"Rendezvous with Antarang"- Leena Sohoni

Leena Sohoni

About myself

Hello everybody. My name is Leena Sohoni. I am a writer and translator by

profession. It gives me immense pleasure to meet you all through this digital

platform that Antarang has provided us. At the outset may I extend my

heartfelt thanks to “Team Antarang” for giving me this opportunity to talk

about myself in this forum. Though I must admit, speaking about the self

doesn’t come easily or naturally to me. I believe, one’s work must speak for

itself.

As I told you earlier, writing is my profession. There is nothing simple or easy

about it. This is serious business.

At any given moment I am thinking words. Day in and day out it’s always

words! I may seem like sitting quietly on my garden swing sipping tea, or

cooking a meal or doing some daily chore but in reality every moment of my

life is spent on high alert. Once an author, always an author. This “being a

literary person” thing engulfs your whole being and doesn’t leave much space

for being anybody else.

In the year 1981, after completing my post-graduation from Pune University in

German I shifted to Mumbai as an obvious outcome of marriage. I was the

recipient of the Chancellor’s Gold Medal for securing highest marks in Arts

Faculty. In all my school and college life I was always a career oriented person

and I had never imagined that I was going to be a homemaker after marriage.

Taking care of my family and children was of course going to be my world

henceforth, I knew that and I had accepted that. But that wasn’t going to be

my whole world.

Initial days in Mumbai were hard. For want of opportunity in my chosen field (

i.e. German) I was looking for an alternative career. And one fine day, when I

was reading a book by an American author Henry Denker, I found my true

calling. It came to me like a flash of lightening. It changed my whole world. The

book that I was reading had enthralled me no end. I became a haunted

person..as it were. I knew right there and then, what I was going to do for the

rest of my life. All I wanted to do was to carve a niche for myself in the literary

field. The same book that I was reading that day became soon my first adopted

child. I translated the book into my mother tongue Marathi, which was

published by Mehta Publishing House Pune. It was an instant hit. Thus my

writing career took wing. Today I have fifty plus translated books to my credit.

Since then I have been co existing with words, playing with them, living them

with every breath I take.

Along came appreciation, applause, fan mail, numerous awards and accolades.

My translations received the prestigious “best translation of the year” award

from the Government of Maharashtra twice, and also , G.A. Kulkarni award by

Goa Hindu Association, Ranjit Desai Award , Kamal Patra Young Achiever’s

Award by Jaycees International, Rotary Vocational Award by Rotary Club,

Balshastri Jambhekar Award, N. C. Kelkar Award, Kolhapur Bhushan Puraskar

to name a few. I taught Theory of Translation at Shivaji University, Kolhapur for

a few years and also taught German at Vivekanand College, Kolhapur for nearly

19 years. In the course of my teaching I had the opportunity to visit Germany

once by invitation from the Goethe Institute and another time by invitation

from the cultural ministry of Germany. It was a very enriching experience for

me as a teacher and also as a human being. Working as a teacher added

another dimension to my personality. I fell totally in love with my students and

they in turn fell in love with me. Today if you ask me, who I really am, a writer

or a teacher? I would find it very hard to answer.

 

Antarang Team has interviewed Leena Sohoni and here is the summery

What makes you smile the most?

I always enjoy happy faces of children and they make me smile at any given time. If a baby just wakes up, stretches itself and gives me a toothless happy smile, that’s the golden moment of the day for me.

What music makes you cry?

Melancholy notes always make me cry. Raga Puriya Dhanashri m marva or Shivranjani for example. I also love to listen to ghazals. Being a writer I am enchanted by poetry or lyrics of any song. I can think of one particular song which always makes me cry. Its soulful rendition by the inimitable Asha Bhosale Ji makes me go weak at the knees. The lyricist is noted author and poet Smt Shanta Bai Shelke and the music is composed by Pandit HrdaynathMangeshkar Ji.  The song is Jivalaga...rahile re dur ghar majhe..

 What little thing makes you the most grateful to be alive?

There are too many things to be grateful about in my life. When I wake up in the morning, take a breath of fresh air and when the sunshine seeps through the curtains I salute the creator because this is yet another day and I am still alive. I am happy to be in good health considering my age, happy that all my organs are functioning, I am not physically dependent on anybody. There are a thousand things to be thankful about. First of all I am thankful to be born a human and not some insect or a pest. Jokes apart I am thankful to be born a woman in a progressive democracy like India, in a progressive state like Maharashtra, in the cultural city of Pune, raised by very loving, kind parents because of whom I enjoyed an excellent childhood, received very good education and who imbibed middle class values into my life.

On hard days, what motivates you to get up and start your

day?

I am generally a positive person and “let bygones be bygones” is my motto. I don’t like to brood over the past, I prefer to live in the present. I think, this positive attitude towards life and acceptance of what is inevitable are the two things that keep me going.

 How do you find strength when you are going through

hardships?

I have trained my mind in such a way that I can turn negativity into positivity. I firmly believe, that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Nothing remains static. Everything is constantly changing. That’s the law of nature. So I just tell myself, that these days would also pass.

 What family member do you call when you have good news to

share?

I always call both my daughters to give them any good news.

Who inspires you to live your best life?

My husband, my daughters and a few close friends.

 When you have to confront someone do you choose to stand

strong, or to not say anything at all?

I normally don’t like confrontations but if I have to, I do speak my mind. I am a mild mannered person, so I would bring home my point of view mildly but firmly.

 What person made you believe in love?

My parents had a solid marriage and I could always feel their unspoken love for each other in the littlest things that they did for each other and of course we felt their love for us too. Another person, who has shown me what true love is, is my husband.

 Do you believe in fate and that everything happens for a reason?

Yes, I firmly believe in fate. I believe, that fate has a strong role to play in a person’s life. But I am also a strong believer in putting my hundred per cent efforts. Each and everything may not happen for a

reason, but many things happen for a reason. Sometimes we are blind to that reason, so we either blame the destiny or blame God or things that are beyond our control.

 When you got your heartbroken for the first time, what got you through it? 

My mother. She was my friend, philosopher and guide. I could share my every little secret with her. So naturally I went to her for comfort, which she provided.

 What makes you most proud of yourself?

I am proud of the fact that I am a compassionate person, I can relate to people in a way that most people would find difficult. I am also a good listener. I am good at keeping secrets and I am trustworthy. So people open up to me easily.

 When in a crisis, do you act calmly or do you automatically freak out? 

I generally get nervous in crisis. I wouldn’t call it freaking out exactly. But I have also learnt some self-soothing techniques over a period of time, which help me in times of crisis.

 What keeps you up at night? 

I cannot let go easily. That keeps me awake at night. Also I have this tendency to feel guilty about

things that are beyond my control. I worry about people and the thought, that I can’t do anything to ease their situation keeps me awake.

 If there was one charity you could donate to, which would you choose? 

I would choose any institution that works for the visually impaired. But I feel strongly, that merely writing a check is not enough. We must give an amount of ourselves to them. The greatest gift you can give someone is your time! That would be the greatest form of charity. I plan to do just that.

 What is the one quality you need in a significant other? 

Kindness and empathy.

 On your best days, who do you want standing next to you?

My husband.

 On your hardest days, who do you want standing next to you?

My husband.

 What is the one word that perfectly explains who you are? 

A Woman

 Where do you envision yourself in five years?

I have a bucketlist. I wish that by the end of five years I am able to complete almost all of it.

 What is your message to our Antarang women readers?

Be always true to yourself. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.