“Whenever I find I am not making much headway in one area of creativity I switch genres and move on.” Ramendra Kumar writes about the National Level Workshop on Creative Writing In English.
Ramendra Kumar and the participants at the National Level Workshop on Creative Writing In English
I was the Resource Person at the National Level Workshop on Creative Writing In English organized by The Department of English, Shillong College in collaboration with the North East Writers Forum on 21st and 22nd May. My session ‘Weaving Tales for Children’ was attended by teachers, research scholars, students, media persons, authors, poets – in fact, everyone one interested in the art and craft of spinning yarns.
The session went off like a dream with audience responding to my shenanigans and asking for more of mirth and madness.
The session went off like a dream with audience responding to my shenanigans and asking for more of mirth and madness. As far as I am concerned very rarely have I come across an audience so very responsive and vibrant. During the interaction session I was asked by a lady whether I suffered from Writer’s Block. “Though my wife thinks I am a blockhead I have never really suffered from one. Whenever I find I am not making much headway in one area of creativity I switch genres and move on. Since I dabble in almost all forms of creative expression like fiction, fables, novels, poetry, travelogue, biography and satires I am never very short of categories to indulge in. Whether the quality is worth reading is for my audience to judge.”
In response to question regarding my current obsession I shared with audience the details to my latest book And The Jhelum Flows. I elaborated that the novel is about Kashmir in the ‘Here and Now’. The book is an unconventional take, a no holds barred account and a brutally honest narrative. I had sent it to two publishers. They wanted me to bowdlerize the manuscript which was never an option. Hence I decided to go in for self-publishing using the platform of Crowdfunding.
The Creative Writing Workshop began with me talking about how I started writing for children, the way I write and the genesis of an idea. I went on to explain the various elements that make a story. I followed up with narrating an award winning story which was analyzed by the participants.
A story writing session was next with audience divided into heterogeneous groups of 6 to 7 persons. I gave them three topics and asked them to pick one and write a story on it.
For the next hour the entire hall was buzzing with activity as the young and the not so young bounced ideas, argued vehemently, agreed to disagree and finally came with their potpourris of creative expression.
Each group was then asked to present its ‘masterpiece’. Some of them opted for old fashioned narration, quite a few performed skits. Brilliant histrionics, riveting narration, rib tickling dialogues, awesome imagination and near perfect synergy: it was a glorious montage of pure and pristine creativity.
An added boost to my ego was entreaties for photographs and a deluge of Facebook requests.
Later during the valedictory session, my book Effective Parenting: A New Paradigm got a nod from the North East. It has been published by the popular literary e-zine Learning and Creativity. The book was released by Mr. Robert G. Lyngdoh, Vice Chancellor, Martin Luther Christian University, Meghalaya in the presence of Mr. K.D. Ramsiej, Principal of Shillong College. I recited my poem ‘My Hero’ which received an awesome response from the discerning audience.
I would like to express my thanks to the effervescent Amanda Basaiawmoit, the ‘heartbeat’ of the workshop and Dr. Dhira Bhowmick, Coordinator for an mind-blasting experience.
Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an award-winning writer, performance storyteller and inspirational speaker with 49 books. His writings have been translated into 32 languages and included in 26 textbooks and many anthologies in various countries. Ramen has written across all genres ranging from picture books to adult fiction, satire, poetry, travelogues, biographies and on issues related to parenting and relationships.
His writings have been published by the major publishing houses in India. His books brought out by National Book Trust (NBT), India have notched up sales of more than 4.9 lakh copies in just one year.
Ramen has been invited to several international literary festivals as well as Indian events such as Jaipur Litfest and seminars organised by Sahitya Akademi and IGNOU. The author has won a total of 41 awards in the competition for writers of children’s literature organised by Children’s Book Trust (CBT) over the years, which is among the highest by any writer.
Ramen was chosen as the ‘Author and Storyteller of the Year’ (2022), on ‘Talking Stories’, London, UK’s number one Radio Programme dedicated to the art of storytelling. He was nominated as a Jury Member for the Best Children’s Author Category of The Times of India’s ‘Women AutHer’ Awards, 2020. Ramen was also selected as a mentor for the Scholastic Writers Academy.
An alumnus of the prestigious Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Ramen is an Engineer & an MBA. He and his inspiration, his wife Madhavi, were General Managers at SAIL, when they took Voluntary Retirement to pursue their respective passions. Their children are bonsai celebrities in their own right. While Ankita is a youth icon and a travel blogger with an Instagram following of 296 K, Aniket creates cool Apps and designs covers for his dad’s books.
Ramen is now a Cancer warrior and an inspiration to many.
His website is www.ramendra.in and he has a page devoted to him on Wikipedia.
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Thanks a ton, Lopa!