Born and brought up in Mumbai, Karan Balkar is an occasional poet and situational writer who likes to pen down his thoughts and share some of the memorable experiences that one can cherish throughout this journey of life. He has also been writing about technology and the impact it has on society at large. A software engineer by profession; he takes keen interest in nascent technologies and applications that have helped or will help make this world a better place to live in. When he isn't writing, he loves listening to music and travelling to new places. He has recently come out with the poetry book Cache Miss: Publish the Unpublished.

I chat with him about his book Cache Miss, how the book came to be, book recommendations, and much more.

Hello, Karan! Tell us a bit about yourself!

Hello. My name is Karan Balkar and I am working as a Software Engineer at a global technology consulting and digital solutions company. I completed my graduation in Computer Engineering from Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology, Vashi, Navi Mumbai. I was born and brought up in Mumbai. I am an occasional poet and situational writer. I am currently working on another poetry book.

If you could only describe your poetry book Cache Miss: Publish the Unpublished in five words, what would they be?

Memories, Life, Opportunities, Setbacks, Journey.

Now tell us a little more about the book! What can readers expect?

Cache Miss is about revisiting your old memories and sharing it with the world at large. It’s about not missing out on something that you cherish in life. Readers can look forward to bring out their untapped writing skills in a way by re-compiling some of their past unsuccessful attempts so that they could also share their experiences and improve upon them with periodic feedback. It would also help them overcome their resistance (if any) to writing and publishing a book.

What was the moment when the idea of this book first came to be? What made you pursue it?

The idea for Cache Miss came around six months back when I was looking for some of my old poems that I had written/recited during my engineering days. To my surprise, I couldn't find all of them at first but later thanks to digital technology, I found a few recordings and documents. I was then able to compile all of them together, re-vamp some of the poems and publish them under Cache Miss. Hence, what pursued me is my own thought of revisiting old poems, otherwise I would have certainly missed out on them and they would have never got published. So the bottom line is that with Cache Miss, I thought of publishing these “un-published” poems.

When did you start writing poetry? Which poets have been your inspirations?

I used to enjoy writing ever since I was in high school. However, it was during my engineering days that I decided to take up writing seriously, and that's when I realized that I also wanted to become a writer. I find inspiration in a variety of people and things. When it comes to poetry, Sarojini Naidu and Rabindranath Tagore have been my greatest inspirations.

Can you tell us about your creative process of how you go about writing a poem?

Initially, I do some self-introspection and research around the topic that I wish to write. I also try to conduct short surveys among friends and family to understand their views. Based on the collective results, I then start to pen down my thoughts initially on paper and later in a digital format. Also, since most of my time is spent at work, I usually prefer a quiet place to find some piece of mind!

How have you been coping with the current pandemic and what will be the new normal for you post it?

The current pandemic has been tough on everyone – but I believe we can always learn and grow from adversity. For me personally, the “new normal” would be to start things afresh, keeping in mind the past experiences, and to try to be more resilient in future.

What are you reading currently? Do you have any poetry book recommendations for our readers?

I am currently reading the book Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods by Tishani Doshi. I would recommend the readers to read Love, Hope and Magic by Ashish Bagrecha.

The book ‘Cache Miss: Publish the Unpublished’ is available online and at your nearest bookstore.