CI Correspondent: What inclined you towards poetry? What were your inspirations?

Satish Bedaag: My father writes songs, so naturally I had a poet within me. I got Tagore’s Gardner, Crossing, Crescent Moon, Geenanjali and Gulzar’s ‘Kuchh Aur Nazmein’ (some more poems), …and I found an abode for poetry, an origin in my own heart. As I tried to give it a vent, the first anthology ‘Tasavvur-e-Jaana’ (thoughts of the beloved) came out.

CI Correspondent: How did you get drifted towards Urdu Ghazals. I have heard that it is not effortless to inscribe them.

Satish Bedaag: It should be attributed to none other than the great Mirza Ghalib, whose ‘Deewan-e-Ghalib’, collection of his works, is still like a religious sculpture to me. However, I have learnt the Persian Intricacies of the Urooz from Ustaad Deepak Jatoi. 

CI Correspondent: What were the problems you came across when you decided to write books and how did you overcome them?

Satish Bedaag:  Anjali, I have been lucky in a couple of things. However, I was born in a poor and hand to mouth family but somehow my parents managed to publish my first book. Later, with almighty’s grace, I got a supporting better-half, my wife Kanchen whom I call ‘hamnawa’, the co-singer, with her unending support, I could write other anthologies too. But still there is a darker side of the moon too. Being in a developing country like India, one has to spend money from his pocket to publish books before he becomes famous.

CI Correspondent: What have you learnt for the profession of teaching? You have given several years to this.

Satish Bedaag: Teaching has taught me a lot. You are a student first and a teacher later. You are never too old to stop learning.  You cannot grow to the level that your need to learn comes to an end. In addition, believe me, in my life, learning is not limited to every day, it happens with me every hour. I am ready to learn every moment.