Photo By Parveen Kumar
By
Tricitynews Reporter
Chandigarh 21st October:- ‘Idiosyncrasy’-A
collection of poems by a 17 year old young budding poetess-Twesha Dikshit
was formally released by renowned author Kiran Nagarkar at Hotel
Mountview here. Idiosyncrasy also means peculiar behavioral traits of
individuals, & the unveiling of the book was well attended by the
literati of the city.
The book also has some captivating
photographs of Twesha's father-Mitul Dikshit an avid photographer & well
known educationist of tricity, from his collection of photographs taken during his
adventurous sojourns of Inca Ruins and Amazon Rain Forests. Twesha started
writing stories at the very young age of 10 years and has continued to maintain
a blog-www.magicofwordsweb.wordpress.com since
the past two years. She is an avid traveler and has already travelled to 6
continents.
Twesha Dikshit said that for
enhancing my poetry skills she has done an online course from California
Institute of Arts and studied modern and contemporary poets. She would like to
thank her family for letting her pursue writing & she is elated as her
first published work 'Idiosyncrasy' has been launched.
Twesha has a keen interest in
Journalism and has done a 5 week online course ‘English for Journalism’ from
University of Pennsylvania exploring print and digital media. She plans on
studying Journalism and English at college. Her future aspirations include
travelling and pursuing journalism. She finished her 10th grade
from Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun and is currently finishing her high school
from Strawberry Fields High School, Chandigarh.
Kiran Nagarkar, after launching the
book of poems, said that in Twesha’s poems we witness a human consciousness
finding its voice, hacking away at the internalized self-censorship to utter
unutterable truths, to hold them up in the sunlight of expression, and to
restore these truths to a wholesome and acceptable place. Twesha has shown
abundant talent at a very young age he wish her all the best for her future
endeavours.
It is noteworthy that Nagarkar is one
of India's most significant post colonial writers known for critically
acclaimed works like Seven Sixes Are Forty Three) (1974), Ravan
and Eddie (1994), and the epic novel, Cuckold (1997)
for which he was awarded the 2001 Sahitya Akademi Award in English by
the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.
In poem after poem, Twesha shows in
'Idiosyncrasy' that a human voice of any age speaks for all ages. The famous
doctor in Killer of Dreams is at heart just a little boy whose
stifled aspirations make him die a little every-day. The icy-hearted narrator
in Inferno stands up to her lover-torturer and rejects the
mantle of victim: ‘Don’t look so shocked/ I existed even before you came/ I am
the puzzle that nobody can win…” And then again in Beguiled: “I’m
not a damsel in distress/ But my very own mistress/ My hear is as cold as
steel/ Deaf to any appeal/ Run, run as far as you can/ You are no better than a
conman.”
Idiosyncrasy has a foreword by Altaf
Tyrewala, who is the author of critically acclaimed books -No God in Sight, and
Ministry of Hurt Sentiments. He is also the editor of crime fiction
collection Mumbai Noir.
Madhav Kaushik ,Vice Chairman
Chandigarh Sahitya Academy, who himself is a noted Poet said that Twesha's
poems display a musicality, a wisdom well beyond her years, as well as that
uniquely youthful lust for the pleasures and sorrows of the here and now. Congratulations
to Twesha on penning these prodigious & deep in meaning poems.
'Idiosyncrasy' has great lines of
poetry, which like early morning jogs, succeed because they take your breath
away momentarily only to leave you rejuvenated and oxygenated and high. Let's
welcome Twesha Dikshit a promising young poetess into our literary circles.