Deepika Sharma (26) has pursued her masters in Journalism and Mass Communication from GGSIP University, Delhi. She was a television show anchor for three years, before deciding to work on her entrepreneurial dream.
She worked rigorously on it for a year and now owns one of India's Premier Hemp companies, Hempstrol, that brings sustainable products made from top quality therapeutic hemp into the Indian market.
Have your reading preferences evolved over the years?
I have always been a keen reader and over the years my reading preferences have primarily evolved with my decision to understand the world of medicine better. I have read and researched a lot on modern medicines, their preparations, digging into the drug pharmacopoeias of the world, be it British, Japanese, and our Indian pharmacopoeia. It's a fascinating world!
What kind of writing do you appreciate and what kind of writing puts you off ?
I have always been a light reader. I like reading more fiction and about great men/women who have served or raised the society towards betterment. I don't believe in good or bad writing. Writing is an art not everybody is blessed with. As long as a piece of writing catches my attention and makes me sit in that one cozy corner to consume it all in, I enjoy reading.
What attracts you to a written word?
For me, I think powerful words have the capability to give you that little push you have been seeking. And then that could be for anything, inspiring me to finish a job I think I couldn’t do, motivation to exercise, or building a strong independent personality. It is always our choice, what we want to feed our brains.
What is it about the written word that audio and visual mediums cannot fulfill?
One of the earliest sources of communication was written words. No matter how much technology evolves with visual or audio mediums, I believe written words will always be more impactful. There's always a slight possibility of manipulation with video or audio mediums whereas when you read, your brain functions to its infinite potentiality to be in charge of your thoughts and actions thereafter.
Bookshelf or e-library?
It depends. More often I travel for work, and I make sure to carry my kindle. It gives me the liberty to access all my books in one place. At present, I am reading 'Becoming by Michelle Obama' on my Kindle. But at home, I have a dedicated space for all my books where I spend most of my time working and reading. Currently, I am reading 'Daring to Dream' by Nora Roberts from my home library.