A Pleasant Evening With A Rising Poet Kanwarpal Singh

Hi this Mili and I am here today with an interview of a poet. Well, not only an uprising poet but someone who looks out for the societry as well. Meet Kanwarpal Singh, a proud resident of Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He attended Guru Nanak International Senior Secondary Public School and later earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Satish Chandar Dhawan Government College for Boys, Punjab University. Currently involved in his family’s hosiery business, Kanwarpal is also a passionate artist who enjoys writing poetry, creating bookmarks and cards, and crafting memory scrapbooks for friends. He loves reading books and is always eager to learn new things. His dream is to launch a line of graphic and text T-shirts, and eventually establish a cafe-cum-book club library to promote literature and community engagement. In his free time, Kanwarpal volunteers for social causes such as stray dog rehabilitation and visiting elderly care homes, embodying a spirit of kindness and compassion.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kanwarpal Singh (@singh_reads.kanwar2)

Mili: Your current role is in the family hosiery business, while your aspirations lie in creative pursuits like graphic t-shirts and a book cafe. How do you plan to leverage your current experience for success in your dream ventures? The graphic t-shirt and book cafe market is competitive. How will you ensure your ventures stand out and attract customers?

K.S: To start with my experience for success in my dream ventures. For Graphic t-shirt we came across social media everyday so its easy to learn the new trends of fashion and what meme material gonna boom, which series the people talk about, which anime and , what customers demands and what colour is hot for the season, what will be next big theme and what is forever trending. But most of all is the quality good and affordable to customer , what  are they looking for in brand, are we reliable to there need and meeting with there needs and demands and special space for there own design they like to put on there T-shirt. For Book cafe that’s a retirement plan for those who enjoy books and coffee and small snack that doesn’t ruin books with colour and blots of oil and haldi. For that to work I need readers and every weekend we have book discussion and author meets and open mic to showcase talents and learn new things from every generation and give them exposure to there coming life and there experience of past to share with each other and enjoy there time.

Mili: Creating a thriving book club cafe requires building a strong community. How will you go about attracting book lovers and authors, fostering interaction, and keeping your events engaging? Running a successful t-shirt line, managing a cafe, and hosting book club events requires juggling various roles. How will you prioritize your time and ensure smooth operations across these ventures?

K.S: The main attraction will be the reading space and meeting areas that will be atmost  important , books will be divided according to genre and special section for popular books from different languages so every reader can enjoy not a particular language. As I said this is my retirement plan so priority is to set T-shirt when i retire my daughter or son whosoever like to overtake i will hand them over and rest and work with people in cafe.

Mili: Finding Inspiration: Can you walk us through your creative process? What inspires you to write poetry? How do you decide on the structure and form of your poems? Is there a specific kind of language you gravitate towards in your work?

K.S: Poetry is love for me, i started writing in 2009 just for fun and earlier it was mock poetry , then i eventually started listening to Sahir Ludhianvi, Amrita pritam, Shiv Kumar batalvi , Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Sadat hasan manto,  Suryakant Tripathi ‘ Nirala ‘, Mahasweta devi, Amir khusro, Khalil Gibran and others. Nobody inspire me to write as i came from business background but my mother told me that my Nanu use to enjoy poetry, but i lost him in early stage of life.

I like to structure poetry in couplets, 4 liners, Metaphor, Melancholy, Satire , Romance,  Lyrical and Ballad. No fixed language i write in Punjabi, English, Hindi and Some words from Urdu and Persian.

Mili: Is there a particular poem that holds a special meaning to you? Why? How do you feel about different interpretations of your poems? Do you have a preferred way for readers to approach them?

K.S: Yes , a particular poem that hold special place for me is Shiv Kumar batalvi “shikhar dopahar sir teh”

Well for different interpretations a well known critic’s Roland bathes wrote in his article “Death of a poet” he wrote that “a reader interpret the written text and lyrics according there experience and author work is complete when his book reached a reader hand, death is metaphor ” I am soul pleaser so i wrote according to what i see around and society.

Mili: Your poems are beautiful, the way you orate them is beautiful, do you practice them in advance?

K.S: Not as such practice it , i try to keep that as natural as i can speak freely.

Mili: Lets end the interview with a poetry of yours.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kanwarpal Singh (@singh_reads.kanwar2)

As our interview with Kanwarpal Singh draws to a close, his poetry serves as a poignant conclusion, encapsulating the essence of his soulful creativity and profound perspective. Through his words, he invites us into a realm where emotions flow freely and thoughts take flight. Kanwarpal’s poetry not only reflects his artistic talent but also offers glimpses into his innermost thoughts and dreams. It is a reminder of the beauty and power of expression, and a testament to his unwavering passion for the written word. As we bid farewell, we carry with us the resonance of his verses, inspired to embrace the artistry of life with the same fervor and authenticity that he embodies.