You will immediately fall in love with Mridul and her Love-Letters to Strangers. In an instance she will feel like a well known friend, because she speaks directly to your heart. Her words are filled with hope, spreading smiles and positivity, wherever she goes. No wonder, that you find her poems within the beautiful compilation “The Dandelion Dunes” by Artson Publishing House. Feel inspired and follow her tunes to happiness in our Interview and how you can go after your dreams and bring more magic into your life.
Miriam: Mridul, you create Love Letters for Strangers. Where did you get this amazing idea? And can you shortly explain what our readers and poets will find behind your inspiring e-letter? Mridul: This amazing idea of Love Letters to strangers was an initiative by Nate Proctor where in he wrote handwritten letters and dropped them across the city. The idea was to spread love and positivity.
Miriam: Oh, this really awesome! I know a friend of mine, who is doing this either. She drops letters and quotes in library books. She is called Paula Hartmann.
Mridul: I was inspired by Nate but due to the lack of time, I decided to go for emails. To my surprise however, I got a tremendous response to my emails.
I started it as a one letter thing in September when I sent over 450 emails. But due to the overwhelming response and the love that people gave me, I have decided to continue this and send one letter each month. The aim is to spread some smiles, positivity and inspire people. So I have sent over 1,000 emails over the last two months and I wish to continue spreading some love.
Miriam: This is a little note for our readers: I dropped a link to the work from Nate and his “How-To Kit” at the end of the Interview. Because he inspires others to follow his ideas. You also will find some infos about Paula there.
But back to the wonderful Mridul. You will definitely get inspired by her words. Here is a sneak peek for you into one of my favourite lines of her newsletter.
THANK MORE OFTEN
In this fast paced life, we are so busy running in our packed schedules that we often forget to smile and lead more of a robotic life. We take things for granted and people for granted and fail to recognise the little things we should be grateful for. Be thankful to people who do things for you, it may be your maid, your driver, the waiter who served you, anyone who made an effort to help you, say “Thank You”, trust me this kind gesture will bring a smile on their face and in turn make you happy and the goal is to spread smiles right?
Now, we know a little bit about you. But we want to get to know you better. Who is the person behind these amazing ideas and inspiration? Please, introduce yourself in a poetic or allegorical way.
Mridul:
Hello, My name is Mridul and I am not as sweet my name is. I am a physiotherapist by profession and
playing around with words is something I enjoy. What's the best thing and the worst thing about me if that interests you, It's the same, my overt straightforwardness! Mostly a disaster but it's impressive to a few. What interests me more is reading and exploring
the unknown in both places and people.
Sense of humour impresses me more than looks ever do
similar to how brains work their magic more than beauty ever does. Hello My name is Mridul and I heard you were looking forward
to know something about me! -Mяidulツ
Miriam: You are such a positive person, what helps you to stay this way and see so much light and hope?
Mridul: I am as equally messed up as anyone from my generation. The difference however is that I have learnt over time is that no good comes from thinking negatively for what's bound to happen will happen no matter what. So I try to stay and be positive that's the least I can do. And ever since I have adopted this method, I have been happier than before.
Miriam: Can you give us one or two tips to stay positive?
Mridul: Overthinking never helps. Analyse the situation well but don't jump into conclusions based on the worst case scenarios. Keep working hard and be positive. Sooner or later, things will fall into place. If not today, tomorrow or sometime soon they will. Believe in yourselves.
Another thing that helps me stay positive is to think, if the matter I am currently worried about will affect me in next two years or so, if yes why and how can I reduce the damage. If no, don't bother about it too much and stress yourself.
Miriam: Some of your poems get published within the poetry book “The Dandelion Dunes” available on Amazon. How do you came to this beautiful project?
Mridul: Yes, four of my poems got published in the poetry book Dandelion Dunes. This amazing project was the efforts of Artson Publishing House. I came to know about this project via Instagram through the official handles of the publishing house. We were required to submit the poems on the given theme and wait for the results if we were selected or not. I gave my best and waited patiently. The results were overwhelming and with the efforts of 20+ poets and the Artson team, we managed to publish our beautiful dream. I couldn't be more thankful to Artson Publishing House since this is my first ever anthology and it is very close to my heart.
Miriam: Did something change after taking part in this project?
Mridul: Yes, things did change after this project.
One, I became more focused about my writing. I had this morale boost which inspired me to write more and take it more seriously than I did before.
Two, my parents were so proud of me especially my Mom. Seeing that smile on their face when they held the book in their hand, that feeling is beyond what words can describe.
Three, my friends some who have been silent readers and others who have reviewed my work from the beginning. When they ordered the book and read it, their appreciation and heartfelt comments, that made the whole experience more surreal than it already is.
Miriam: Tell me, why do you write?
Mridul: Being a science student I believe everything has a reason, a theory, a logic behind everything in the universe so there's a very simple answer to this. I am an ambivert. The extrovert part of me speaks, the introvert part ends up writing. Enough logic I guess? That being said, writing gives a way out to those feelings which would have otherwise never found an existence in the world. It helps me explore the pieces of me that I didn't know existed. Miriam: How do you balance your medicine studies, being a poet and your faith in god and family?
Mridul: It's really not that tough. I am dedicated in whatever I do and I have my priorities sorted, so that helps a lot to maintain the fine line which is much required when it comes to balancing your studies and your hobbies. I try my best that writing doesn't affect my studies or my personal life. There are days when I want to write but I cannot due to work or studies, so I scribble the writing idea into the notes in my phone and get back to work and then later develop on the idea. It's a gradual process that you learn to prioritise and do the right things on the right time and I would say I am a learner as of now.
Miriam: This sounds awesome and is really a good tip “scribbling down ideas”. Does your family support your writing?
Mridul: Yes, they do support my writing. Infact somewhere or the other, I would say writing is in my genes, because there are countless members in my extended family who write. My elder brother has been a constant support system and so have been my close circle of friends. Also my mom recently joined Instagram so that she can read every post and I think that is so sweet of her.
Miriam: Yes! This is really sweet of her. My mom is on Insta, too and she reads every single post of mine, too. What do you do beside writing?
Mridul: If I am not writing, you will either find me lazing around in my pyjamas or binge watching TV series. On other occasions however as and when I get time, I love to read.
On other days you would find me talking to new people or playing with cute kiddos (every age group). Infact I stop to say hello everytime, I see a kid in the hospital I study at.
Miriam: Is poetry your first love?
Mridul: I would say words are my first love for the magic that they can create, the power that they have to take you places to boost up your imagination. Poetry is no longer a bunch of rhyming lines put together that sounds rhythmic and has a great meaning to it, it is evolving each day with different styles and the variations that are being tried nowadays. It is growing each passing day and with it we are learning and evolving as well. Anyone would fall in love with that and I have fallen deep enough.
Miriam: Can you give us a tip how to go after your dreams?
Mridul: Never stop dreaming. Never stop believing in yourself. Never stop working hard.
These three mantras/ principles or advices, whatever you would like to call, it would help you always no matter what you are looking forward to do and no matter who you are. It applies to each single one of us. These three principles are interconnected. As for dreams I would like to quote a dialogue from a movie I recently saw. It says "Dreaming is basic. Everyone has the right to dream". So now that you have a dream, be passionate about it, be mad enough and work for it. It's certainly easy to dream but it's difficult to achieve what you aim for, because it takes hard work, your blood and sweat and your sincere efforts. Nothing comes to you on the silver platter, you work for it and achieve it. And life, the rollercoaster ride that it is has its ups and downs. There are days when you want to give up, on those days. Believe in yourselves and keep working. There are times you will fail or fall, do not let that distract you. Learn from your mistake, get up stronger than you were before and keep going. You will achieve whatever that it is you want to achieve.
Miriam: Wow! Thank you for your insights: “Be passionate about it, be mad enough and work for it”.
For going after your dreams, you sometimes have to love the new.
You love to explore the unknown. Does this scare you sometimes?
Mridul: More than it scares me, the unknown excites me and that keeps me going. I believe the journey to the unknown teaches more than the destination itself and it's a wonderful ride. The fears of the new is legit and it carries a risk of the uncertainty for you do not know what is going to happen. When you do not know what may come in your way, you tend to become more active in what you do, how you think and find new ways to solve the problem that lies in front of you. For me exploring the unknown gives me a chance to explore my own self and there's so much more to know, to learn and become better. Nothing is certain in our lives, not even the next few minutes but that should not stop us from working hard to achieve what we wish for.
Miriam: How does your unknown places looks like?
Mridul: I believe the world is ours to explore and there are a million places unknown. There are few places that leave an everlasting imprint on your mind. There's something about them, might be the ambience, culture, food, local people or their heritage that stays with us forever.
The unknown places that are on my bucket list are: Exploring my very own India, Europe, Paris, New York, London and many more places I might not even have heard of till now.
Miriam: Yes, this feels so true “There are few places, that leave an everlasting imprint on your mind”. And it reads itself as a quote, too. You love quotes and you write quotes on your own, too. We can see many at your Insta page. Can you give us one of yours?
Mridul: So it's a Hindi quote which tops the list of my personal favourites. It says , दर दर फिरते हैं लोग, कुछ घर बनाने को और कुछ घर जाने को| -मृदुलツ It means, People wander places, Some to make their homes and others to go to their homes. If you ask me why is it my favorite, I have a simple answer to that, because each one of us needs a home and a home doesn't necessarily mean a place with bricks and cement or somewhere you live. A home could be any place or person or memories or a combination of all, a home is something very dear to us and everything we do in our respective lives is to find a home for ourselves.
Miriam: What is your favourite quote you live by?
Mridul: My favourite quote is "Life is Magic, believe."
I do not seem to know the writer of this because I heard it from a friend but I have loved it ever since I heard it. The reason for loving this would be its authenticity and the positivity that it spreads. It tells you two wonderful truths with the use of just four words. The first being that life is magic, it's unpredictable, it's uncertain but it has beauty in it. The second and most important thing, it tells us to believe, believe in ourselves and the magic that life is. That belief in itself spreads hope and positivity.
Miriam: This is a beautiful quote, indeed! Thank you so much.
We never can have enough magic in our life.
You have the wonderful ability to find more positivity and authenticity in this life. What we are all seeking for. You believe in the magic of life. What should we all do to bring it back in our life? We often lose this ability when we grow up. And I feel, that you have preserved this gift very well. What do you do for not losing this talent? Keeping the door open to this magic realm. Mridul: Yes life is magic, we just have to believe. I do believe and I wish more people did too. You very rightly pointed out that we often lose this ability as we grow up, most of us do, I was one of them until some time ago. I am glad I started believing again. To keep the belief in the magic of life we can follow certain simple steps, Do not let your failures define you. You failed, no problem, everyone does.
Do not let that negativity surround you. Do not fill yourself with pessimistic thoughts. Do not think you are alone. You aren't. You may not even know how many people are there for you ready to help you, to listen to you.
Ask for help when you need it. There is no shame in needing someone. You are only human, you are bound to make mistakes. Do not let that stop you from believing in the magic that life is. I will sign off with this; "LIFE IS MAGIC, BELIEVE" Miriam: Thank you so much for your time and your wonderful answers. Where can we find you, to keep in touch with you?
Mridul: You can find me roaming around the wards of the hospital I work at. (Just kidding)
As for social media you find me here:
Email : mridulmakkar24@gmail.com andiwilltryandfixyou@gmail.com Instagram : @mridul_writes Facebook : @mridulwrites
Pinterest : Mridul Makkar
Miriam: I am still in awe. Thanks for your beautiful insights! The whole interview is filled with so much wisdom and inspiration. Like a little workshop about going after your dreams, detecting the unknown and staying positive.
Thanks again my dear! Much love to you! Thanks for spreading so much positivity and beautiful ideas. I just have to go out now and create some beautiful stuff, inspired by your words!
But before I go, here as promised the links to Nate and Paul:
You find Nate’s “How-To Write Love Letters to Strangers” here: nateproctor.com/love-letters-kit with his beautiful idea that “we can show the world how to make a change for the better”.
You find the inspiring Paula on Instagram @hartmann_paula where she give regular tips to stay true to yourself and find your talents and secret gifts or check out her blog: theartofbeingmyself.com