1997-batch IRTS officer Mukul Kumar feels that his passion has led to an expansion in his personality which has given him a new identity altogether. His passion is writing, and despite the paucity of time, he has ardently pursued it till now.
The Chief Commercial Manager in Northern Railways is the author of two fiction and two poetry books. Two other books, one fiction and one poetry, are coming up by the end of this year.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Kumar shared with us about his gift of art which finds expression in his books, and the journey that has brought him this far as a writer.
STARTED WRITING AS A CHILD
Mr. Kumar believes that art is a matter of gift and one is born with it. While recalling how writing and poetry started growing in him, he said, “I could sense the poet and a writer in me at a very early stage of my life. When I was a school boy, I used to write about things which were very personal to me, so I always kept the writings to myself and never showed them to anyone else.”
It was in 2012 when he felt like making his poetry public. Over the years, he had kept writing, and as his writing grew, so did his confidence. The fact that his writings earned him appreciation from the people around him made him consider publishing them. And finally in 2012, his first anthology of poetry was published, titled, Irrepressible Echoes.
HIS INSPIRATION IS HIS FATHER
Since that was his first publication, it was very special for Mr. Kumar. The praises that he received from his friends as well as the target readers encouraged him further. But, what made it all the more special was the praise that he received from his father, as he has been a constant inspiration to him on his literary journey. Mr. Kumar says he owes this literary journey primarily to the grooming that he received at home from his father.
“Literature was already there in me but still you need the right atmosphere to nurture it and that’s where my father played a very crucial role. He was the first reader of my writing and when acclaims started coming from him, I gathered confidence and gained maturity. He used to give me suggestions also regarding my writings.”
A SENSE OF FULFILLMENT
His journey from a civil servant to a poet and a novelist has been a thrilling one, and quite fulfilling, too. “When you have a certain passion in you that keeps you restless and if you are able to attend to the call of that passion, then you feel a sense of fulfillment that comes from your soul,” he said.
He added that this fulfillment has led to an expansion in his personality by giving him a new identity altogether. It has made his world more beautiful. “Besides my job as an IRTS officer, I have something else to look forward to, that is so fascinating!”
BALANCING PROFESSION & PASSION
Time management has, of course, been crucial to his journey. There were times when he had processed some idea or thought in his mind but had to wait to go through it as he didn’t have time.
“My journey till now has been challenging but it was quite fascinating in the sense that it did not give me that sense of labour. The only challenge was to figure out a path between my profession and my passion. But still I would say, that when I look back, I think it has been a very thrilling journey.”
CATHARSIS – THE POETRY COLLECTION
His poetry collection, Catharsis, attracted a lot of attention from the media. It is a multi-thematic collection which deals with varieties of topics like life, God, religion, love, nature, human values, lack of values, and human concerns like poverty. But, the collection is special in more ways than one.
“Catharsis is a poetry collection which is very special to me because right after my first poetry anthology, I switched to writing fictions. I wrote two fictions, As Boys Become Men that released in 2016 and Seduction by Truth, released in 2018.”
Writing fiction is quite demanding, he says, as you have to remain engaged in it for a long period of time. He likens it to giving birth to a baby. “It keeps you gripped. However, poetry is something more spontaneous in the sense that a particular poem possesses you and it comes naturally out of you.”
Mr. Kumar’s fiction writing is full of different flavours, the storylines dealing a variety of topics like youth, ambition, passion, etc.
UPCOMING BOOKS
After a long break which was forced onto him by the pandemic, this year is going to be quite exciting for Mr. Kumar, as he is looking forward to the publication of two of his books. One is a poetry collection and the other is fiction. The poetry collection is going to be published by September and the fiction by the year end.
MESSAGE FOR ASPIRANTS
Sharing a message for civil services aspirants, Mr. Kumar said that the UPSC exam demands passion more than anything else. It has to be the first love of your life right from the time you decide, fix the goal and start preparing up to the point you clear the exam.
“Once you do so, other things, like time management and strategizing your preparation, fall in place automatically. I believe that this examination is not cracked in the examination hall, it is actually cracked in the mind,” he said in conclusion.
