ABOUT ME

I had started this new phase in my life when the COVID-19 waves were raging confining me to my immediate surroundings and turning me inwards. At this time I began observing nature around and felt a strong pull towards it. I started taking photographs of plants to capture their  transient beauty, to impart them a sort of permanence and preserve it through the lens of my device. I had never felt such closeness to nature before. Then I realised how beautiful this creation is and how precious this life is. Perhaps ugliness of the coronavirus pandemic and fear of death due to this infection instilled my love for nature and made me admire every moment of life.

Some people comment on my pictures that my images and profile are very bright. Yes, they are because nature itself is so bright and colourful, I am just trying to represent it in my work.

How I began

I had clicked these photographs with my mobile camera without any professional knowledge of photography while taking strolls in the nearest gardens. I usually used to share them on my WhatsApp status with captions. When I clicked these photographs, I had no intention of sharing them online. However, after observing my creative streak, my friends and some students advised me to join online social platforms and channelise it.

Eventually I felt the need of expressing myself on larger platforms to preserve and archive my work.  This activity kept me alive during the dark days of the COVID pandemic saved me from sinking into depression. It is said that poetry heals wounds. It is true in my case as it has helped me to deal with stress and pain of life.

This is how my journey of blogging began and it is needless to say that I already had a few diaries with verses written but were never made public. In a nutshell I would say that my words rebelled, broke shackles and marched out of the static space of traditional diary into the infinite cyber space so that they could breathe and come alive…so that they could sing musings of life.

Obstacles

This journey, however, wasn’t  smooth as I was not so tech-savvy. Initially, coming out of the hard shell of my insecurities was not easy. I should not say this but workplace experience had also built a cocoon around me preventing me to see beyond the window of professional life, thereby stunting my growth. That was perhaps the main cause of my insecurities.

Judgmental taunts from some jealous people around who undermine your work were also something I had to deal with but I have learnt that they are to be taken in stride. One cannot swim if one is afraid of water. So, one must go beyond the unpleasant and enter into new waters, this is what life is about. (and this is what the COVID pandemic has taught me).  And every poet/artist/writer has to face criticism in the beginning but they grow with time. Later, I focused on my work whenever I got time.( I should add here that I had started writing on Blogger first but that was not entirely devoted to poetry). I had started this project as my hobby.

Personally, I believe that creativity is in my blood. This is something I am born with as I am woman but I did not explore my full potential. Anyways, every ending is a new beginning. So I continue my journey! 

There is a lot of work to do.

Thanks for spending time with me and reading my story. Happy Blogging!

Vipanjeet Kaur – VJ Poetic Musings.