Creation in a Feminine Perspective!!! Radiant smile, as beautiful as her writing, the charming, passionate and riveting woman warmly welcomes us to her CREATION IN ISOLATION. Author, lecturer, writer, Honey Bhaskaran is a woman of many talents.
DIASPORA & WRITING: Expatriate life has certainly influenced my writing in a subtle way. The concept of freedom was clear to me only after I started life outside my nation. Away from pseudo moralities, in the gulf, I realized that it is possible for a man and to develop an open relationship to discuss all subjects underneath the sky, sitting together, with nothing being taboo. The possibilities and the depth and width of freedom it afforded added more perspectives to my attitudes towards relationships. It was a new start to portray my thoughts onto a wider platform of life. Probably because all the emirates are within a day’s travel, living here has helped me to attend multiple public functions and mingle with people of different nationalities. Travel is convenient, so listening to discourses, meeting people from multiple backgrounds have all been made very easy adding to the richness of life. My writing though is not filled with expatriate life is filled with insights received from my interactions with people, and experiences while travelling outside and the lessons learnt from other’s lives. So ironically although expatriate life has been a fertile ground enabling my writing, the writing in itself does not reflect it much.
COVID CREATIONS: The world had never expected this pandemic so the darkness fell all at once. This deadly environment drowned our wealth, health and emotions as a whole. During this Covid pandemic, as someone who works in the health sector and in the forefront of the battle against the deadly virus, I have been able to witness firsthand the sheer helplessness of people when faced with an enemy they cannot fight. Power, position, money all means nothing under these circumstances. People have realized the things that are most important in life and that is a heartening sign for the future. Being a part of the Covid force, while intimidating at first, it made me understand my social, personal and professional responsibilities and made me throw myself fully into fighting the enemy.
In fact I worked harder at this even more than l did during the crusade to help the flood victims back home and I believe that I was able to make a difference. During this time I was able to witness people who were well settled, even powerful begging for admission into the hospital as the wards overflowed and triage had to be imposed. All the false illusions of wealth, strength and all were stripped away and finally all were just men...weak helpless men! When things are going well we commit so many acts of arrogance and even cruelty, secure in our perceived elite status. I sincerely hope that this experience would force people to introspect and become better human beings – humbler & kinder.
ENTRY INTO WRITING: My entry into the world of writing was totally fortuitous. I certainly believe that it was my reading that opened the doors to writing. The books that my mother advised me to read, the books she read to me in my childhood, all paved my path to writing. I tip toed into the world of reading, enchanted by the stories my mother read aloud. I am from a financially below average family. Since we were financially weak buying books to read were a pipe dream then. Coming from a conservative family the topics and books I could read were limited. It was only after I became financially independent that I was able to buy and read the books of my choice. Till then the public library nurtured my creativity. I have always felt that my reading expanded only because of that library in my Village.
The first Malayalam novel I read was M Mukundan’s “Mayyazhiyude Teerangalil” gifted by Malayalam Teacher Salestin John who was a source of great encouragement always for reading and writing. He advised me to read and write more and choose topics that I felt were of interest and relevance. He used to make me recite my insights from the books I had read to various batches. He also used to give me books to read during my vacations.I started writing when I was in the 8th or 9th Standard. Childhood nights were filled with a frenzy of reading.
Books borrowed from the library were secreted inside school books and read in secret. I used to borrow from all the nearby libraries. Writing happened quite unexpectedly... a lonely childhood, a home suffocated by an overwhelming feeling of fear was my environment. To escape from the creeping death of fear, loneliness and pain I started to write. I transferred my woes onto the paper and felt relaxed. I realized that this was the elixir to my problems. Loneliness had started to shroud my life like a poisonous mist.That was what created the perfect situation to write. Both in writing and in life - my mother was and is my biggest pillar of strength. Experience undoubtedly enriches the quality of writing.I wrote my first poem on the day Mother Theresa died... My first poem was born from my grief. Although I started my writing with poetry, I never was an avid reader of the genre. I debuted in poetry before moving onto Haiku poetry, articles, and finally novels.
I firmly believe myself to be a much better reader than a writer. I strongly believe that whatever your mode of expression – poetry, novels or articles, It’s not necessary to read the same genre extensively. These creations draw deep from your experiences, reading may help strengthen and refine language but cannot help further. Literature is the language of your heart where your thoughts blossom and no one else has anything to do with it.
POLITICAL VIEWS:The politics in my writings are my principles and these principles are aligned to everyone. While I do have definite politics as behoves someone living in a democracy it goes beyond that to humanism where man comes first, then politics.
SOCIAL MEDIA ATTACKS: Social media has had a great influence on writing or it should be said that writing had a great influence on social media. The biggest advantage with social media is that it gives a platform to reach a wide readership without necessarily being established or well known. Earlier writers had to spend years, even decades before they became known and reached a decent circle of readers. Now someone starting his journey has a ready made readership. Another facet of social media is that it has empowered women.
In a patriarchal society women were conditioned to suffer indignity, insult and even assault in silence with the perpetrators walking away scot free. Now with social media, women, both artists and the laywoman have found their voice and if faced with the same, reacts powerfully and instantly, shaming the culprits and bringing them to their knees, however powerful they are. Social media has truly emancipated women. As a woman with specific political views and also an artist I have faced my share of trolls and attacks on social media but it has only strengthened my resolve and taught me how to be self -reliant and face life with a positive attitude.
CREATION AND ISOLATION: When you reflect on how Covid has influenced art you have to say that it has actually influenced our thinking more than it has art. It has brought people the time to interact with other people, time to actually listen, time to think deeply and perhaps come up with new paradigms. The problem faced by artists is the lack of a public platform where they can perform. On the other hand creativity is hitting new heights with the imposed isolation and introspection. More songs are being created, more written work being conceptualized than ever before. Writers of course require isolation to create and this period has afforded them more of this than probably any time in history. For the woman writer on the other hand, this period has increased their load with the family at home all the time. For her this time has limited her chances to create. For me personally this period has been one of hectic work and while it has given me multiple experiences to draw upon, I will have to wait for a later time to write meaningfully.
For writers a lockdown is nothing new. The process of creating an art form like a novel involves focusing yourself inwards till you are locked in yourself with minimal awareness of the outside world. There is only you and your creation in this world you inhabit. I don’t think any writer can create a worthwhile product without going into this process. Isolation is a prerequisite for writing and it’s impossible to do so with a crowd or in a noisy environment. Due to this I am sure that very few lady writers would have been able to produce meaningful work in the current situation.
INSPIRATION: Even though I write mostly poems, my favorite form of literature is the Novel. During childhood I mainly wrote poems. As time went along, with life getting more and more hectic, it somehow morphed into Novels. I read mostly novels and articles even now. When I sit to write a novel, I feel like I am in an Island in the middle of a river. The island is deserted except for me and my words. I sometimes feel suffocated by the deluge of words that flow in. I suffer as though from birth pangs as my mind twists and turns. My torture continues till the writing is done. It’s not whether the end product is a classic or not, the pangs of the creator is the same and should be understood.
Keeping writing aside is akin to suicide. It is the very breath of my life. To make a living we keep uprooting ourselves and moving elsewhere. Every uprooting wounds us further. Even in the middle of a teeming crowd, our soul stands aside, steeped in loneliness. As the crowds filter away, memories tear at the scabs of our wounds. We keep away from crowds and even friends. It is difficult to speak when we are in the depths of sorrow. But that silence is often misinterpreted. Loved ones can feel that they are being abandoned.
Woman writers - A Species under threat: I needed both my writing and my life....therefore had to fight to attain the freedom to write. Most women who write are like this. Even the men who preach women empowerment would have women at home who are tied down. Women are often helpless, they do not have the right to go out alone even to libraries to find the solitude they need without eye brows being raised. And if a woman writer achieves anything there are rumors of favors from the powerful supporting her. A woman’s achievements are always tied to her body. When a woman raises her voice against any social issue whether political or about patriarchy, her character is questioned. She becomes the culprit of social attack. Slut shaming is the weapon for them to suppress their voice. But women have become empowered enough to overcome such problems in spite of going through the maximum level of social media attacks. A progressive society is possible only when gender discrimination falls and equality takes lead.
Challenges when woman writes: Society gets intoxicated by being judgmental. As a woman the main challenge in writing is the lack of freedom of expressions. Madhavikutty, Rajalakshmi and Saraswathi Amma had all faced this…In a male dominated society bypassing this is not easy. When I wrote about the lives of girls in dance bar, there were women friends of mine who walked away from me... Aren’t women the right people to write about their lives? When the same sex creates boundaries for themselves, how can women’s empowerment be possible? How can victims have the will and strength to rebuild their lives? The notion is that those who speak in AIDS seminars are themselves infected , that those who participated in the kissing strike are impatiently waiting for a chance to indulge in it and that anyone who passes by a bar are drunkards. The repercussions it creates in society are agonizing. The rape accused who are welcomed with garlands and flowers when released on bail and their followers also infest the society in which we live. It also has women who legitimize pedophilia. All of them are complicit in creating the victims.
LIFE LESSONS: Each fall is like a ray of light entering into pitch darkness. It is a revelation. It is when direct light enters that we realize the false impressions we were under and the truthfulness of the relationships we cherish. We will recognize those who betray us as well as those who stand with us even when we are down. A woman who is staying alone is the person best to judge the world truly on its merits. You may have up and downs when you speak aloud in public but still you should walk with your head held high. Fill your thoughts with positivity and live the life the way you are.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental rights; no one can say no to it. In a democratic country, if a group of people is trying to suppress people's dissimilar opinions with the help of political system, it’s called fascism. This has to be blotted out. We live in secular India. Nobody has to take up the advantage on the basis of privileges on behalf of religion, caste or gender. We believe that racism has been obscured but still in India in many places communal riots are happening and Dalits are hunted and murdered. Artists and writers also face the ire of fascism. Fascism has taken root in India, that is what we have seen from recent incidents like Citizenship Amendment Bill. Our political system shows disregard for fundamental tenets of the Indian constitution. When the people raise their voice against the injustice sanctioned by the state, if the state is using its political power against it, it’s not at all secularism. Why should the system fear the Media? Media is the mirror through which the society gets to know what is happening around. Meanwhile the media has the responsibility to keep the society updated with factual data and should never misguide people through wrong information. The political system doesn't have any right to censor the belief, ideas, thoughts or emotions of the people on different issues.
CREATIONS: I have written a total of 14 books in which there are collections of poems, collection of Haiku, travelogues, article compilations of articles and novels. My first Novel “Udal Rashtriyam “ reflecting body politics was what established me as a writer even though still I have to walk more in writing. "Udal Rashtreeyam' was in the list of best sellers list in Sharjah International Book Fair. My second novel was ''Pieta" which is based on Sonagachi, the red street in kolkotta and it won the prize for best novel in the GCC. My third Novel was "Nohayude Paravakal" written based on the flood experiences in Kerala in 2018.