We interviewed Nikitha Hingad, a poet from Bangalore, about her collection of poems entitled Philia and Sophia. Read on to learn what Nikitha had to say.
Welcome to e-Books India, Nikitha! We’re delighted to have you join us for this interview. Please tell us about you. Where do you come from? What are your professional qualifications and how did you to become a poet?
Hello, I am delighted as well. I am Nikitha from Bangalore. I am a B Com graduate from Mount Carmel College. I started to write poetry during my college days. Then I got busy with life and didn’t write much. I used to share my poetry with my friends. They used to ask me to write poems for them. I have written poems in their Slam books too. I wanted to always write but had no big ambitions of publishing. I saw an ad for Partridge Publishers, and thought I must publish my collection. But I didn’t have enough material, so I decided to write more. So I joined Facebook poetry groups and read lots of poems. After meeting a lot of poetry lovers, I learnt that poets in India are so much respected. I am proud and humble to be a poet.
You’ve recently published a poetry book called Philia and Sophia. Please tell us about this book. What types of poems did you write in this particular works?
Philia and Sophia is a collection of poems which I wrote from 2006-2015. It also has 15 sketches too which I thought would give a good experience for my readers. I write free verse and rhyming poetry. I like writing poems on love and philosophy. I searched the etymology of the word ‘philosophy’ which is derived from the Greek word ‘Philosophia’ which means love for wisdom. Hence I named the book of love and wisdom: Philia and Sophia.
I have designed the book in such a way that both Generation X and Y can enjoy the book. The Philia section is for teenagers and has love poems in it. The Sophia section has thought provoking poems. In fact the book’s front cover has a Philia picture and the back cover has a Sophia picture. Both are after all my extreme sides and I wanted my readers to enjoy both light and deep poetry.
What things inspire your poetry?
Life inspires me. Everything around me, sometimes books that I read, movies that I watch, people whom I meet.
Are you working on any other book(s)? If so, can you please tell us what we can expect to see from you in the future?
I continue to write poetry. I have contributed in anthologies such as Gust of Wits, Velvets, and A Divine Madness: An Anthology of Modern Love Poetry Volume 2, Deep Tales and Silver Lining: Poets against Violence.
I want to write a novel but it will take time. I have to do lot of research before I write.
From your experiences, can you please share 2-3 pieces of advice with budding poets?
My advice for budding poets is: Do not follow anyone, create your own style. Poets are also known as spoken word artists. So try reading out poems in front of audiences. Lots of people prefer listening to poetry than reading it.
How can people find out more about you?
I am just a PING away.
They can follow me on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/philiaandsophia
www.facebook.com/authornikithahingad
Tweet me at: www.twitter.com/nikithahingad
Or follow me on my blog: https://nikithahingad.blogspot.com
Getting a copy of Philia and Sophia
Thank you to Nikitha for joining us for this interview. If you would like to get a copy of her book Philia and Sophia, it is available from stores such as Amazon.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/hv1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of eBooks India. He is also a prolific eBook writer with over 25 titles to his name.[/author_info] [/author]