Exclusive Interview of Dr. Shadab Ahmed & Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya | Authors of A Quatrain of Moods

We here at Delhi Wire are here with Dr. Shadab Ahmed again, but this time for his other book A Quatrain of Moods, and this time with him we also have his co-author Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya.

Although, both the doctors have very busy schedules yet, they managed some time to give us their interview. We had a great time having a chit-chat with them and here it is for you to enjoy it.

Also, Don’t miss out their new book, ‘A Quatrain of Moods‘, it is available on Amazon now.

About the authors:

Dr. Shadab Ahmed was born and brought up in the resilient and magical North-East India, growing up between guns and roses. Moving pan-India at various ages, his voracious appetite for knowledge and wisdom led him into books, refining his perception and comprehension about the good, bad and wicked in life. He retains an inner child and has a combustible imagination. He is more adept into the administrative side of things and keeps a heavy hand and heart, though surgeons were always meant to be delicate and refined.

Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya Hails from the tribal, Naxalite infested & forested areas of Central India. She is naturally a keen observer and grew up having seen the good and bad in life. Despite all this, she is a big dreamer and nothing satiates her curiosity and perception towards the various bright and grey shades of life. She is a fashionista and retains both a strong and delicate feminine side as well as a vigorous and robust rugged heart. She is a pan-romantic, left-winged feminist vegan. She is an outstanding clinician and academician, boasting of national and international published researches corresponding to her specialisation.

Some glimpses of our conversation with Dr. Shadab Ahmed & Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya 🙂

1. If you had to give up either snacks or drinks during writing sessions, or music, which would you find more difficult to say goodbye to?

Dr. Shadab Ahmed – I would find it difficult to give up on drinks, I need the “Aqua Vitae” to keep my senses calmed down and to keep my writing skills refined and distilled. Guess I am letting go of my snacks and music then.
Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya – I like to sip on Lassi and Fruit Juices when am working, I think I will let go on snacks for the duration. Am a big music buff, but thankfully, keep music off when am working or writing.

2. Which is your favourite season to write in, and why?

Dr. Shadab Ahmed – Given freedom of choice, I would select winters and numbing cold, when the soul is in hibernation and entranced. You sense both genuine and delusional things then, and those things proposes new ideas. The ideas become a concept. But irrespective of season, I need downright solitude to write and think rationally.
Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya – My analytic powers are pronounced when it rains, I am a rain lover. It gotta be my favorite season to write in.

3. If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?

Dr. Shadab Ahmed – I would anyday select the good ol’ North-Eastern Indian mountain ranges to settle down for pursuing my cerebral interests. I started my first book here, I made candid observations on life here. I learned the good, bad and wicked here. There is always something new to see, something new to percept. My first family, my first love, my first success, my first failure. It has got to be the North-East India.
Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya – I am more of a civilized person, unlike Shad. If I get the opportunity, I will head to the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region in France for an year. I do have this nagging concept of a fiction in my mind, which I want to succulently put down in words, but the mood is not just clicking in. Maybe those cheese and baguettes there will help some bit.

4. How many drafts do your books generally to through before publication?

Dr. Shadab Ahmed – Usually, my books go through 3 draft revisions. The first revision is for grammatical errors and misprints, the second emendation is generally for alignment imprints. The final draft revision is post type-setting, positioning and sequencing. The book goes to the marketing phase then.
Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya – My books get edited a lot more frequently, since I mostly do academic book pertaining to my specialization. Once I have the draft ready and type-setted, I go through it frequently for some days, and keep making subtle revisions/corrections. There is always something new to put, new to share. I don’t regret it though.

5. How did you get the idea to write the book ‘A Quatrain of Moods’?

Dr. Shadab Ahmed – I have been composing poems and quatrains since long, maybe almost 10 years now. I wrote as a hobby, and the words often got submerged within the pages of some diary, where it was conveniently forgotten and live moved on one city to another, one hospital to another. Then Covid-19 came and with it came sudden lockdowns. At that time, the institution we both were working in saw startling and shocking number of Covid cases, and before we could comprehend “what and how”, the students and faculties were abruptly back home and life was in disarray. A handful of us faculties decided to stay back, we rose up to the challenge and uncertainty of those times. At one point in the lockdown period, probably it was a cold chilly Diwali night, Dr Malwiika snitched my diary and she triggered the decision which will subsequently become “A Quatrain of Moods”. We collaborated criminally and she took over the designing and art for the book, I concentrated on composing the quatrains. The idea was born, the waypoints were prepared and discussed. Today, we humbly present you the book.
Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya – Yes, I remember that lockdown period too, and Shad has described the notion of the book beautifully. That is how the idea of book was conceived. I did the cover designs and art myself. I totally loved it, I found a hobby and an interest. We both have never looked back since, and our criminal enterprise got established.

6. How do you think being an author of this book has helped you as a person?

Dr. Shadab Ahmed – Being an author comes with a certain level of challenge. The challenge to write more and expressively, to stick to your dedicated cognitive deadlines. This stimulates a certain level of self-discipline in your personality. When you improve the quality of your life, your overall quality improves as well. You make an impact around your environment as well. When people who don’t know me on a personal level come to know that am an author of several published books, they are genuinely surprised and acknowledge the fact with a sudden warm smile. In that tiny fraction of time, I see their own dreams and desires flashing in their eyes, resolving to be completed. Without a word exchanged, the message is conveyed. That is the beauty of the human emotions.
Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya – I found the tag of the “author” to be more exciting. What Shad wrote is true. When my old friends from school and college find out am an author, they are genuinely surprised and happy for me. To be honest, everyone wants to be an author, but seldom get the chance. Writing is easy, but to know what to write is the most challenging part.

Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya & Dr. Shadab Ahmed

7. What is the significance of the title of your book ‘A Quatrain of Moods’?

Dr. Shadab Ahmed – As this is my first published book, this book is exclusively special to me. I drafted and composed this book in the form of quatrains, using images/pictures to disclose the story. Each picture in the book conveys a subtle message in itself, keeping the story sporadically abstruse. The interpretation is left open to the readers, different individuals will expound and perceive
the anecdotes in conflicting ways. What makes this book unique is the fact that a majority of moods & emotions divulged in this book are actual life events, which happened with someone somewhere.
Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya – We both spent so many days selecting the title of the book. The title signifies the intention of the authors. The book is dedicated to the versatility of the human moods and emotions, their joys and happiness, their pains and sorrows. Let’s say it celebrates human life in general.

8. Last question, how would you define success as a writer?

Dr. Shadab Ahmed – I am far too humble to proclaim myself as a successful writer. Yes, several copies of my book has been sold. I have got warm and sultry reviews from strangers and friends alike, both nationally and internationally. My readers come from diverse multi-cultural socio-economic background. In their expressed cordial words, my raison d’etre is complete. I don’t write to monetize, I write for self-development and to sustain creation of knowledge.
Dr. Malwiika Sisodiya – I find success as an author beautiful and exciting. I like it when random strangers compliment me on my books. It is a different kind of feeling, something which not the money in the world can buy. Like Shad said, creation is beautiful. I do hope and pray someday I become an award-winning author. Shad never monetizes his work, so I keep that money safe with me.

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