An Interview by child author, Tejas Mathai, of a Poet

Hi everyone,

Today, I’m bringing you something a bit different. One of my favorite child authors, Tejas Mathai, who is working on a wonderful series, has branched out to interview a poet. Below is his interview. While not children’s poetry, I believe her message of helping others is definitely one we need to hear about in today’s world, so take it away, Tejas!

Authors in Conversation

By Tejas Mathai

tejasmathai.com

Hi, this is Tejas. I am a fourteen-year-old freshman living in Modesto, California. I am an author of two published sci-fi novels, Infinity: The Secret of the Diamonds and Infinity: The Rise of the Mandroids. I have been writing stories ever since I was six years old.

Since my last article for Wanda Luthman’s magazine, I have made much progress on my writings. After the completion of my second book, I immediately began to work on my third book in the series. And in January of this year, I completed the first draft for my third book. Outside of my writing, I also earned my Red 1 belt for karate in February.

I am very excited to feature my conversation with Dr. Nivedita Lakhera, who I met in San Jose, California. Dr. Lakhera, or Niv, as she prefers to be called, works as a physician at O’Connor Hospital in San Jose. She is considered to be a leader in contemporary poetry and an advocate for gender equality and human rights. She is an award-winning author of two poetry and art books. Her first book, Pillow of Dreams,is an award-winning and best reviewed poetry book on Amazon for three consecutive years. Her second book, I am Not a Princess, I am a Complete Fairytale, has been included in the syllabus of Peace and Justice at Michigan State and Wayne State Universities.

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Tejas: Hey everybody, today I will be interviewing Dr. Niv Lakhera. She is a poet and an author of two best-selling poetry books on Amazon, and I will be asking her a couple of questions, so would you like to tell us more about yourself?

Niv: Hi everybody, I’m Niv, and I’m with the amazing science writer, who has written two books already. How old are you?

Tejas: Fourteen

Niv: By the time he’s fourteen, he has written two books, I mean…yeah, but he is interviewing me. So yes, I have written two books. I’m a full-time physician, full-time writer, full-time foodie, full-time fashionista, full-time friend, full-time…sleep-lover, what not.

Tejas: So, my first question for you is “what inspired you to write?”

Niv: So, I cannot not write. I think we all are here for a purpose. We are designed to do certain things in this lifetime, and when we do those things, it makes us very transcendental and it’s a different kind of high. I call it, “making your peace with the soul of the universe”. So, I don’t say that writing makes me happy. It’s the other way around. If I don’t write, I’ll be very restless, and I won’t be happy. So, I’ve been writing since I was a child. I started writing because I read literature very early on because we didn’t have comics for some reason; my parents looked down at them, so our house was full of these big, big books that my uncle used to bring; he was studying his bachelor of arts, and my dad was a scientist, so there were a lot of journals. So what I grew up reading was science journals and beautiful literary works, like a lot of Russian literature. So I started writing very early on, and then it stopped when I went to med school. So I’ve been writing since before I was born, I think. (laughs)

Tejas: So when I read your books, I saw that you did a lot of artwork. And I think that their mostly abstract works.

Niv: Yeah. It’s really easy. You just put a broom in the picture and then people are like, “Oh, she’s trying to talk about the cleansing of the soul”. No, it’s a broom. (laughs). Abstract is really easy. I think artists have an open interpretation, unlike science fiction, right?

Tejas: Yeah

Niv: And so is poetry. I think people find art and poetry very safe spaces to be whatever they want and find a comfort of, like, someone else knowing them. So I think that’s why. Every artwork that I’ve created, I’ve had my own meaning behind it, like what I wanted to convey, but again, it’s open to readers and people looking at the artwork how they want to interpret it, and I think that freedom is very intoxicating, comforting, and at times, therapeutic.

Tejas: So when I was looking through both of your books, I saw that the first one was sort of based around your story and the second one was about people in general and about human rights.

Niv: I think the first poetry book I wrote was definitely after an event in my life. I was recovering from my heartbreak, and I had so much inside of me that was “breaking the dam”. So that was what happened. So the first book was born out of this intense necessity of what I was experiencing, and also not just my personal experiences, but the experiences of others. And people would contact me and share their stories after they read my first book or if they had heard about me. So, yeah, my first book was about my words and my life, and the second book was shining the light on other people’s stories and making them the heroes of their journeys.

Tejas: So for your third book, how did you come up with the title the lifecurrency?

Niv: You know, most of the things I have written is based off of something I told someone. So what I think happened was that I was in my apartment sitting with some friends. One of my friends brought their mother, who was going through some tough times, and I began to talk to her and comfort her. And I said, “You need to know where you’re going to spend your life currency”. And that was how I came up with that title. And that phrase really spoke to her. There are millions of words and phrases around the world, but only a few can click in one’s head. I think that that phrase really connected with my friends. So, the book is about your life currency, about where to spend it, when to spend it, and who to spend it on.

Tejas: What is your main message throughout all of your poems and books?

Niv: I think that if I die tomorrow, I want to have some satisfaction that I did something to make a difference. I want to pursue my purpose and my passion to help others in life. I think somewhere a word can help change someone’s life forever. So that is what my message is, to fulfill your purpose on this Earth and to help your fellow humans. And even the simplest things like poetry can help make a difference.

Tejas: So that is all the questions I have for today, so thank you for your time.

Niv: Thank you Tejas!

You can visit Niv Lakhera at Niveditalakhera.com and follow her on social media. Please follow me on social media and visit tejasmathai.com to support my cause and charity.

Thank you so much Tejas and Niv for joining my blog today and sharing your artwork and poetry!

Thank you, everyone, for reading my blog today. As always comments, likes, and shares are encouraged!

Have a blessed day everyone! And stay safe!