Interview with Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu—Author of Five Petals

Today, we are having an interview with Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu, author of Five Petals.

Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu is a person who is passionate about reading and loves to pen down her emotions. She strongly believes that emotions are something unique to human beings and varied feelings that one tends to experience, give shape to one’s life, and make it worth living.

She is fond of fiction and enjoys weaving stories in her spare time. Book Exhibitions are her biggest place of relief. She used to write for her school and college magazines. She is an MBA and currently working as a government employee in the state of Odisha.

Her book Five Petals is all about emotions. It’s a collection of 5 flash fictions. The characters are relatable and a sense of belongingness could be felt. Each piece highlights a particular emotion. The book showcases the perception of life from different angles with some lessons.

Interview with Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu—Author of Five Petals

Meaning of Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu

Welcome, Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu! Thanks for sparing time to talk about you and your book. First of all, tell us about the meaning of your name.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my book. The pleasure is all mine! I am grateful that I was given this revered platform to showcase my book.

I have a first name, Chinmayee, meaning the knowledgeable one related to one’s Chetna (consciousness). The middle name is Gayatree that signifies the Veda-Mata ( mother of Vedas) or the  Hindu Goddess of knowledge who is also known as Savitri having reference to the famous Gayatri Mantra. The last name, Sahu, is my surname.

The naming ceremony was done as per my horoscope according to Odia calendar and it had to start with a letter having pronunciation as “cha.”

Emotions and Relationship

Why do you choose fiction as a medium to talk about emotions & relationships?

Fiction is something that is easy to relate to, for me. From a very young age, I have grown up listening to stories from my parents just like many other kids. Hence, I find it easier to immerse myself in the world of fiction. I consider that fiction is the easiest and also the most difficult form of expression. If conveyed properly the underlying message can penetrate deeply into the minds of the readers and sometimes stays with them for a very long time.

Since your book, Five Petals is around emotions and nowadays emotions are considered as a sign of weakness and intellect is praised, what’s your take on it? How do you see emotion and intellect?

We come across IQ & EQ often. But, do we really understand the balance of both is inevitable for humanity to thrive?  

We don’t. Schools give emphasis on scoring high; competitive exams prioritize elimination based on high scores.

Even in society, there is a bias that boys should not cry, and being too emotional is considered “not-so-manly.” Girls are debarred from speaking their minds from a young age and it is inculcated in their behavior to be obedient from a tender age.

This, many a times, results in suppressing emotions by many and gives rise to frustration and is the prime cause of mental health disorder or depression in the society today.

I believe that degrading emotions in a society leads to a lack of empathy and we are in the process of evolving as a robotic generation with a growing feeling of alienation among the masses.

It’s high time we pause and take corrective measures to bring in the balance between emotion and intellect.

Love and Marriage

Your book has stories about love and marriage. As per John Gray, Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, then what is the need for them to live together on earth? What’s your take on it? How do you see the institution of marriage? What is love for you?

It is like the yin and yang concept. Two different individuals come together and create a whole new world and complement each other. The very opposite character makes each other inter-dependent. One’s strength can help other’s weakness and vice versa.

Marriage is a social obligation that binds two individuals who promise to support each other and navigate life with its ups and downs.

Love is a complex emotion having varied meanings for different individuals. For me, it means, an emotion towards someone which makes you put the other person’s wellbeing as a priority and not hesitating to be vulnerable (with your flaws) in their presence due to the strong trust factor involved.

However, this is all ideal situations, and in reality, marriage and love can have complex and shallow meaning emotions as well.

It’s often observed that during courting phase lovebirds think that they understand each other very well and decides to marry, but after marriage, they often realize that they don’t know each other at all. What do you think happens in such cases? What’s the cause of such misjudgment?

I think, the weakness in the relationship that was always prevalent in such relationships comes to spotlight once the family of both sides gets involved. Suddenly, this creates a tough and unprecedented situation in front of both the partners and their integrity towards each other is tasted. 

Courtship is like theory class and getting married is a practical aspect. If love is true, then nothing can deter those involved. Every relationship survives on the basis of mutual respect and faith. Once that falls apart, the relationship is sure to fail.

Ego clashes are also another factor, which comes into picture when the relationship becomes official and the couple has to handle and prejudices and expectations from family members apart from fulfilling responsibilities.

Family & Belongingness

During a conversation in one of your stories, it’s said: “We don’t need any one’s validation to accept that you are competent.” Why do you think people seek validation from others?

Validation gives a sense of belongingness. As human beings, the very sense of belonging to something is hard-wired in our DNA. That is why we want to belong to a family, a community, a faith, a belief etc. It cannot be completely done away with. But, when this need for belonging becomes an obsession and overpowers the sensible functioning of an individual, then there is a problem.

There’s an undertone on the importance of family in your book. How do you define a family? And, how important is having a family for a successful & happy life?

Family, as we all know, is the basic and smallest unit of a society that comes into existence due to marriage, reproduction, cohabitation or due to blood relations.

It is vital for an individual because it is the first interface for a child to understand a world beyond its own self. As an adult, a stable and supporting family, many a times, helps overcome unexpected downfalls that one may encounter in his lifetime. 

Ideally, it generates a sense of comfort and acts as a safety net although exceptions cannot be ruled out.

Slut and Feminism

There’s a line: “She said in a slutty voice.” What’s your idea of a slut?

In the context of the book, the above-mentioned sentence was to give an idea of a woman who has a casual attitude towards sexual relationships. The usage of the word is to give a hint that the woman was taking a lead position in the conversation and hinting at engaging in an erotic affair with the protagonist.

There’s a line: “Not only was she very beautiful but she was quite arrogant and headstrong in her attitude. She was someone who had the guts to call a spade a spade.” What’s your definition of arrogance? Can calling a spade a spade makes someone arrogant? What’s your stand on Feminism?

Arrogance, in the context of the book, means a trait that makes one think the world revolves around them.  In this case, the lady is proud enough to think that her way of thinking should be understood and accepted, no matter what. I would consider, calling a spade a spade makes one brave. It might seem rude from the side which is being attacked or exposed. But, it requires courage to speak the truth in reality.

Feminism for me is a synonym for Equality. If we look at history, due to long-prevailing patriarchal society and mindset, women have been neglected and restricted from realizing their potential. Hence women empowerment through education, skill development and nurturing talent is important and should be done at the grass-root level. The mindset at homes has to change where a girl child isn’t treated equally as her brother.

Blogging and Book Writing

There’s a line in your book Five Petals: “Mr.Pattanaik had successfully launched a blog with so many followers and was in the midst of completing a novel on how to cope with depression, disorder & disturbance!” What’s the connection between a blog and a book? What role does a blog play for an author?

Blogging, as per me, is like writing your own online diary and share your thoughts with likeminded bloggers.

It can be a platform to build confidence and see if any particular kind of writing style is being accepted. It can be preparing-ground for a more serious and formal occupation, i.e., writing a book.

I believe every book has a duty to serve towards its target audience and hence requires a lot more dedication, passion, and research.

What difficulties do you face during writing the book, and how do you overcome them?

I think when we enjoy something; we somehow find a way to do it no matter what. The same has been the case with me. I  came back to finish the stories before the deadline though I wanted to add more stories, but having a full-time occupation does sometimes leave one with very little time to engage in any other passion.

Any interesting thing that happened during writing Five Petals that you might want to share.

Even after completing the book, I was skeptical of hitting the ‘send’ button. I always thought I needed to prepare more before actually beginning the journey but then was reminded by loved ones that a child learns to walk only after falling down many times. Hence it was important to start the journey.

Writing: Gift or Skill?

You have been into reading and writing from a young age. How do you see the ability to connect with others through writing? Is this ability a skill (which could be developed) or a gift of God?

Writing has been my safe space. It helps calm my mind and sometimes it has been my escape route as well. I have always been fascinated to read a good book and the writing style always has an effect on me.  Many a times, my stories have connected with my readers and that gives me a high and I feel accomplished at that particular moment.

Writing is both a skill and a gift of God. Because a literate person can learn to write but only a handful can write for their readers and convey proper message and create a lasting impression. This God’s gift can be fine-tuned by professionals or experts.

When did you first discover you had this gift that needed to be fine-tuned? Tell us about your writing journey?

I had been writing since school for various publications and school magazines. I was very active in my interactive literature classes and used to wait for those sessions. But, I never thought of pursuing this art, maybe because of academic pressure or job responsibilities, or due to paucity of time. After moving from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar, I started my blog and aspired to continue writing and more than it, reading!

Favorite Authors and Books of Chinmayee

Tell us about your favorite authors and books. Are there any specific authors whose writing styles or subject matter inspired your book Five Petals?

I love Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, Hamlet by W. Shakespeare are among many other books. I love books written by Amish Tripathi as well.

This is my debut book and I have written my own stories in the simplest manner possible. I consider myself a novice and there is a long journey to undertake even before trying to emulate anyone’s writing style.

Loneliness and Spiritualism

You mentioned somewhere that you took to writing as an escape route to avoid loneliness. Could you elaborate on this? How effective was writing? Kindly also share other measures you took to avoid loneliness.

During School, apart from academics, I was a sportsperson and had to participate in many tournaments. During my college years, I was into NCC and was always busy in various national camps. Academic performance always took a priority, and after MBA, I got placed in MNCs in Mumbai with long working hours and had to travel a lot nationwide. I never had the time to feel lonely.

Suddenly due to personal reasons, I had to shift base to Bhubaneswar, and I was not as busy as before. This made me take up reading and painting. It helped a lot to initially calm my restlessness with so much free time on hand. Then I started enjoying it.

Gradually, I started my blog and began writing. I am still learning the art of blogging and there are so many things to lay hands on.

What is spiritualism in your eyes? What is your philosophy in/about life?

Spiritualism is a vast world with ocean-like depth. However, I look at it in a simple way and understand that there is conscience within us and it guides us on the path of right or wrong based on our upbringing or set of beliefs.

The conscious effort of looking within and listening to our inner self is something that I equate with spiritualism.

 My philosophy in life is to ‘live and let live.’

Would you like to share something with your readers apart from these?

I would like to pass on a message to my readers and expect that it can help in any minute way possible. In these testing times, do what makes you happy, indulge in your hobby and passion, find happiness in small things, be grateful, and do not forget to take care of mental health.

Thanks, Chinmayee, for joining us. It’s a fabulous experience chatting with you.

Reviews of Five Petals by Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu

That was Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu with us talking about herself and her book Five Petals in detail. Let’s see what others are saying about her book.

The author has done full justice with the flow of every story in the book. I can assure you every story has some morals to learn, to understand life from different aspects. ~ Archana

I picked up Five Petals by Chinmayee after looking at the sweet name, and it was not a letdown. Each of the stories is not very long – so it is an easy read for anyone who would love to relax and unwind. ~ Jayanthi

Five stories, five completely different diegeses and how do they connect with any normal being, is the essence of this book. These stories are today’s fables with some soft touch of learning. ~ Payel

In spite of some of the stories being realistic, all the stories are interesting to read. One of the stories brought me to the verge of tears. The entire book is a breezy read. ~ Durga Prasad Dash

Details of the Book Five Petals by Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu

Book Details
Title	Five Petals
Author	Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu
Genre	Fiction
Sub-genre	Relationship
No. of Words	12K (Approx)
Reading Time	70 min (Approx)
Format	PDF
Available at	Blogchatter

Contact Links of Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu

Do read her book Five Petals and share your views with her. You can find Chinmayee at the following places:

Website: https://chinmayeecreations.wordpress.com/
Email: sahu.chinmayeeg@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChinmayeegG
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/chinmayee.sahu.796569
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/chinmayeesahu/

I’d like to leave you with one of the quotes of her book Five Petals:

“When the love is pure, it can conquer any hassle and can overcome any barrier. Love is the biggest power and is the greatest healer to all our sufferings. Trust is the foundation on which love can blossom.”

Thank you.