Eleventh: Poetry and Other Good Things by Imlliadrakee
Eleventh is a collection of eleven Hindi poems, each with an elaborated chapter, written in English on a respective subject. The subjects include Prayers, Love, Witches, Nature, Trees, Happiness, Mumbai, Science of a Heartbreak, Beauty, self and sky. This one of a kind, fully illustrated book is filled with stories, ideas, anecdotes, and amusing facts related to the diverse topics. At the end of every chapter, you will also find a QR code to watch the audiovisual presentation of the poetry.
1. Your book features eleven Hindi poems, each followed by an English‐chapter elaboration on the subject. What inspired you to combine poems in Hindi with chapters in English?
Initially, I started compiling this book just as a collection of my poems, and all of them are in Hindi. However, when I actually sat down to select the poems, thoughts started occurring to me. I felt that there was more to each poem that I wanted to describe. Some fun facts, ideas and anecdotes revolve around each subject. So what actually started as a compilation of poems ended up in a research-driven, kaleidoscopic and illustrative journey that truthfully enriched my knowledge too.
English, because all the passages and stories just flowed in English. A potent thing I learned while working on this book was that you cannot force anything while writing. And authenticity is the best kind of creativity.
2. How did you select the “eleven” particular subjects (Prayers, Love, Witches, Nature, Trees, Happiness, Mumbai, Science of a Heartbreak, Beauty, Self, Sky)? Was there a predetermined list or did they emerge organically?
This title is very close to my heart. And I have mentioned the same in the book too. Earlier, this book was called ‘Lagom’. It’s a Swedish word that means ‘neither too much, nor too little.’ Just in the right amount. Work started on it as this title was really liked by the team who worked on this book. But then I stumbled upon this piece of information that the Mind is considered as the Eleventh sense, the most revered sense in the human body, above the five sensory and the other five working senses.
Since the compilation already had eleven poems, I thought it was connected beautifully. Because I believe everything is mind, and mind is everything. Thus, Eleventh.
About the subjects, they had to be diverse. I felt they should not correlate with each other in any way. Honestly, I don’t remember making the list on any particular parameter, but I feel it just happened on its own and felt right.
3. The book is fully illustrated. What role did the illustrations and multimedia element play in your vision for the book?
When I was writing the book, I had put tiny illustrative references for my own understanding and markings. As the book doesn’t revolve around a single subject, and every time a new theme occurred to me, I had to enter the respective realms all over again. Visual aids helped me in the process. Therefore, I knew it would help the readers enjoy the process too. Though this was just a thought, my friends who designed the book and created these illustrations took it to a whole new level. I feel it really enhanced the exclusivity of the book.
4. Among the eleven subjects, which one posed the greatest challenge (either in writing the poem or elaborating the chapter) and why?
So, none of the subjects were difficult to craft. Though ‘Dil tutne ki vaigyanik Prakriya’ (Science of Heartbreak) was rather a tricky one to research and find references and anecdotes for. But somehow everything aligned well, and when I read the book now, this chapter is one of my favourites. It’s the longest poem among all of Eleven, too.
5. The subject “Mumbai” stands out among more abstract themes (Nature, Love, Beauty etc.). Why include a city in this collection, and how did you approach it poetically and in the chapter?
This is a lovely question indeed. And Mumbai is the minimalist in the book. The poem has minimal words with maximum emotions. I was born and brought up in Mumbai. Like any other person, I am also innately attached to my hometown. But then, this city is beyond geographical landscape for me. I have always personified Mumbai as a mother, a sister, a friend, a healer. She has helped me come over my fears, my bad breakups. She has given me an outstanding career start, fabulous friends and an open-hearted outlook towards everything. Most importantly, Mumbai has taught me to dream big and work towards it. That’s the energy one breathes in the city. This poem and its chapter are a tribute to the city that has showered me with love and abundance in everything. M for Mumbai. M for Magic.
6. What kind of audiovisual presentations accompany each poem (style, medium, length)? What do you hope audiences will gain from watching them in addition to reading?
I always feel poetry is bigger than words. Its emotions. It’s a random thought that could strike us in the middle of the road or while sitting in a conference room. Poetry is what your heart directly sends you without scanning it through your brain. So it deserves a narration. With audio-visual, I wanted to innovate something in the book. Not that, it’s the first time someone has done it, but thanks to the technology, I could convey my emotions in my own decibels to the audience.
When you scan the QR code below each poem, it takes you to a YouTube link that has a video with the lyrics of the poem with narration. Every poem is composed in a musical piece by a dear friend. I am really excited about it.
7. How do you hope this book will be used by readers? For reading alone, for deep reflection, for sharing in groups, or for multimedia sessions?
When I started approaching professional help for publishing the book, a lot of people asked me, ‘What’s the genre of the book?’ It was embarrassing that I couldn’t explain what the book exactly is. It’s neither a poetry compilation nor a story collection. And then I realised, whatever it is, this is what my heart has given me, and I am going to present it before people as it is. (And thanks to WFP for not making me do any changes in the book.)
Truthfully, whichever way the reader perceives Eleventh, I am going to wear it as a medal. Drink it as a new shot and treasure it as an experience. The book is written for loners and groupies, it’s for the youth and for the parents, for the lovers, doers, thinkers, common and uncommon people. Eleventh is for everyone. One can randomly open any page and start reading something new about life. It can be a coffee table décor, a bedside buddy, or a thing to keep, carry, gift or pass on.
I pray the readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Available on:
Amazon.in | Flipkart | WFP Store
From the Editor's desk
Vanshika Gupta