HR-turned-author Jyoti Jha had an interactive chat with the literary team of The Dispatch on 27th August 2021. The Talk Show was conducted via video-conferencing on Zoom and was supported by Literia Insight.
The conversation was moderated by Dr. Chirdeep Malhotra, Literary Editor, The Dispatch. Varied topics were discussed during the session including the author’s book ‘The Realms of Human Emotions’, her writing journey, publishing experience, her explorations with writing short stories, and more.
Jyoti Jha is an MBA by profession and has lived in the UK and USA for about a decade. A proud winner of ‘The Times of India Write India Season 3’, she ventured into writing and has authored three books: ‘Around The World Through My Lens’, ‘The Realms of Human Emotions’, and ‘Aanandi’.
The interactive chat show began with discussion on her book ‘The Realms of Human Emotions’, and she talked about how this book of short stories happened. Jyoti is a storyteller and writing short stories has been her forte. This inspired her to come up with a collection of seven short stories that depict the central theme of human emotions and how they play an important role in our existence. Jyoti said that, “Writing a short story is like an intensive experience and requires simpler ideas and themes as compared to writing novels. Although short stories take lesser time to construct, it is a difficult craft and requires more precision to successfully portray an idea in a limited word count. Short stories create a connect with the readers as there are a variety of genres and stories on different themes to allure the readers’ interest. The literary world has always been engrossed by short stories, be it the contributions of literary legends or the contemporary experts. Be it Munshi Premchand, R. K. Narayan, Rabindranath Tagore, Ruskin Bond, Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekov, Alice Munro, Mahasweta Devi, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chitra Banerjee; these legends and ace writers have paved the way for the art of storytelling and have always inspired short story writers all over the world”.
Apart from discussing her books and her writing experiences, Jyoti also shared about her interest in web series, her passion for writing movie and book reviews, and the amalgamation of literature with the entertainment industry wherein rich content from literary works is being adapted into web series, films, etc. The moderator, Dr. Chirdeep Malhotra, also prompted the author to share her experiences of being an avid reader, her favourite space for reading and writing, her writing quirks, and how reading books of famous Indian English writers, Russian literary stalwarts, English playwrights, and Hindi literature pioneers has inspired her in exploring her writing styles and oeuvre.
The author also reflected on her publishing experience, and on how editing plays an important role in polishing a manuscript. She thanked her publishers and extended her gratitude to her editor, Mr. Nitish Raj, who evaluated the manuscript and gave her his expert opinion which helped enhance the essence of the stories. “It is difficult to judge one’s own work and hence an expert opinion plays an important role”, she said.
On being asked how TOI Write India has played an important role in her writing journey, Jyoti shared that participating and winning the title for the author Upamanyu Chatterjee through this prestigious platform has given her ‘the wind beneath her wings and boosted her confidence as a storyteller’. She opined that the campaign is the perfect opportunity for budding writers to showcase their talent to the ace writers themselves.
With the author’s diverse writing ventures and styles; when being asked what her future writing would be like, and whether she wants to foray into other genres, she said, “I see myself as a fiction writer first, and want to continue exploring various genres as and when different ideas keep flowing through my mind”. She also brought through the conversation refreshing insights about becoming an ‘Authorpreneur’, and having a backup plan before becoming a full-fledged writer.
Living by her motto – ‘Reading is enriching, and writing is liberating’, the author shared her message for budding writers to read a lot, write a lot, and never give up. She said that one should write what naturally comes to them and write for themselves and not for anyone else.
In the concluding remarks, Dr. Chirdeep Malhotra iterated, “Jyoti’s works reflect her deep understanding of human emotions. Her travelling experiences that lead to fascinating insights, and her extensive readings that encompass perspicacity, come out beautifully in her writings. Her writing style represents her keen interest in literature and her passion for storytelling. The literary team of The Dispatch wishes her the best in her writing endeavours”.
Readers can buy her book ‘The Realms of Human Emotions’ on Amazon and also visit her website My Views and Reviews where she shares her musings.
