PASSION FOR WRITING
An author and scholar
WRITING is an adventurous and learning endeavour full of enlightenment, knowledge and development.
These are the words of university lecturer and author Bhagwanji Bhindi to young writers who want to pursue an author career.
“Every person should write something as it helps in critical thinking, creates joy and happiness, eases pain, spreads important and life-changing messages,” Mr Bhindi said.
Mr Bhindi shares his humble journey in Fiji and how it influenced his writing.
“I was born and raised in Vunimoli, a village about 20 kilometres from Labasa Town,” he said.
“I have one brother and four sisters and my parents had a deep influence on my upbringing. They nurtured human and moral values such as honesty, respect, compassion, tolerance and love.
“Writing is my passion and my hobby.
“I started writing when I was a student. I have been writing poems in bits and pieces during high school and my university days.
“In university I got a few poems published in the Mascot, a magazine produced by the Faculty of English, University of Pune. On joining Labasa College as a teacher of English language and literature in 1975, I continued writing poems.
“I began writing on social, cultural, nature based, personal, political and educational issues. I managed to get a few poems and articles published in magazines and the Fiji Teachers’ Union Journal.”
The different situations in life, current news, the environment, people’s behaviour and actions, events that affect human beings can inspire Mr Bhindi to write.
“Sometimes certain words can trigger a thought and I start to write and emotions also compel me to write on issues,” he said.
Mr Bhindi is influenced by the works of Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Frost, and William Wordsworth, Jalal al-Din Rumi, Percy Shelly and Rabindranath Tagore.
So far Mr Bhindi has published four books; Ocean of Shadows collected poems 1980 – 2013”, the second Journey of Reasons: collected works 1980-2018, the third Horizons from the Edge: Depths of Emotional Flight and Descent and the fourth, Aspirations of a limitless mind seeking endless possibilities.
His most popular publication is the Journey of Reasons: Collected Works 1980-2018 - a book with academic articles and poetry.
On his thoughts about writers in Fiji, Mr Bhindi said there are writers in Fiji, but most need encouragement and publishers to print their work.
“There are writers like Professor Subramani, Professor Satendra Nandan, and Professor Konai Helu Thaman who have made an indelible impression on Fijian literature.”
Mr Bhindi shares his writing passion with his wife Maharaj Bhindi.
He is a lecturer at the School of Communication Language and Literature at the College of Humanities and Education at FNU.