Arvind Kumar Srivastava is a resident of Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is known for writing poetry and prose and articles on his portal shabdlekh.com. He has written some good books, one especially emanating from the epic saga Mahabharata. He is also notable for one of his very prominent self-help book 21Vi Sadi Mein Daren Ya Laden.
Today, he speaks to with News World Inc about his two latest books: Yuddh Ki Sanstuti and 21Vi Sadi Mein Daren Ya Laden.
NWI: Could you please tell more about your creative inclination?
Creativity is my way of life. I am an avid reader. I have read creations of prominent Hindi and English writers and I get a lot of knowledge and inspirations from the books I read. So my creativity is a combination of my own thoughts, life experiences and learnings from these books.
Well, if I introspect, I can find one creative inclination and that is – helping the youth to draft a path for solving their real world problems.
All of us want to contribute in nation’s development and I believe this is my way of doing so.
NWI: Are you a versatile writer? You penned down one mythology fiction, and another one a self-help book. How do you manage it?
Again, versatility in my writing come from the fact that I read various genre of books and try to pen down the learnings from them and from my own experiences.
My aim is to ensure that the young India connects with my writing and is helped in whatever way. With this theme in mind, I am able to pen down my thoughts across genres.
NWI: How long have you been writing?
I have been writing poetry and prose since very young age. I used to write customized family songs, I even wrote a Maa Durga Aarti which is still recited during Durga Pooja in my home town.
I have always had keen interest in reading and writing; I kept reading and writing throughout my life but never really got time to get my writing published. When pandemic hit the nation and there was nationwide lockdown, I took that as an opportunity and utilized the time to fulfill my dream of writing and publishing it for the readers.
NWI: Could you please shed some light on the portal shabdlekh.com and what type of writing you do there?
My vision for shabdlekh is a platform where budding authors, especially hindi writers can showcase their writing skills to the readers. While the portal is in final stages of development, writers can currently share their work with me over email and I will broadcast it on shabdlekh.com.
Shabdlekh invites all sort of content, be it a long or short story, poetry, prose, or just random thoughts penned down. Till date 20+ posts have been published, including my own work
NWI: What message you dole out through this self-help book – 21Vi Sadi Mein Daren Ya Laden?
Key message is – to move forward in life that too at your own pace. It’s not compulsory to always move fast, slow is also acceptable till the time it is in forward direction. People today are in a rat race but are not happy. Every person should find their own path and move on at their own pace, happiness should not be compromised.
NWI: How did you get the concept of 21st century for the self-help book 21Vi Sadi Mein Daren Ya Laden?
During pandemic, the entire world was traumatized and it was becoming difficult for people of all age groups to manage personal, physical, financial and mental balance. After witnessing the situation around, I got the motivation to pen down a book which will primarily focus on fighting the challenges of 21st century.
NWI: Could you please tell about all the parts related toYuddh Ki Sanstuti?
‘Yuddh Ki Sanstuti’ is the first part of the series “ Mahabharat Gaurav Gatha” which comprises of 4 parts. ‘Yuddh Ki Sanstuti’ introduces all the major characters of Mahabharat and the events during the Aggyat vass of Pandavs.
The second part is in writing and rest will come in future simultaneously.
The series not mythology fiction but more an account of what transpired during the era of Mahabharat. The 4 books of this series will be covering the event before, during and after the Mahabharat and learnings from it.
NWI: What inspired to you write Yuddh Ki Sanstuti?
The great battle of Mahabharata took place 5000 years ago but its teachings are timeless. The same kind of love and hatred can be seen even today. My idea behind writing this book was to make the readers understand the amount of destruction Mahabharata has caused and how we can take the learning from it. This book is written in the context of present scenarios and relatable to life situations today.
NWI: What Hindi writers you often read and why?
I have been asked this question multiple times and here is the list:-
All time favorite – Shiv Khera
Not to miss mentioning – Pramod Batra, Vijay Batra, Chandraprabha, Dr Ujjwal Patni
Rahul Sankrityayan, Munshi Premchand, Vishnu Prabhakar, Mahadevi Verma, JaiShankar Prasad, Dinkar, Amrita Pritam to name a few from Hindi Sahitya sphere.
NWI: Any future project that you would like to discuss here?
Yes I recently published a book titled: – “Train wali ladki”, it’s a motivational story of a young boy struggling to find purpose for his life.
NWI: How do you see Indian publishing industry? Was it helpful to you?
The Indian publishing industry is filled with young blooming authors and presence of newer publishing houses that are providing opportunities to these young authors to bloom and grow. Never in the past have I seen such a good volume of great publishing houses who are on the scout to create good content.
However, one point to highlight is that while the industry has a large number of publishing houses, very few actually deliver as per both author and reader expectations.
Connect with Arvind Kumar Srivastava
FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100038901885445
Instagram: arvindsrivastava875
Website/Blog: http://shabdlekh.com/
Email:- arvindsri608@gmail.com