Vasudevan L Talks About His Book “Arena for Venbas”

About the Author:

Born in Tamil Nadu and educated in the English medium of education, Tamil was a language that I had to learn after from school. In my journey of learning the language poetry became a way of expressing my ideas and as a learner I present to the world my work that you can read, react and critique.

Exclusive interview with the author

Q: What Inspired You To Write This Book?

A:Inspirations are many, but if I have to name one thing it is the language Tamil itself. It is the beauty of the language that inspired me to write.

Q:What Did You Learn When Writing The Book?

A:The biggest learning has been the importance of observation. Once you put pen to paper and write on a topic next time you need a different topic or a different perspective and that comes only from observing people and constant reading.

Q: Can You Tell Us About The Book?

A: It is a collection of venbas – a traditional style of poetry written over the last 3-4 years

Q: What Does The Title Mean?

A: The literal translation is “An arena of venbas “, meaning a collection of poems written in the venba meter.

Q:How Long Does It Take You To Write A Book?

A:Depends of the nature of what you write, since this is a collection of poems it was written over a period of 3-4 years.

Q: Tell Us About Your First Published Book? What Was The Journey Like?

A: All my life I was fascinated by the story of Ramayana and wanted to write it my own words. I had started the project atleast twice before and miserably failed at it, so when I finally managed to complete it it felt good. And when I found the right place to self-publish my writings I immediately knew what would be me first book and Orange publications made the process very easy and user-friendly.

Q: Do You Believe A Book Cover Plays An Important Role In The Selling Process?

A: I have always been inspired by the book cover and more importantly the title of the book whenever I make my purchase decision. And being in the career of design I feel book cover plays a very important role when it comes to sales.

Q: Which Of Your Books Were The Most Enjoyable To Write?

A: Writing poetry can be a painful but it is pleasurable pain. It is the same feeling a woman has when she delivers a child. You can not be poet if you do not enjoy this process, and my case is similar.

Q:How Did Publishing Your First Book Change Your Process Of Writing?

A:It did not change much, as I still feel I haven’t done something special. There is a long long way to go, so what has changed is my book shelf has a book with my name on it, rest everything continues as before.

Q:What Advice Would You Give To Aspiring Authors?

A:Never hesitate to write, because there is no pre-requisite to become a good writer. Start writing and you will know when you will be ready to be published. Remember, NO ONE ELSE CAN DO IT FOR YOU.