An Interview with Foram Desai
NOVELTY FICTION – Our readers will be very interested in knowing what three countries you feel closest to right now, and why.
FORAM DESAI – I’d definitely pick New Zealand, Kenya, and India. Kenya is my home country, and it has been one of the most grounding yet abundant lands I have ever connected with. My time in India occurred while I transitioned from being 18 to 25 years old, and played a huge part in shaping who I am today. I learnt some of the biggest lessons in life there, and built some lasting relationships that I still carry with me. NZ has been my dream country ever since my neighbours moved here 17 years ago, and I have always wanted to live in this country. Unlike other cases of expectation-versus- reality, NZ has been more beautiful in every respect than I could ever have imagined, and I am so grateful to be living here.
NOVELTY FICTION – Please explain the vision behind the front cover image of your recently published book “Souldier On: A Collection of Inspirational Poetry for the Soul.” It is a serene painting of a woman facing the tranquil sea, the sun low on the horizon, her arms folded above her head.
During the publication process, you made it clear that you preferred such an image as opposed to one that also captured the darker and more difficult poems within your collection. Why did you prioritize in this fashion?
FORAM DESAI – The image of the woman facing the tranquil sea, with the sun just setting across an oceanfront, deeply resonates with a time in my life when I was at a crossroads, a period where I truly took to deep introspection and self-discovery. Most of the poems in this book were written during that time. The image is meant to symbolize the true message of this book – “souldier on” – taking one step at a time, and looking towards the sea of opportunities that life constantly provides. I opted for a more inspirational image rather than one that captured the more difficult poems in my collection, so as to leave my readers with some inspiration. To me personally, the image translates as a reminder that there is always something to look forward to just above the horizon, if only we can find the strength within ourselves to face it and move towards it.
NOVELTY FICTION – Your collection is subdivided into three so-called “chapters,” each consisting of ten poems. Is it fair to say that these chapters reflect a certain progression, namely from various challenges and difficulties a person may encounter, to a time for reflection, and then to a time for constructive contributions to other humans?
Did this structure make it easier for you to complete the collection?
Do you think that this structured approach may have served as a form of self-defense against negativity, namely that hardship and unpleasant experiences are not dwelled upon but merely used as fuel for self-improvement and personal growth?
FORAM DESAI – Yes, that is exactly how I wanted the sequence of poems to flow. Chapter One titled “Shadows” includes the poems that were written with difficult themes and hold within them a kind of a messy unraveling, which leads up to the poems in Chapter Two titled “Reflections.” In this chapter, the poems settle into a more wondrous state, connecting with themes from nature and reflecting off these themes to begin true self-discovery. Finally, Chapter Three titled “Awakenings” holds space for the poems that are meant to invoke a sense of true inspiration in other souls, symbolizing the end of one journey and the beginning of the next.
Interestingly, I had most of these poems written between the age of 15 and 28 years old. So when I prepared the first draft for this collection, I just selected poems I thought would match the overarching theme of the book title “Souldier On.” After deciding on 30 poems, I realized I wanted to segregate them based on these three chapter themes, because they truly mirror my creative journey in how I originally wrote the poems.
While I agree that this structured approach could serve as a self-defense against negativity, I also believe the chapter themes – shadows, reflections, and awakenings – are a continuous cycle. I think I have gone through these phases in a spiral over time, again and again, each time emerging with a new sense of purpose; and so I’d like to think my readers may also connect with these phases in the same order – because there is always some learning, strength, or inspiration to draw from difficult times in life.
NOVELTY FICTION – Your collection includes a number of thought-provoking and, daresay, original poems. In the opening poem, you write about making an ally out of pain. You also describe experiences with anxiety, and hypothesize that nostalgia may happen because a person misses feeling like they once did. Then you refreshingly introduce the idea that the only key to survival may be to relax and give up resisting an unstoppable force. Presumably, you did not grab these themes out of thin air; what specifically led you to discover such things?
FORAM DESAI – I think the inspiration for the poems in this collection that touch on the more raw, painful themes of the human experience were heavily drawn from my personal life experiences and the experiences shared by some of my loved ones who truly found their way out of some deeply complicated life situations. I believe each and every one of us has faced difficult times in some respect as we go through life’s journey, and when I look back in search of the root ideas for most of the poems that touch upon the themes of loss, pain, anxiety, or betrayal, I realize they come from some past experience where I have been deeply affected and had to find my way out. The poems evolving around nostalgia and anxiety specifically come from the times in my life when I moved out of my home country and found myself alone for the first time in a foreign land. It is interesting because I am of Indian origin and grew up with a lot of the influence of Indian culture, but when I moved from my home country (Kenya) to India for my bachelors’ studies at 18, I had never felt more displaced or more out of place during my initial years of living there. This made me truly introspect on some of the experiences that came with this move, and the result took shape in some of the poems you see in my book.
NOVELTY FICTION – Let us return to where we started this interview: Geography and nationality.
As a young woman who has lived for some time in three different countries situated on three different continents, you must know firsthand what leaving one country behind to begin a new life in another feels like. What made the deepest impression on you, and do you think it was worth it?
In our interpretation, your collection promotes an interesting form of individualism, where the individual is free and in focus, but also keenly aware of their relative unimportance compared with humanity as a whole, nature, and the universe. Do you believe that striking this balance is essential to a fulfilling life? Furthermore, do you think that your visions of spirituality and surrender to the forces of nature are equally relevant to all people regardless of where in the world and in what surroundings they live?
FORAM DESAI – This is a truly interesting question, and one I have thought about a lot personally. It’s hard to decide on any one country that left the deepest impression on me because I carry so many of the learnings, experiences, and memories from my time in each of these countries with me no matter where I am physically. I strongly believe in destiny, especially when it comes to the land you are destined to live in. I feel like it might have been written in my destiny somehow for things to follow the path they did, which made me experience moving from one place to another. Kenya is my home and the land that gave me my childhood, my safety net, and my understanding of what the world is like growing up. Moving to India at 18 opened a whole new doorway to dreams, self-identity, friendships that I will cherish for life, and experiences that broke me until they made me who I am. Moving to New Zealand came much later at 27, but it is particularly interesting because this is the country I wanted to move to since I turned 13 and first heard about it. In some ways, it is the only experience of my life where I held a blind dream without really knowing anything about the land in practicality; and after coming here and living here, I was gifted with a reality that went far beyond anything I could have imagined – literally, a dream come true. I have a strong attachment to all three countries, and I am so grateful for my experiences and time in all of them.
A lot of my thoughts and beliefs about spirituality stem from my journey into yoga and into ancient Hindu literature and philosophy. From personal experience, and my own spiritual awakening, my biggest realization was “surrendering to the flow.” Of course, I believe an individual must proactively work towards their dreams and their goals, but I found it was at the moment where I stopped taking myself too seriously, stopped holding on to fixed ideas too much, and stopped resisting change, that I somehow flowed ahead in life through obstacles and challenges. There is something about giving up any resistance to change and surrendering to the flow in life, balanced with working towards a goal, that has been working for me ever since I accepted this realization. So for the balance you mention for a fulfilling life conveyed through my poetry, I completely believe in this because it has worked for me. Everyone has their own spiritual path and their own belief system, but I do feel this approach is something that can help anyone no matter where they are from.
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