When started writing on a platform like Milyin, I thought of writing at least one writeup a day about whatever subject I feel interested in. That process was envisaged as an exercise to polish my writing skills if I have any. The initial one or two days were easy. Then came days and weeks of no writing at all…I can write about anything I want; the freedom is there. But it doesn’t come as thought of. I have almost lost the vigor to write.
Then one fine morning I started listening to speeches by Subhash Chandran.
Have you ever heard of the name Subhash Chandran?
He is one of the best writers ever in my mother tongue, Malayalam. You may know Malayalam, the language of the people of Kerala, which comprises approximately 33 million people along the southern coastline of India.
Malayalam is the language spoken by nearly 37 million people worldwide on a rough estimation. I am not here to elaborate on the credentials and qualities of my mother tongue among the special languages of our vast country, India. I am here to talk about Subhash Chandran, one of my all-time favourite writers.
Why is he so important now, among the umpteen writers who write lakhs and lakhs of words on and off the social media?
Yes, the answer lies in the question itself…He doesn’t write that much voluminously. There are only 29 short stories that he wrote, in a career spanning 38-40 years. Not that he hadn’t attempted to write all these years. As he himself told before an audience once, he tried hard at times, and something came out as well. But he was not at all satisfied. He couldn’t justify himself for publishing any of those, despite the fact that he is the editor -in -chief of a leading Malayalam weekly for many a year now.
And after a gap of almost 10 years, he published a short story in 2023, christened Jnanasnaanam. A very small story, very much relevant for the current times we are living, and our nation is going through. About a historical moment in the freedom journey of our country, led by none other than the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
Again, I am not attempting to write a prolific review on this story and all. My point is just simple. Here is a genuine creator who writes most rarely and occasionally only. He has as many subjects to write about as all of us. Also, for a writer like him every publishing company and every magazine in Kerala is ready to publish whatever he writes. Yet that man in reluctant. He won’t give to print even a single word without satisfying his inner censorship.
On the other hand, there are people like me who just create words on any material I find, let it be relevant or irrelevant. And what is the difference?
According to me, they are creators…, means Godly creators. It is a very distinguished way of giving out something new to society. Those will be of high quality as always. And myself… just content peddler…. Don’t know whether it is right to use such a word…, but literally I feel like one. Feeling desperate for sure.
Finally, I concluded that every single individual would have their own way of producing content. Some will always stick to quality alone…. For those like me who are not a pro in the field of writing, practice is the best need of the hour. Do it frequently, because once you attain the needed quality to write on stuff of your choice, you too will have the freedom to decide on what to write or what not. And the most important highlight-content writing and creative writing are entirely different. What Subhash Chandran is doing is exclusively creative overflow of his inner thoughts. What I am trying is just making readable stuff from my experience and environment. There is difference!
And, at last happy to find a solution to my worry. Hope you too have got something to think about.
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