KOCHI: Her life was bound by the rigid routine of the office, managing the human resources at her company. The romance of life seemed to be slipping away, lost in the rhythmic tippy-tap of corporate emails—her soul’s poetry hidden beneath layers of professionalism.
So, when Anu Ghanashyam signed up for ‘The WriteAngle’ contest of US-based BookLeaf Publishing, all she wanted was to let that poetry flow into words. “For me, the spectrum of human emotions has always been a wonder. I’ve observed them closely and began writing about them during college. Since then, writing has been constant,” she reflects.
Her work earned her a place among the 50 writers selected for the 21-day ‘WriteAngle’ challenge, and she was also named one of the top 20 writers for the publisher’s ‘21st Century Emily Dickinson Award’.
Originally from Kochi, Anu completed her schooling and college in Mumbai, holding a degree in Life Sciences and an MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune.
Throughout the years, she balanced a corporate career and family life, with time becoming a scarce commodity. Yet, she always found space to write, sketch, and paint. “My curiosity about life kept pushing me. Though I didn’t know much about publishing, I used to post my work on blogs and later, on my Instagram page,” shares the mother of a 13-year-old, who currently works in the HR department of an MNC in Thiruvananthapuram.
Then came WriteAngle. “I discovered it while scrolling through social media and thought it would be a refreshing change,” she says.
The contest is based on the idea that a habit takes 21 days to form, so if writers are encouraged to write consistently for 21 days, they’re more likely to continue, making writing a part of their lives.
Participants in the challenge are required to submit daily write-ups in any form — haikus, poems, quotes, diary entries, and more — for 21 consecutive days. The BookLeaf team then compiles these entries, providing the author with an editor, a designer for formatting, and illustrations, before publishing the work as a book.
The idea arose from research that revealed many people write, but only a few make it a habit. By fostering this discipline, writers can refine their craft and gain confidence, enhancing both their creativity and productivity.
Kaushik P, a poet and IT professional praises such platforms: “They help us express ourselves in ways we otherwise can’t. In a time when hearts break and clichés are all we have to mend them, writing offers solace. I remember my college days when the reading room was my sanctuary, and the books seemed to call to me, urging me to fill them with my heart. There’s sweetness even in brokenness if we take the time to look. These challenges give us that time, not just to write, but to sit with our emotions and embrace both their completeness and their fragile beauty.”
For Anu, the challenge to write came with its own obstacles. “I am in a demanding profession, a mother to a 13-year-old, and there are always professional hurdles. Yet, I was determined because it gave purpose to my writing,” she recalls.
“The task was to write 21 poems — one each day — but I asked for permission to submit 50. Some were already written, while others I composed during the contest. In the last three days alone, I wrote 25 poems. Altogether, I contributed 40 to the contest.”
Writing consistently might seem daunting, but for someone in touch with her emotional journey, it felt more natural. Anu categorised her poems into life’s stages — childhood, youth, old age — exploring emotions like anger, sorrow, love, and stray thoughts. Some were drawn from her own experiences, while others reflected her keen observation of life.
“I used metaphors to give my expressions depth and to honour nature. For instance, I compared an old tree to the ways of ageing,” she explains. In another, she used local trains as a metaphor for life’s journey, inspired by her days in Mumbai.
Her poems, though simple, carry an old-world charm, with rhymes that evoke nostalgia. Her writing takes the reader on a graceful journey where the past gently curves into the present and winds down a soulful path towards a valley where hope and despair meet like old friends.
“Poetry, for me, must rhyme and be simple enough to connect with people. I write as the emotions come, then arrange them later. Rhyme is essential to my work, so my poems always end with one,” says Anu.
Her collection, once confined to Instagram and blogs, has now become a published book titled ‘Soulitude’, a 95-page volume available on Amazon and Flipkart, with e-copies also on offer. Buoyed by this success, Anu isn’t stopping here. “The Writing Challenge has instilled a routine, and I plan to keep going—balancing work, family, and writing, while continuing to publish,” she smiles.