Abhay K in conversation with Koketso Marishane


Please do enlighten us on the following based on the theme in brackets:

The Self (Yourself)

1. What people or experiences have taught you the most and helped you to arrive where you are?

I can´t think of any individual person or experience as such. I would like to put it this way that life itself is a great teacher. I have learned from all the people, great and humble, success and failure, joy and sorrow, highs and lows. I think the two opposites complement each other and give meaning to life.

​      2.  Are you ‘Pro-life’ or ‘Pro-Choice’ and why?

          I am both and I don´t see the difference.
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      3. You’ve lived in many countries, cities, neighbourhoods, and houses experiencing different cultures with different people. What contribution did each of them make, how have they impacted your life personally and professionally and, what kept you afloat during the lowest moments?

Each place I have lived in has impacted my life considerably. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Delhi, Kathmandu have found their way in my poems. Wherever I go, I try to learn the local language, absorb local culture and write about these places amalgamating myths, history, folktales and imagination. I think it is important to change places, to experience different cultures, to learn new languages to keep oneself stimulated. Writing poetry itself is a very rewarding experience and helps me keep afloat during low moments.

 4. What is your philosophy in life and how do you maintain it?

My philosophy in life is to learn something new everyday. Learning something new makes me happy. It makes me think and create something new.

The Art of Politics / The Politics of the Arts:

1. What factors do you keep in mind when giving advice about an investment in art?

Art is very personal affair. I may just like a curved line on a blank canvass. I think one should buy art that one really likes. One should not just go for the art works because they have been done by famous artists and possessing them can make others envious.

2. Considering your chronological age and the milestones in your career, would you say you loved politics or politics loved you and why?

What matters for me the most is living the moment. That´s all. The rest simply is an adornment I can do wthout. I don´t believe in impressive biography or an outstanding career. I believe in a moment full of bliss, that´s all.
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River Valley Civilization to Silicon Valley Civilization:

1. How do you see the defense of royalties in an increasingly digital future?

Most of writers don´t make out a living out of royalties. They write primarily to share their ideas, their world view, to be remembered. I think digital world makes life easy for the majority of the writers. Off course the publishing houses aren´t envious of the great leap forward made in publishing technology.

     2. In terms of governance in India, to what extend would you say ‘India is civilized’ put on a global scale?

India is a mother civilization. The influence of Indian civilization extends much wider and longer than the confines of the Indian State. Indian values have contributed a great deal in shaping the modern world and continue to do so.
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Global Governance:

1. You’ve innovated the ‘Democratic Global Governance’ to be complemented by the Earth Anthem. Provided you succeed, could you please fully brief us about it in terms of mission, vision and objective?

I have not innovated the idea of democratic global governance, just advanced it through my writings. Earth Anthem stands out as a creative idea to bring the world together by singing a song in honour of our one planet independent of the idea of democratic global governance. Even schools and football teams have their own anthems, why can´t our planet have one. I think it costs us very little to commission a piece of music by a number of well known music composers and select the best out of those to be an anthem of our one and only planet.  I am sure we  can do it and in turn Earth Anthem can give us much needed symbol of our belong to one planet. When I say Earth Anthem, I mean it is not just a World Anthem for the humans, it includes other species who share this planet with us, it is not anthropocentric but earth-centric.

       2. You occupy such a tiny but huge space in the global market as a global citizen with multiple awards to your name. Seeing that your work complements your lifestyle, when will ‘enough be enough’?

I believe in living moments as I said earlier. Awards and other decorations will come and go giving me transient pleasure but I want more durable sense of bliss of being a human, being a part of this vast universe, being able to walk this surface of the Earth on my own feet. That´s my bliss.

      3. Considering the public spaces that you occupy, personally and professionally, when in public, how do you switch between speaking as public official and as an artist?

It is a fine balance. For example there are similarities between the art of poetry and diplomacy. The first one is ambiguity, the second one is brevity and third one is sensitivity. When a diplomat speaks it can mean this or that, in the same way best poetry merely insinuates, it is never direct. Brevity of expression is important in poetry as well as in diplomacy. Both the poet and the diplomat have to be sensitive.

    4. Please list three most important words for the world today?

Sustainability, Innovation and Imagination
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Closure:

1. What advice would you give to our readers and your fellows?

Learn everyday something new.
Follow your passion.
Live the moment.
Sleep more, exercise more and spend more time with your friends and loved ones.


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