn when I met some poetry and storytelling groups in the city of joy and began performing in their open mics and reading sessions. That gave me an insight into spoken word poetry and inspired me to recite and perform in bigger events.

Meanwhile, I also introduced Pen Portrait – customised poems for people. I was writing a customised poem on a person’s picture, based on his personality and talents. The concept emerged when I wanted to celebrate people. I had observed many people toiling for others but forgetting to love themselves in the process. Pen Portrait celebrates people and reminds them of who they are. The response that I received from this initiative was an eternity of happiness from the people. That was my biggest gift.

Also Read: Finding Krishna : Realize the power of love within us

Over the years, writing poetry was a lot about how I experienced life. It was also about exploring my imagination and the various forms of poetry. This experimenting with words and various forms led me to write a great many poems. It was then that I felt the need to publish. To reach out to more and more people. With the online media, this dream became easier. I found people who read my poems and encouraged me to publish a book. So did my Ma. She has been the biggest motivator to get me to publish. Dad taught me recitation from a very young age and advised me on how to improve my writing skills.

All the support from the people in my life culminated in my debut book of poems, December Waves. The book outlines the different aspects of life, a plethora of emotions and explores a chapter on letter poetry. Some poems touch upon the issues affecting us nowadays. Once the book released, I was happy to discover so many people giving me good reviews about the book. I am still looking forward to hearing more thoughts and feedback from my readers.

Their love and support mean a lot to me. The launch for my book is right around the corner. I am looking forward to launching it at the Literoma Carnival.

Also Read: Dr. Sujata Chatterjee’s Dream Tale : To publish her writings as a poet in newspaper and magazines

So, writing poetry helped me grow as a person, helped me to spread happiness and yes, gave me a reason to hope, to dream more and more.
I made a promise to the three-year-old me that I would fulfill my dream of becoming a writer. To some extent, the fulfillment of the dream has been initiated. Now, I write for advertising, write to celebrate people, write to explore, and write to pen down my thoughts and imagination in a book.

Yes, there are challenges, there are obstacles, but I believe that writing should never stop. Dreaming should never stop. For me, this is what dreams are made of.