Yashas Acharya is a 17-year-old Bangalorean currently studying in the IBDP. His interests include literature, theology, philosophy, music, and mathematics. He intends to pursue an undergraduate degree in economics and eventually build a career in finance.
He considers himself an ordinary guy, quietly curious and always eager to explore the world around him.
Q: When did you first discover your interest in writing? Was there a specific moment or experience that sparked it?
I don't really remember when I first developed the hobby of writing. However, a pattern I've since noticed is that writing, for me, is a powerful antidote to burnout. It has always been during the peaks of stress, hopelessness and sentimentality that I turn to writing; be it song, poem, or prose. And I must assume that this hobby's inception was placed in such a situation years ago.
Q: As someone who enjoys disciplines like math and philosophy, do you see writing as a way to clarify thought or to complicate it?
Poetry acts paradoxically. It clarifies thought and invites cohesion, while simultaneously broadening the scope for investigation and interpretation with each line. A philosopher could very well articulate, appreciate, polemicise, or lament his study through verse. I'm not too sure about mathematicians, though; this is something I haven't given much thought to.
Q:You describe yourself as “ordinary” person. How does that shape the way you write?
The very word "ordinary" puts things into perspective. The word is hideous, demeaning, debilitating; it patronises its bearer, yet from such an adjective one stands to gain humility, benevolence, and an appreciation for things not ordinary. It is by way of my ordinary eyes that I see things for what they are, and there'd be no need for exaggeration and imagination if one could appreciate what is often right before them. My ordinary disposition might just have an impact on my writing. I am fascinated by the most insipid observations and make it a point to include these in my verse.
THE BOOK
Yashas has been published in the anthology 'Hear Me First'. Curated by Delhi Poetry Slam as part of The Writer's Launchpad, an online workshop series for a select group of contemporary Indian poets. Get your copy!