Sanjay Kapur

I was very inspired by the effect of the written word since a very early age. I noticed the differences in impact when you write the same piece in a dull manner, and when one has used effective and good principles of writing. And this made me write more and more. And in writing, as we say for other things, practice makes – not perfect – but a better writer. And reading widely expands your mental horizons to produce a wide array of ideas and kinds of writing.

I basically write short literary fiction. In other words, short stories for adults as well as children. I also write fiction and non-fiction blogs and articles, and several of these have been carried in local dailies, and blog sites like OpIndia.in and DailyO.in. My book of poems, The Tree On The Mound and Other Poems, is already available in 3 formats on Amazon, Flipkart, and Notion Press websites, and the short story, Broken Sting, a hilarious comedy about four college friends, is out in ebook format only, and both books being enjoyed by readers. Two more books, for children, and another book of poems for adults, are in the offing, and will be available soon.

I love all kinds of music. I do not have any preference for particular genres of music, but let me hear a good melody or lilting tune and I’ll fall in love with it and include it in a playlist of my favourite music. Flowing, ethereal melodies are my particular music of choice. And when I can know the excellent lyrics and associate them with the tunes in my mind, it becomes a heavenly experience. I lose track of time when listening to music, and hours can seem like mere minutes after an engrossing long period of wearing the headphones.

A love and fascination for certain things are sometimes an instinct that one is born with. For me, it was photography. I was so enamoured by this wonderful art, that chronicling each step of my journey vis-à-vis photography would make for a lengthier answer to this question.

Suffice it to say that I grabbed every available opportunity to learn about photography, and develop the skills. As and when I could afford it, I’d buy some of the required equipment, it usually being the lowest priced stuff in the market.

An interesting information is that while I was studying at a boarding school in West Bengal – from Standards 4 to 7 – I had won an Agfa Click III camera in a game of Housie, aka Bingo or Tumbola. That was my first very own camera. I still have it.

When I could afford to get myself an SLR camera and a zoom lens, I began semi-professional photography, or what is also known as ‘serious amateur photography’. I started freelancing and would shoot international cricketers and sports events, dog shows and circus animals, and the birds and lizards around my house. Some of my photographs have been published in a local English daily, and the professional photo magazines Smart Photography and Better Photography. I have also won a few prizes for some of my photographs in photo contests.