WELLNESS HONOURED FOR THE POWER OF THE PEN

We spoke to poet Nighat Sahiba and author Manu S Pillai — the two winners of Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar. They talk about their inspiration, and obstacles they had to overcome to attain success

History is a resounding theme in the works of author Manu S Pillai, and his debut novel The Ivory Throne, chronicles the life of the last queen of Travancore. “The book took six years, and these were six challenging years. Everything else I did was aligned to the bookwriting — something as basic as where I lived. When I needed archives in India, I came and worked in Delhi. When it was time for the British archives, I moved back to London where I first went to study, and so on. At the end of it, in 2015, I took five months off to finish the book,” he says.

The award has come as a reassurance to the 27-year-old author. “Many writers have that fear of not being up to the mark; an acknowledgment like this is encouraging. Though, there is still much to do, much to learn, and lots to write,” he explains.

Given that history fascinates him, when asked what aspects of it he wishes to shed more light on, he says, “It isn’t one aspect as much as the fact that there are so many stories that are yet to be told. History is also a warning. This dance of society with time is fascinating. Indian history has such a wealth of accumulated experience. If only we could learn from it with maturity, we could build new ways forward.”

For poet Nighat Sahiba, who won the award for her collection of poetry Zard Panike Dair, books came as an escape from “suffocating environment” she grew up in rural Anantnag, Kas. “I used wonder how men could speak freely about everything and women could only cry in solitude,” says the 34-year-old poet. Initially, she was a little sceptical and feared failure. She wrote her first Urdu poem in eleventh standard, and after three years, her first poem was published. She says, “Little did I know that someday people will read me.”

Separation and pain are recurring themes in her poems. “But, [I] soon moved to socio-political and socioreligious issues. I have tried to reject many deleterious popular beliefs and evoke people to think beyond established traditions. Many of my poems revolve around feminist themes. Since I belong to a war zone, a reasonable space is occupied by the themes of pain and loss caused by political distress. Love and hope are my favourite themes, though I am not an idealist,” she says.

Can poets like her bring about a reform? “It has never been duty of a poet to transform a society. He, nevertheless, possesses the power to do so. I believe poetry can make mountains move provided the poet is interested in moving them,” she says. A collection of her poetry translations in English is expected to come out by the end of this year.

Getting a business class upgrade is not always a walk in the park but that doesn’t mean that the person sitting in economy is destined to suffer. Some of the easy travel hacks like knowing your priorities and picking an odd numbered seat can help you get the best of seats while you are travelling. Here are some tips by experts on how to get the best seats in the airplane.

Know your priorities: It is good to know whether it is extra legroom, less noise, or safety that is paramount in your travel priorities as these will impact the choice of your seat. For example, if leg space is what you want, then you will probably end up in noisy surroundings because the more spacious seats are offered to parents travelling with babies in fold-out cribs. But if you are looking for a peaceful flight, then it would be a good to avoid the galley.

Do your own thing: Don’t follow the herd. According to a 2013 survey, the seat 6A is the most coveted seat on a standard plane, and the least favourite seat is 31E. So, if you want a seat of your choice, try picking an aisle seat in an odd numbered row.

Early check-in: It is but logical that the earlier you check in, the higher your chances are of grabbing your choice of seat.

Be nice: Many seats that free up could be better economy or premium economy seats. This goes down at the last minute, so a warm smile at the check-in counter might just get you a great seat!