A test of author's craftsmanship

This poet/author from Bengaluru is well known for her previous books like He is Honey, Salt and The Most Perfect Grammar. In her new book, Offer Him All Things, Charred, Burned and Cindered, author Kala Krishnan Ramesh talks love as a focal theme. 

Living on her parent’s farm that as miles away from everything led her to start writing. Kala explains, “I was on a six month break between ICSE and PUC. I often got bored as the farm was miles away from anything. Therefore, I took a notebook and started writing poetry but it was awful stuff.” Writing was never part of the plan for this alumni of Mount Carmel College. Kala adds, “I wrote and then realised that I was a writer. I can’t really say I  wanted to be a writer — I wanted to be a nurse, a mechanic, a mathematician and lots of other things.” For her,  her parent’s daily appreciation and engagement with poetry, in more than one language, made it seem essential to a full life. Talking about her new book, Offer Him All Things, Charred, Burned and Cindered she says, “In this book, I have written about different poems by women poets who are in love with Lord Murugan. I have tried a variety of formats drawn from vernacular poetic expressions. That was tough, and the sources were inspiring. I get lots of inspiration and energy from songs.” 

The main theme of this entire book is LOVE. “I like the idea of love. I like the danger and the comfort of it. I like the way it makes and breaks; the craft of love is very much like the craft of writing, “ she adds. Out of the number of Gods that are worshipped throughout the country, Kala choose to write about Murugan.   She adds, “Murugan is interesting, and in Tamil, he’s the God of poetry and grammar, love and war. He’s a lot of opposites – I like that. It makes writing about him arduous.” Many writers have different processes they use to write. For Kala, it is involves a lot of trial and error, lots of rework, ups downs etc. 

Kala feels that the poetry culture in India has become really exciting. She says,  “Many of my students are taking part and attending poetry events. competitions. It’s not lonely anymore for poets, especially for young poets, there is a welcoming community in the city. The improvement is almost 100 per cent.” As a poet herself, Kala’s advise for other poets would be to stick to what they are doing as it is completely worth all the trouble. “Many people including my children who have read the book are appreciating it. Personally this book as been a test of my craftsmanship.”