Interview With Neeti & Abhijit

Neeti Banga

Neeti Banga, a fashion professional, is currently teaching full time at her Alma mater,NIFT, New Delhi. She started writing poems at the age of 7 and over the years has kept her passion alive! Her poems have recently been published in an anthology 'Spectrum' by 'The Poetry Society of India'. Her second Poetry anthology-'The Dewdrops...a journey begins', with two co-poets has recently been published and released at The Oxford Bookstore New Delhi and is amongst Amazon bestsellers currently!

Wild, nomadic and romantic at heart, her gypsy soul find solace in expression through painting, writing poetry and stories. Storytelling has always been her strength and recently her short stories have been selected for various anthologies. She is currently writing her first romantic novel .

She loves to travel, paint, cook, dance, meet new people, enrich her life with experiences and create beautiful memories. Inspired by Life and its ups and downs, she paints the canvas of her soul with inspirations from all walks of life.

Poetry and story writing, is her way of sharing a piece of her soul, with the world.

Get in touch with her on

neetibanganift@gmail.com 
and her facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/soulcanvas.neeti 
and
https://www.facebook.com/neeti.banga

Abhijit Narayan

Abhijit Narayan is passionate about writing, be it poetry, short stories or even shayaris, he likes them all. His poems have been published by the Poetry Society of India and many national and international magazines. His second Poetry anthology-'The Dewdrops...a journey begins', with two co-poets has recently been published and was released at the famous Oxford Bookstore in New Delhi.

His short stories have also been included in a number of anthologies. He is currently working on his first novel (fiction). He also enjoys travelling and has visited more than 20 countries. For him, it’s the people, which make any place interesting. When he is not exploring his creative side or travelling, he dons the hat of a corporate lawyer and is based in Frankfurt, which he now calls his home. He studied law in New York and worked in India before moving to Germany in 2012.

You can write to him - 
e2abhijit@gmail.com 
or connect with him on Facebook - 
https://www.facebook.com/abhijitnarayan.writer

How did you guys meet, start writing together, how did that all work out?
AN – Whilst we have different backgrounds (Neeti belongs to the Fashion world and I am a corporate lawyer), it was writing which connected us. We both used to post our poems in a group on Facebook, that's how we got to know about each other. We have recently released a book of poems – 'Dewdrops', along with another friend, who is a doctor!

After dabbling with poems, we both started writing short stories. That is when we thought of co-authoring the stories together. Initially it was surprising to notice that how similar we think. But now we have got used to it! The fact we are not even based in the same country has never been a problem. We are also co-authoring a novel, which should release later this year.

NB: Yes, Abhijit, you said it all bang on! Being from different worlds, with different life scenarios, our love for poetry got us close! We haven’t met many times but thanks to technology, especially Facebook, we stay connected and keep inspiring each other. It’s amazing how we can enter each other’s mind and actually discover new perspectives of things and situations together.

What was the impetus for the,’ Time to fight back, Girls!’ Story you wrote?

AN & NB: The theme of the book was very interesting and inspiring. It’s a theme that touched our souls. As poets, writers and even as human beings, we are deeply moved by the incidents happening in our society. We both have written a number of stories and poems discussing different issues affecting the women of our society.

We think that women are often portrayed as being weak, someone who needs help from other people of the society. But in our story, the victim gets support from another girl only!

There are two main voices in the story, Ayesha &Damyanti. Who wrote which voice?

AN & NB: We both co-wrote it. Believe us, our thinking is very similar. There are no overlaps! Touch wood!

How was the development process for Time to fight back, Girls? Was there a key moment that you recall?

AN & NB: For us the key moment in the story is when Ayesha has a one-on-one discussion with Nikita. Having been a victim herself, Ayesha could really empathize with the plight of Nikita. While writing we could visualize their meeting. It was a very important stage where Nikita felt there was someone she could confide it, someone who could feel what she was feeling and empathize without judging.

What was your experience with  Time to fight back, Girls! And what were the significant differences with the other stories you have written earlier as far as writing it?

An & NB: The experience has been wonderful! The significant difference is the theme of the book. We would like to thank Mr. Pawan Jain for thinking of such a topic for the book. It is an issue which affects all of us and we need to do something about it. We got an opportunity to be the voice for women who have been through these experiences and have kept mum.

What similarities do you have with the characters in the story?

AN: I think as a girl, Neeti would be better suited to give this answer.

NB: Hmm. Right Abhijit. Tough one. But yes, being a girl I can say that unfortunately I have experienced and seen my friends experiencing similar incidents in their life. Yes, maybe not to that extreme extent as in the story, as Nikita and Ayesha faced, but it has left an impact on us. We felt guilty for no fault of ours and kept our mouth mum, as we did not know whom to talk to, how to react. I’m glad that we empowered the characters of our story to take the courage and be bold…

What is the hardest part you as a team had to write and how did you overcome the obstacle?

AN & NB: There are no hard parts in writing. For us, it is a beautiful journey, which we have embraced in all its forms.

When you approach a story what is your process as a team?

AN & NB: To keep it simple and natural. We also focus a lot on the plot, on the characters. We want our readers to connect to the characters in the story and feel what they are feeling…laugh with them, and cry with them too. A reader is interested only in the story and not so much on who has written it.

When you set out developing an original story what is your approach? Do you have consistent things you do when developing ideas?

AN & NB: Far from it! I wish we were more methodical. But we are not! Right from the time of developing an idea to the completion, we are quite spontaneous. But we love our spontaneity as that brings out the best in us and keeps us charged and motivated!

Based on your experiences, what are the major differences between writing a story and a complete book? Or similarities?

AN & NB: There are many differences. In our view, sketching the characters in a book is much more detailed, as the reader wants to know more about the main characters. Secondly and more importantly, a book is basically many stories woven together as one. So we can't really compare writing a story with writing a complete book. We are enjoying this journey together, as the petals unfold, new secrets keep unfolding…

If you could change anything about a previous project what would it be and why?

AN & NB: No need for change. We read somewhere – 'I have never failed. Either I have won or have learned something.' We enjoy writing and that's the most important thing for us.

Have you written a lot of different genres? Not a lot of pros branch off into uncharted territory. What do you say?

AN & NB: We would stop writing if we were to write in the same genre every time. Writers are creative people and they must explore different genres to keep their creative juices flowing. But we often see many people trapped within a particular theme. We write on a new theme every time and have penned 4 stories together for different anthologies.

We would like to be the Aamir Khan of the writing world! Successful and yet not run-of-the-mill.

You must have to avoid a lot of situational approach to writing as that lends itself more towards specific genres. Do you focus on the characters and theme?

AN & NB: Both character and theme are extremely critical for storytelling.

The language of a story, its structure, is so unique to begin with. It’s important to make that connection with the reader. You have to establish that language or conversation with your reader. What do you say?

AN & NB: Of course! Today the reader is spoilt for choice. If you don't give them something different, they will quickly change the page to another story/ pick another book. We like to keep our reader trapped in our little fantasy world!

What are you working on now and what does the immediate future hold for the Neeti & Abhijit Team?

AN & NB: After being pushed by many well-wishers for months, we have finally started working on our first novel. We are half-way through. We assure our readers that they would have never read anything like this before.

Any message for your fellow writers/poets?

AN & NB: Keep writing! Write not because you have to please someone or become a celebrity, but write because you love it, and it will have a piece of your soul in it. Never forget that's how you wrote the first story/poem.

How was experience with Sanmati Publishers?

AN & NB: One word – Excellent!  People like Mr. Jain are very rare who encourage writers and poets through books, organizing events, etc. We thank him for giving us this wonderful opportunity to be a part of this book!

We would also like to thank you for organizing this. You guys are rock stars!

Aww thank you very much! Thanks again for your precious time which you gave fir this interview. We wish luck, have a good day keep writing.

Interview By Enakshi & Kumar