The Rise Insight: The chapters in “Just Squeeze It” cover a diverse range of topics, from compassion to hope to faith. How do you navigate weaving these themes together to create a cohesive and impactful narrative throughout the book?

Binoy Raveendran:   All the themes are interrelated, talking about motivation, spirituality, compassion, hope, etc, in a way all topics speak the same language to invigorate a person to go to the next level, materially and spiritually so the underlying theme is the same but the expression is varying at peripheral.

The Rise Insight: Your book is described as a “referral guide” for day-to-day life. How do you envision readers incorporating the lessons or insights from your book into their daily routines, and what kind of impact do you hope it will have on their lives?

Binoy Raveendran:  This book is for all kinds of people to enhance their well-being in day-to-day life.

I believe we all are in the battle of Kurukshetra hence we have to tackle daily life problems to bring well-being in our family and ourselves so just reacting to the situation and blaming our fate is not a good approach to winning the war, we have to inculcate basic human qualities and supporting practices and thought processes to enhance our qualities, if we can change our perspective then the result would be different, I have highlighted all aspects we indulge in day to day life with proper quotes and examples.

The Rise Insight: In addition to being an author, you work as an IT engineer in Bangalore. How do you balance your professional life with your creative pursuits, and do you find that your work in IT influences your writing in any way?

Binoy Raveendran:  Since I work in IT I had to travel to many countries as a part of my work, most of the time I was alone or away from family during these trips, so I focused on writing and traveling to new places at the free times and all these experiences with different people and culture influences me a lot and I could portray all my exposure and experiences in my writings.

The Rise Insight: The title of your book, “Just Squeeze It,” suggests an active and participatory approach to life. Can you elaborate on what you mean by “squeezing” life and how readers can apply this philosophy to their own lives?

Binoy Raveendran:  The word Squeeze uses two meanings, readers can read and squeeze the knowledge out of this book to resonate the same in their lives, secondly, they can squeeze positive energy from the cosmos by doing good deeds in daily life.

The Rise Insight: As a poet and writer, how do you decide which medium best suits the expression of your thoughts and ideas? Are there certain themes or emotions that you find are better captured through poetry or prose?

Binoy Raveendran:  For me both prose and poetry are good means to express my emotions, having said that I think compared to poems, people are interested in reading prose hence prose would be good to target more readers to convey an author’s philosophy and insights.

The Rise Insight: Your previous works, such as ‘Sayings of Silence’ and ‘The Scent of Rocks at Dawn,’ showcase a diverse range of themes. How do you maintain a consistent voice across your different works while still exploring new and varied subjects?

Binoy Raveendran:  Although subjects are varied at peripherals, the essence of my writings are same, the basic philosophy to enhance everyone’s life in any situation. you can correlate it with a stoic approach towards life.

The Rise Insight: In “Just Squeeze It,” you talk about the impact of perception on one’s life. Can you share a specific moment or realization that inspired you to explore this theme, and how it has influenced your own perspective on life?

Binoy Raveendran:  External situations influenced me a lot throughout my life and I used to react to situations earlier but now I learned to respond, our life is ticking away every moment knowingly or unknowingly hence we don’t have much time to waste on mundane activities when I first read the below quote, I realized to focus on the matter that can enhance my life qualities

“You are nothing but a number of days, and whenever a day passes away, a part of you passes away.”  ~ Al-Hasan al-Basri.

The Rise Insight: Family appears to be an important aspect of your life, as evident from the mention of your wife and daughter. How do your personal life and the support of your family contribute to your creative process and the themes you choose to explore in your writing?

Binoy Raveendran:  My wife and daughter are proud of my writing; they encourage my writing always and most of my experiences for the last decade are along with them hence they influenced me directly and indirectly a lot.