Hi, I’m Manisha
I have lived in more than one country, more than one language, and more than one version of myself. Writing is how I make sense of all of them.
I write because words have a beautiful way of becoming more than the feelings that created them.
I write in Hindi because English cannot even begin to express certain feelings. I write in English when those feelings become too heavy to carry, to create a little distance between myself and them. And then there is shayari, where Hindi and Urdu meet. Shayari holds love, and longing, and frustration, and surrender. Sometimes all for the same person. Sometimes all in the same moment.
Through my writing, through my characters, through the worlds inside my stories, I have lived many lives. My novel Brown Girl, Red Tape is out in the world looking for its home. My most public work lives at voicesatworknz.com.
If I am still writing in the moment before I leave this world, I will know I lived fully.
Yeh hain mere Papa
Some of the greatest gifts I have received in life came from my father. He taught me to stand by what is right, to speak with courage, and to never let fear decide the course of my life. Growing up in a conservative environment, he quietly challenged many conventions, encouraging me to dream bigger, think independently and become the person I am today.
Along with these values, he also gave me my love for poetry. His words have always carried warmth, wisdom and sincerity, inspiring not only my own writing but also the way I see the world.
Papa Ki Poetry is my way of sharing his beautiful work with others. I hope his poems touch your heart as deeply as they have touched mine.