Q. Hi Swagata! Before we start: a line or two about you?
A. Hi, Imaginary Interviewer. Thanks for doing this! My name is Swagata Mukhopadhyay; I’m 24, male, from Kolkata, India. I like to add a little extra coffee powder over my cup of coffee for some more bite.
Here’s a picture of me before I put on some extra padding.
Q. Give us some of your background.
A. I hold a postgraduate degree in economics. I have interned with the Government of India (MoSPI) & previously worked as an associate business analyst for a multinational retailer. I can speak English, Hindi and Bengali. Currently, I’m learning how to drive, speak conversant French & play chords on guitar.
[Then again, none of this sounds much like me.]
Q. How did the idea of a weekly newsletter come about?
A. Like many initiatives, this was born of imitation: I keep up with Gautam Bhatia’s work, a legal scholar/lawyer/science-fiction author, who’d shared a link to his own substack newsletter about science fiction in India. It felt like a really interesting format to explore for someone keen to write at a disciplined pace.
Q. Okay, seriously. Will anyone read what you write? I mean, why would they in 2021? What incentive are you giving?
A. I don’t know. I’m aware reading is a pastime fewer enjoy today. That’s why it’ll be compulsory to write short passages. To keep it from being too burdensome to jot down, & for the benefit of any reader (including myself).
I will keep the issues diverse, engaging.. I’ll edit out difficult expressions & long sentences to save time while keeping the heart intact.
Q. What do you personally get out of writing?
A. I think I understand myself more successfully after reading what I’ve written. Not only that: I like my personality better too. Writing forces me to start remembering things in a structured way. Isn’t that why we scribble points before an exam, to increase our memory recall?
When we’re not arguing, which is rare, I sometimes take pictures of my mom walking ahead of me.
Q. For those who might read, Swagata’s newsletter is titled ‘A Bit of a Beginning’. Why did you choose that name?
A. ‘A Bit of a Beginning’ is just that: my baby steps towards the end of year 2020.
Q. ‘Various positions at 25’…any reason behind that subtitle?
A. Well—
I turn 25 in 2021.
In each issue, this newsletter will look at completely different things.
‘Various Positions’ is a musical album by Leonard Cohen, Canada’s finest songwriter. For a sample from it, one can try:
Q. What purpose do you hope to serve with your newsletter?
A. That’s a tough one.
If I am honest, I just want to write.. The fact that every week I can put something out & it’ll swim into some mailboxes is a convenient way to communicate (in my own way) with people, certainly at a higher virtual distance compared to say, Facebook or Twitter, where I get distracted too easily.
Also on my wish-list is to keep a more collected & composed set of material in 1 place.
Q. Did you set any ground rules for writing?
A. Using lesser specific pop-culture references that need prior knowledge, a limited set of quoted texts, layman language, being direct & surprising with the issues.
I click photographs when in the mood. Here are some I like, taken on vacation (2019):
Q. How has this year been for you? What comes next?
A. It’s been like an escape, getting lost, growing thinner, then chubbier… quitting a job, quitting a city, learning to decently cook, sweeping floors. Resetting, getting friends, losing friends.
Up until now, there are many periods of time in my life where my memory is blurry even though the emotions are fresh. In 2021, I want to preserve each day properly.
Q. Think up a motto to ‘A Bit of a Beginning’ for us.
A. To myself: Let your brain spend 2 hours/week hunting for your mind.
Q. ..we’re looking for something a little more snappy..
A. “To scare myself into having a memory.”
Q. And so we've reached our ending. Here’s wishing you a merry Christmas!
A. Merry Christmas to you too, Imaginary Interviewer; and to one and all!