WriteFluence

Gowri Bhargav is a certified storyteller from Chennai. An Engineering graduate who is highly interested in arts, she has always had the passion to tell stories. Several storytelling workshops and events are being regularly conducted by her for the benefit of school children.

She has also contributed for “Talking Stories Radio” – a programme dedicated to the art of storytelling by East London radio. “BTB storyteller of the year 2020” was recently awarded to her by the jury panel of “Beyond the Box” Gowri is a voracious reader who loves getting lost in the world of books.

Writing is a form of catharsis for her and she enjoys weaving words into poems, micro tales, short stories and blogs. She has won several online contests conducted by prestigious literary groups. Her works have been featured and published in various online portals, literary magazines and journals. She has also co-authored several anthologies.

We asked Gowri a few questions to get to know her better. Here’s what she had to say:

^{Wanna see yourself published in this space? Participate now in our ongoing contest and get published!}

I have been writing since… 

2019

My favorite author(s) and book(s)? 

Dan Brown, Robin Cook, Paulo Coehlo, Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton,Danille Steele, Amish Tripati . Books – Origin, The Alchemist

My journey as a writer: 

I am a voracious reader and certified in the art of oral storytelling. I used to maintain a journal to write my random musings. Writing is a form of catharsis for me. Lockdown has been a blessing in disguise for me. I started participating in many contests held by online literary groups. My blogs, poems, microtales and short stories have won in several platforms. Many of my works have been featured in journals and anthologies.

Why should we read you?

I write from my heart. Most of my stories have evolved from events observed or out of personal experiences. They have the ability to connect with the readers to leave a lasting impact in their minds.

My favorite genre to read / write 

Mystery, Romance, Thriller

What advice would you give young and aspiring writers? 

Everyone has a story to tell. The art of putting it down on paper is what makes the difference. The only way to improve our writing skills is to read a lot of books and write as much as possible by sticking to a schedule. And the most important thing is to enjoy our journey as a writer.

Here’s an excerpt from Gowri’s winning story Home is where the heart is that’s now published in Wafting Earthy:

“Pushpa, add some more ghee to the venpongal. And don’t forget to add some extra cashews,” said Ramanujam to his wife. Every Sunday Ramanujam’s friends gathered in his house for breakfast when they had a gala time catching up on interesting news that they wanted to share as they had breakfast and coffee.

Ramanujam was a retired headmaster. His wife Pushpa was a music teacher and a wonderful cook. They had been married for over thirty years and lived in Triplicane, Chennai which is home to the renowned Parthasarathy temple and other places of worship for the Hindus. It is a heritage town with many century old row houses and narrow streets. Being dominated by the Hindu Brahmin community it is a hub for all cultural activities like music, dance and religious activities. The Ramanujams had a son who worked for a reputed software company in New York. He was married and settled there. The Ramanujams had never had an opportunity to go to the US. Ramanujam always dreamt of going and settling there. His son had recently purchased a huge five-bedroom villa in New York which had made Ramanujam’s dreams even rosier.