A Candid Conversation with Mayaa SH: Interview

Today we have a Candid conversation with Mayaa SH also known as Mayaa Devi, Mayaa Tai, Mayaa Di,Mayaa Audio SH, Pushpa ‘The Fire’ , Padma Of The East, Lady Robin Hood , MS Dhoni Of Writing and Lady Gandhi is a known name in Contemporary Literature .She is a Multi-National Award Winner , a ten times a World Record Holder, An Artist, a Podcaster, a Record Chart Topping International Fastest Anthology Co-Authoress and has been chosen as number 1 The Modern Literary Stars Of India, 2022 by Cherry Book Awards for making valuable contribution to Contemporary Indian Literature. She has Won In Memorable Performance in the category termed as ‘Other than English write ups “ for her appreciation of hard work , creativity and dedication in Grand Christmas Competition 2.0 which has been a world record event of the largest creative event hosted online with more than 1000+participants . Mayaa SH is a Women Empowerment Culturist and a gender equality exponent to position and contextualize her work within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.She has depicted gender inclusivity and equality through her certifications from the United Nations and powerful writings on Feminism, Gender Equality, Transforming Vision Into Action: Transmogrification on Transgender Community and Mental Health Awareness Topics. Her work depicts the identity, economic and social freedom of many .She has co-authored more than hundred and fifty plus anthologies with nine solo books and has been aligned with more than 85 publication houses.She has been featured in several magazines and women oriented like Tejaswi -The Imperishable on Women Power and Honour including few international magazines. Her first poem “The Candle In The Wind” made her win an Award at the National Level. She navigates many women through stress by deploying talking as a medium to combat stress and fear.

1. What motivated you, a multi-award-winning author, to seek a career in literature?

First and foremost, literature opens our eyes and enables us to see much more than is apparent.

It helps us to make sense of the wide outer world around us. Literature broadens the horizon of our mind and shapes our world view. With this, we start learning, asking questions and building our intuition and instincts. We expand our mind. At present a lot is being created based on our thought process. Good as well as not so pleasant ;the best as well as the worst. In the era of ever-increasing social helplessness , deprivation and insensitivity, in the time of loss of sensibilities, in everyday life, the experience of what is happening around us, good and bad, is the language of life in the heat of conversations . Literature is literature only when it reflects its time, reflects its present. Anything that leads to a forward ascension in life to build an exponential growth perspective is always a positive stroke in a anybody’s life , thereby ,literature is the best refuge to change our perspective of things, people events . Hence I decided to build on it.

2. Could you elaborate on your background and how you came to have the monikers Mayaa Devi, Mayaa Tai, Mayaa Di, Mayaa Audio SH, Pushpa "The Fire," Padma of the East, Lady Robin Hood, MS Dhoni of Writing and Lady Gandhi?

Some monikers are shortened versions of our name,here I have been adulated by all the above titles by the people of the country . I would take it as the blessings that I receive from so many people, specifically women all across the country for believing in me and for reinfocing my ideology that “Generosity is not the only good character that people have. It is a matter of our faith.” It feels good to be loved so much by many who just find a better way to pray and think as we seek to make progress in our lives through our actions . It is through immense hope that individuals harbour the notion of self belief in themselves and the purpose of receiving the gifts of gratitude and kindness on Earth through our deeds is by Blessing all .This allows them to speak on behalf of the power that protects them and continues to bless people who in turn bless many others like me .I would take it as an expression of their goodwill towards me.

3. Congratulations on being selected by the Cherry Book Awards as India's top modern literary star for 2022. How do you feel about this acknowledgement?

Thank you so much for showering profoundest appreciation on me .It is a matter of pride for me to be felicitated by the team ‘The Holistic Pine’ . It is very important to have a goal in the life of every human being. Without a goal, his or her life is meaningless. For a student, to stand first in the examination, for a job-professional, to get a promotion, while for a housewife, her goal may be to become self-sufficient. Although every person should set a big goal, but to achieve it, small goals should be made. When we set small goals and achieve them, we gain the confidence to pursue bigger goals. If a person is determined to handle any situation in his or her life, then an inner superpower emerges within him or her . There is an immense power in determination which enables a person to believe that we need to be determined to be victorious, whatever work we do, we should do it with full heart. Behavior results from conscious choices among alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain. A person's performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities. There is boundless enthusiasm in the work done by determination and self-confidence, due to which our mental abilities are fully developed, our efficiency increases manifold. I consider all acknowledgements as a positive factor to set SMART objectives in life as a part of the individual development first .

4. Having set ten world records, could you tell us about some of the amazing feats that went into setting these records?

Our actions are motivated by certain physiological and growth needs that progress from basic to complex and that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other,and more advanced needs. The psychology of human motivation is based on physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. This helps any individual to spend less time guessing what makes a person less productive and focus more on what is his or differentia advantage .This helps one spend more time doing the things that motivates any person. This can be anything including finding peace in planting 100 saplings anywhere . The human brain weighs about 3 pounds and contains around 100 billion neurons. The percentage of the brain in use at any given time varies from person to person. It also depends on what a person is doing or thinking about.My endeavour is always to find out as to can we explore how much of the brain a person uses? Do we really use 10 percent of our brain only . This motivates me to test my own will power to witness as to what level can the zeal to achieve can drive me towards setting records . As a humanist, I believe that people have an inborn desire to be self-actualized, that is, to be all they can be. To me disrupting innovative targets allows a perspective on how much can we utilise our Intellect in life to achieve anything that keeps us passionate in our lives . “The Impossible Is Always Possible” is an addition to the need for feelings of accomplishment and prestige, such as self-esteem and personal worth.

5. How do you manage your multiple responsibilities as a co-author of a record-breaking international fastest anthology, a podcaster, and an artist?

Women have institutionalized the backbone of a powerful society on the basis of both morality and ideologies . A strong woman is a personification of both beauty and intellect .Her beauty lies in the power of her dreams and her intellect in her ability to rationalize any situation for Peace and Happiness of all. Women's empowerment can be defined as promoting women's sense of self-worth, their ability to make their own choices and their right to effect social change for themselves and others. Women's accessibility or empowerment of femininity can happen only when all humanity is empowered by this balance. This is the time that such a psychological and spiritual environment should also be created, where men and women can enter on equal footing. Qualities such as nurturing, sensitivity, sweetness, helpfulness, gentleness, warmth, passivity, cooperativeness, expressiveness, politeness, gentleness, empathy, affection, tenderness, and being emotional, kind, helpful, devoted, and understanding are stereotypically feminine. A woman's role has been that of a provider and caregiver, while men still remain providers in the vast majority of cases. I believe Living in two places at once is not possible and while multitasking is necessary, it is not possible to have everything on your plate. Being the best at what you do means knowing what to do and what tasks to delegate. This also applies on the domestic front. Teach your kids to do simple household chores or turn them into 'mini managers' who can keep track of monthly activities like bill payments and shopping. Don't feel guilty about it. This helps a lot in their character building of children . After all it is your life and only you can add maximum value to it. Well, just set aside an hour of your life every day and do whatever you want in that time - read, watch a movie, listen to songs or talk to your best friend. Do anything as long as it's all about allowing a woman to be passionate in the pursuit of her aspirations in life first .

6. Could you talk about how you promote gender equality in your job and the significance of women's empowerment?

Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but also a necessary foundation for a saturated, prosperous and oceanic world. The understanding of Gender Equality is to develop and/or strengthen knowledge, understanding and awareness of basic concepts related to gender equality and women’s empowerment. This enhances a perspective to promote the integration of a gender equality perspective in everyday work and with a view to bring about behavioral change. Overcoming deeply entrenched gender inequality would transform the world, empowering everyone to realise their full potential and live a life of dignity. It is imperative for all to support this effort to make gender equality and sustainable development a reality for all. Gender Inequality persists everywhere and must not stagnate the social progress of any civic society. Every woman and girl

Must enjoy full gender equality, and where all legal, social and economic barriers to their empowerment have been removed. Women’s and girls’ empowerment is essential to expand economic growth and promote social development. The full participation of women in labour forces would add percentage points to most national growth rates. Integrated programmes and programmes within community outreach, mobilization and mass-media campaigns show more effectiveness in producing behaviour change. This highlights the importance of reaching beyond the individual level to the social context – including relationships, social institutions, gatekeepers, community leaders can encourage gender equlaity .

7. A variety of subjects, including feminism, gender equality, the transgender community, and mental health awareness, are covered in your writing. What method do you use to approach these topics, and what point are you trying to make?

Realism allows one to go back in time and learn about life on earth from those who came before us. We can gain a better understanding of culture and appreciate it more. We learn through the ways in which history was recorded, the forms of manuscripts, and through speech. Reality-based writings build with strong reflection of the societal issues and also with the solutions to the problems. I usually try to incorporate writings based on the present or modern era, so futuristic and science fiction work is rarely included in this category. I believe that anything must not get deviated from reality in life and focus on the trials and tribulations of the main characters (if any storyline). Most of my work is contemporaneous in nature with an endeavour to raise awareness about important social, political, and cultural issues, providing a platform for marginalized voices, challenging societal norms, promoting critical thinking. There are many issues plaguing the world , hence , it is quintessential to characterize present-day work in overarching trends. Literature never develops in isolation and it is never cut off from social influences. It is likely to be influenced by different directions and regions, cultures and languages, peoples and their traditions. It is a slow opening of the doors to the universality of thoughts and feelings.Hence , it is important to write more on genres that require rigorous discipline, field of view, concentration, and the experiential grade and depth of the writer. The creative writers of today have a consciousness and sensibility which directly connects to the vast areas of Indianness and its diverse dimensions.

8. How do you keep up such a prolific writing career with nine solo novels and over 150 co-authored anthologies?

Instrumentality is the idea that if you perform better, then the outcome will be achieved (If I perform well, there I will achieve the desired outcome). This is affected by: A clear understanding of the relationship between performance and outcomes – e.g. the rules of the reward 'game' ,Trust in the people who will take the decisions on who gets what outcome and Transparency of the process that decides who gets what outcome. ot about self-interest in rewards but about the associations people make towards expected outcomes and the contribution they feel they can make towards those outcomes. To inspire enthusiasm in others; you have to be passionate yourself first. People follow someone who is passionate, follow someone who is just going through the motions. First, believe in what you are doing and that belief will spread. You can't ignite passion with a wet matchstick. There are many inspirational people in the world who have achieved a lot just because they believed in the power of their dreams .We are also following in their footsteps as there is a lot to achieve and as aptly quoted by Robert Frost in , “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.” I am ectremely graeteful to all my co-authors , promtoters and all the Indian writing industry who encapsulated the notion that “Even when time and distance get in the way, we always pick up right where we left off.”

9. Would you mind sharing some information about how you think creatively? How do you stay motivated and consistently generate high-quality work?

An individual's needs are a result of experience acquired through life. Leaders can motivate all by understanding the individual needs and finding ways to foster acquiring those needs. Similarly the biggest motivation for our ownself is we ourselves . The world has no place for sad stories and the best ones are bulit on the ability of people to find ways to make their dreams come true come what may. This is culminated in the self belief that in order to lead with personal authority and to reinvent oneself, and to communicate a purpose to all we have to be clear in our mind to understand who we are oursleves first .This ignites the burning passion for what you are doing. The desire to always do your best is rooted in passion and the puruit of excellence that is deeply embedded in our thoughts, beliefs and actions being in sychronisation .Only test of fire makes stell and we are the architect of our own life .We must keep moving forward and never get extremely emotional on constructive feedback from our critics as well. Remember , to always thank all those people who were with us in our jurney while we were moving up the growth pyramid as “People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.” We have to believe in the power of our dreams as we have taken birth on Earth for a purpose or a goal to be accomplished. The societal living is possible when there are communal harmony and feeling of brotherhood among its members. You Only Live Once .

10. How do you manoeuvre while affiliated with more than 85 publishing houses?

Clouds are like pillows in the sky.They're sheep in the sky.They're a sponge that are so pristine in nature and absorb the vagaries of time. When the rays coming from the Sun enter the Earth's atmosphere, they collide with innumerable particles and molecules. During this, the natural color of the sun collides with white and gets scattered in different colors of light. Among the colors of light, blue color has the highest dispersive ability, so it gets scattered rapidly all around in the atmosphere and when we look at the sky from the earth, it looks blue. Similarly , I am it is mostly illuminated by the blue light which symbolises peace, happiness, wisdom, higher consciousness and strength. This has allowed me to stay productive and collaborate with almost all publication houses. I have also learnt a lot while essaying through most of my professional collaborations ,that as each person is tugged in many directions every day and becomes aware of our inner-selves , thinking about experiences in the context of work is not something we're accustomed to doing , however , focussing on maximizing the streams of our thoughts to attune ourselves to trustbuilding and collaboration.

11. Numerous magazines and international publications have highlighted your work. Which article or magazine has had the biggest influence or meaning for you, and why?

One her most powerful Writing is dedicated to “महिलाएं ही समाज की असली शिल्पकार” under the anthology named “Be A Role Model” compiled by one of her friend .The anthology speaks about Women have long been blessed with perseverance, strength and lasting power by nature. The progression and the backbone of the society lies in the Empowerment of Women in all walks of life. Freedom fighters, doctors, teachers and have also contributed to the society in a big way in the field of Lawyers, Engineers and all spheres of life etc. The highlights on Feminism is based on the idea that men and women are equal, is also explored in the scriptures and Feminism is not about looking down on men. A woman's external values over a woman's soul, hence the name feminine gender, but her soul itself defines a woman's strength and tenacity. Bhumi and Bhuvaneshwari as both nature and woman are the sustenance for humanity .Every women must Combat Fear and Keep It Simple . In one of another powerful writings “There is no haemoglobin in my blood but Titanium “a powerful message highlights that it is the challenges in life that make us stronger and much evolved person . An act done with bravery is called "courage".

12. Your first poem, "The Candle in the Wind," winning the National Level Award must have been a major accomplishment. Could you tell us the background to this poetry and why it has special meaning for you?

“My heart wore a veil on the barren tapestry ,

Woven on the silk threads of the mulberry ,

At the stratus of the white cumuliform cluster ,

Brushed a breeze that succummed so rapidly …”

The above is a stanza of the poem .This poems highlighted the essence of unconditional love that holds a special place in our hearts, and it is the unconditional love that captures the essence of love that transcends all boundaries. Unconditional love resonates with the universal desire to love and be loved without any conditions or limits. Unconditional love is mostly used to describe love for family members and other highly committed relationships as well. Unconditional love is the supreme truth and one must not be afraid to state it. Know that you are living in a world that loves you as much as you like it, where you are an inspiration because you love, and you are not attached to the outcome.

13. You use talking as a tool to deal with anxiety and worry. Could you give more details on how you employ this strategy to support women in managing their stress and empowering themselves?

By talking one can help a person identify and change the perspective about life and feelings, thoughts, behaviors that are troubling any individual. Through conversation, the burden of the mind is reduced and stress is removed. Stress can increase nervousness and heart diseases.People are judged most the times even for the slightest of things in life . Most people are unable to understand this and the answer to why this happens to them . If they are aware of this and taught how to react, they may be able to face many difficult situations. If a family member is suffering from stress , sometimes family counseling is also useful, so that the family members know how to react to the patient and help them deal with the problem. The main principle behind allowing people to talk freely without any prejudice is that your thought patterns affect your feelings, which in turn can affect your behavior. Hence , with changing times, stress is increasing, in such a situation, many people fall prey to its bad effects instead of reducing stress. We are all unique in some way or the other and we must also understand that life is very long and precious , it takes rain to make rainbows , lemosn to make lemonades and sometimes it is experiences in life that help us evolve .Words have the power to heal , so one must also be sensitive towards all life forms and allow others to be themselves .We must not judge anybody on the unconscious biases that are formed over a period of time .Many women are faced with the challenges to be often misunderstood and hence get into a situation of even nervpus breakdown .Talking can help people who feel hopeless or feel tired or weak or suffer from immense stress not because ethey are bad human beings but they need to be listened to first .

14. Considering gender equality and women's empowerment in particular, how do you view your work relating to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?

Women Empowerment broadly means - women have the right to take decisions equal to men in legal, political, physical, mental, social and economic fields in the cultural background of their family, community, society and nation. Empowerment for women means to have such power, which can accept her importance and bring her to the status of equal civil and equal rights. We must bring the humanitarian and development spheres closer together from the very beginning to address affected women, address structural and economic impacts and help prevent a new spiral of fragility and instability.When women become aware against the socio-psychological-cultural injustice, gender discrimination, inequality, negative impact of socio-cultural, economic and political forces towards themselves, then it can be understood that they are being empowered. We see women empowerment as a process in which women have access to physical, human and intellectual resources such as knowledge, information, ideas and financial resources such as money or wealth and decisions regarding home, family, community, society and nation etc. A woman is possessed of senses, imagination and thoughts should be able to express them freely. Personal empowerment means increasing the power to negotiate and make decisions and provide confidence. An important aspect of women's social empowerment is the promotion of gender equality. Gender equality refers to a society in which women and men enjoy equal opportunities, outcomes, rights and responsibilities in all walks of life.

15. What can we anticipate from Mayaa SH going forward? Do you have any forthcoming initiatives or projects you would want to tell your readers and fans about?

Counselling services are available to help children and young people and specially women with their mental health. Services can include helplines, one-to-one counselling sessions in person, online or by phone, and online chats and forums. Children and young people can get free, confidential support from a Childline counsellor via online chat, email or phone.This can be done to listen to and provide advice to any concerns about topics, ranging from exam stress to depression and suicidal thoughts.Children can be encouraged to express via :

• Art box to write or draw about their feelings

• Calm zone with breathing exercises

• Games to help relax and de-stress.

Parents and Schools should pave effective ways to understand how to create and implement effective systems, policies and practices to identify, prevent and respond to harm and abuse within your school community. They must also endeavour to address challenges facing international school communities as they strive to interpret various cultural attitudes, laws and actions in addressing forms of abuse,Develop knowledge of age-appropriate, healthy relationship education for children and young people based upon new UNESCO and WHO guidelines. I also look at ways to reach out to maximum women through the medium of my writings in the most simplistic way and in order to Inspire and Motivate them to be 360 back to life and always bear the courage to start all over and rediscover their inner Strength in Life.

A project on youth led development to empower each individual for work is being chartered on in order to allow Jobs to all and allow them to work with dignity. This is being looked at to connect with more than 1 million youths in coming 3 to 6 months.Besides , Free treatment to women at 5 star hospital in a city in India (name not revealed)- to cover all the needs of women's life right from child's birth to women's death. Also for women, to render various trainings like handicraft work, yoga, stitching classes, Anganwadi(a kind of rural child care center) etc. to make them self empowered and to provide free knee replacement and cancer treatment at 5 star hospital. Even the cost for conveyances will be reimbursed.