A postgraduate from the University of Delaware, USA, Aditi Pant is an award-winning educator, columnist, author and poet. Her debut, Zen on the go, a collection of succinct, soulful, spiritual stories garnered much acclaim and was on the Barnes and Noble reading list. The book was also on the bedside table of almost everyone who read it, a quick ready reference to life and living. Just to shake things up, she then wrote, The turning of seasons, a novel that seamlessly blends prose and poetry in a poignant tale of love and loss. When Aditi is not writing she can be found reading, teaching, cooking and what can only be described as multitasking while drinking legions of tea. Aditi lives in Sugar Land, Texas, with her husband and their two daughters.
Let’s talk with Aditi
Questions:
The Rise Insight: What is your objective of writing this book?
Aditi: The aim of the book is simple; finding meaning and happiness in quotidian occurrences.
The Rise Insight: Who inspired you to write this book?
Aditi: Life, my parents, my husband, my children, my family and my friends.
The Rise Insight: What kind of books do you enjoy reading?
Aditi: I enjoy a wide variety of books, genres and writing styles. I love the play and interplay of words and ideas. Poetry, reflective narratives, historical fiction, the quiet haiku style, the flagrant, the biting and works with pathos appeals to me the most. Mirza Galib, Sarat Chandra, Dharmavir Bharati, Daphne du Maurier, Colleen Mc Collough, Eric Segal, Haruki Murakami, Kazuo Ishiguro, Ocean Vuong, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni are some of my favourite writers.
The Rise Insight: Tell us a bit about your previous publications.
Aditi: Zen on the go is very similar in terms of style and content to The Zen Heart; a compilation of wonderful little stories.
A turning of seasons is my first novel and very close to my heart. It’s rather experimental and interesting as it blends prose and poetry to bring forth a poignant love story.
The Rise Insight: What kind of research did you have to do to write this book?
Aditi: I did no particular research as such. Whatever intrigued me, whatever I read and experienced became a part of this book.
The Rise Insight: What are your forthcoming books?
Aditi: I’m writing a novel called You, Me and Us which I feel will be an exciting read as it’s epistolary, romantic, mysterious and real.
The Rise Insight: Would you call this book a work of nonfiction?
Aditi: It’s an amalgamation of fiction and nonfiction.
The Rise Insight: How often do you write?
Aditi: Well, I write something daily. Not a day without a line is my mantra too.