Hello, fellow disciples! We've been searching far and wide for individuals who have cultivated for a long time. This month, we bring to you an interview with https-jimmy, the author of Kanha's Priya.

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Tell us a bit about yourself!

Firstly, thank you for giving me this opportunity. I'm humbled and elated to be a part of this!Hello everyone! I go by the pen name Jimmy. I am an 18 year old girl from India, currently making my way to and through medical school. I'm rather shy and reserved in real life, but I love to pour my ponderings here through my writing. 

Aside from Wattpad, I had been learning Indian Classical music since childhood so I absolutely adore singing. Moreover, learning foreign languages has been my new fascination. In my spare time, I love to read, watch and make blogs on Football, Cricket or just surf Pinterest.

What is your writing process? Do you outline everything or write as things come to mind? Why?

I'm totally a planster! Writing a fiction on texts related to Hinduism, I am required to do lot of background research so that I do not hurt anyone's sentiment and at the same time, make my plot original and compelling. In my mind, I have a general notion about what the chapter will cover, it's beginning and how it'll end. Other than these chunks, I rely on my mind's spontaneity when it comes to weaving subplots, characters archs and other details. This way, I feel, I get a chance to widen the horizons and scope of my story and it comes out beautifully.

What are some things that influenced your story?

The wrong interpretations of historical and cultural figures, largely influenced by TV shows. 

 It bothered me how the mainstream media misrepresented, particularly the 'divine feminines,' or completely ignored those who were rather inspiring.Through the story, I hoped to provide a fresh perspective on the epic Mahabharata, correct the frequently misunderstood characters, shed light on the realities of others, and unearth certain influential characters who had so much more depth but had been forgotten.

Tell us about the main character of one of your stories. What inspired their creation?

As I said earlier, I wanted to bring a new outlook to the epic and I wanted to do it without doing any characters assassination of the already revered figures. Hence, I came up with my OC—Dhriti. She feels like the personification of our ideal selfs in a goddess like energy who is on a quest of self discovery. 

 When I started giving life to Dhriti's character, it felt as if was writing but an aspect of me in her, but now that I am at the centre point of the story, and she's about to have her biggest character development; I must admit. more than her being a reflection of me, she's the one I wish to grow up into. She's divine, modest, grounded, humble, compassionate, defys patriarchy without forgetting to cherish her feminity and most importantly she is aware of her flaws and continues to embrace and learn something out of them.

What were some challenges you experienced while writing the story?

The need for perfection kept me on the path of burnout multiple times. Sometimes the story progression doesn't align, the dialogue doesn't feel impactful enough, or something about the whole draft just doesn't feel right to me. At one moment, my mind is full of dreamy subplots, witty comebacks, and twisting cliffhangers, and at next instant, I feel like erasing the entire thing. 

Over the time, I've understood that such experiences are normal and that I don't have to be ready with new ideas every time I open Wattpad. Burnout still happens to be my biggest challenge but now, I don't pressure myself into writing chapters. I do it at my own pace, moreover whenever my heart and head are actually aligned to do it. A good justification for my late updates!

What message do you hope your story will tell your readers?

Through the story, I aim to bring out the beauty of feminity. The endless potential of womanhood and how it's widespread roots are connected to our enchanting culture. I hope I can show how important the journey of self discovery is in our lives and that self love, embracing the flaws and making peace with the bad memories of the past is all part of the journey, nothing to be afraid of <33.

If you woke up in a time or place that was very different from reality, what would you do?

Honestly, I would tell myself not to panic because panicking puts me in an even worse situation. Next, maybe I'll try to look out for any devices, newspapers or any other modes of communication to know where I actually am and then probably seek help from a kind human.

Since history has long captivated me and my narrative is set during that time period, I'll be incredibly psyched to discover myself transported back in time. On the other hand, seeing humanity and goodness declining at such a fast rate, I'll undoubtedly sit and cry to find myself in the future.

If there was something you could learn (i.e., some spell, some martial arts, etc.) like the main character in your book, what would it be?

The ability to heal with a simple, compassionate touch. And by healing, I mean both physical and mental wounds. Mental health has been a concern especially for our generation and such scars take too long to fade way and sometimes they don't. It'll be so lovely for me to have healing abilities where I could help people out of their unhealed traumas without putting them into any discomfort of recalling it over and over again. Aid those who couldn't afford to get the appropriate help and continue to suffer for a life time. 

I've seen my favourite footballers retire very early due to irreversible injuries and depression. I wish I could just touch and heal them into their perfect selves so that they could do what they love for a little longer. 

The world would indeed be a better place if people were physically and mentally healthy and didn't scumb to the darkness of such diseases and disorders.

Would you rather go through a lifetime of never finding love or be willing to go through several lifetimes of hardships just to save your love? Why?

I'll choose love. For me, when materialism and materialistic desries cease to exist after a certain time, Love prevails. If it's right and pure it'll stay through all the lifetimes. 

Shri Vishnu — the primordial Hindu deity — incarnates on earth 10 times and was cursed to be seperated from his other half — Goddess Lakshmi (upon whom my story is based on) — in every incarnation. Every time they incarnate on earth, they suffer seperation but eventually reconcile. Their love reunites and prevails over the given curse. 

 For my love and devotion towards them, I would always chose love. Even if it foretells hardships, in the end love overcomes them all.

What is your favorite creature from Asian mythology or folklore? Why?

I wouldn't say mythology, but my favourite creature from Hinduism is Sheshnaaga. He is the King of Snakes and Shri Vishnu rests on him in a reclined position in his abode called Vaikuntha. In sanskrit, 'Shesha' means 'that which remains' and the snake is called Sheshnaaga because he remains as himself even after the end of the world. According to scriptures, Sheshnaaga carries all the planets and multiverses on his hood. He is said to be singing the glories of Vishnu and accompany the Lord as his brother in various incarnations.

What is your favorite Asian myth? Why?

Again, not exactly a myth but what fascinates me is the Chiranjeevis or the Immortals. They are the divine personalities who are supposed to live till the dissolution of the universe and help Lord Kalki, the last avatar of Shri Vishnu in killing the demon Kali. For me, the idea of various incarnations and expansions of gods banding together to fight evil is extremely amusing.Again, thank you for having me here! I felt great opening up about the thoughts I wouldn't really ponder about on a normal day.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, https-jimmy! We wish you the best of luck in your writing endeavors.

Until the next chapter, fellow disciples!