Neera Mahajan The Inspiring Indian Australian Story Teller

I can’t believe it has been two years since I met Neera for the first time. She got my attention when she gave the guest speaker at a blogger conference a bag full of Tim Tams, the iconic Australian chocolate biscuit.

I remember thinking that I need to befriend her before the conference is over. So during lunch, I introduced myself.

Then, the full-of-life Neera had just started her writing blog and travelled from Canberra to attend the conference. We exchanged our blog deets and promised to keep in touch.

And we did.

I have been reading her blog ever since. I love how her writing is so refreshing and yet personal. So I thought it would be great to introduce her on this blog, highlighting our shared passion and semi-shared culture.

KK: Hi Neera! Tell us more about your blog, why did you start it, and what’s your vision for it?

NM: I was writing for some time but was not at all confident in my writing. I didn’t think it was good enough to show it to anyone, so I had never submitted any story in any competitions. So low was my opinion of my own writing that I couldn’t put my name against my work. Years ago, I started two blogs, one after another, but I was blogging anonymously. Needless to say that both blogs died after some time.

Then one afternoon, on a whim, I checked whether my name was available as a domain name. It was. I bought it. That night my father passed away.

Once the shock of his death was over, I started thinking about how short our life is. How quickly we meet our end and how expectedly it arrives. I decided that I was not going to keep hiding behind my limitations. If writing is what I want to do, I will start writing and put my work out there, no matter how bad it is.

When I started my blog, I wrote down three goals for my blog –

1. Get better at writing
2. Share my writing as I write
3. Inspire others.

Last month, on the 27th of July, marked the second anniversary of my blog. I am so happy that I achieved all three of my goals and continue to do so. Earlier this year, I turned my blog into a website. It has lots of resources for writers and inspirations for all those who want to achieve the best in their lives.

One simple act of starting a blog has given me so much satisfaction.

It is leading me to unexpected places. I am writing a novel as well as a non-fiction book. I conducted a ten-week Life Story Blogging course earlier this year. Through this blog, I am meeting several inspiring people, including you, who are on their journey to make a difference in this world.

My vision for my blog is to turn it into a meeting place for all aspiring writers who need help and inspiration to get better and more confident with their writing. I am working on developing a member’s online forum where writers can critique and help each other’s work. I am also looking at running online courses on Blogging, Life Story Blogging, Article Writing, Short Story Writing, and Novel Writing.

KK: What does your writing process look like?

NM: My writing process is very messy. But over the years, I have learned how to make the most of it. Ideas rarely come to me in a single coherent form. They are all over the place. But I have learned to receive them whichever way they come and make sense of them later.

I write one page in my daily diary first thing in the morning. I do that in my bed. Then I work on an article or my book until nine or nine-thirty before getting up for breakfast. This morning routine is religious, and I wouldn’t break it for anything. This is the best uninterrupted time I get to work on any writing that is the priority for the day. And believe it or not, I do that from my bed.

After breakfast, I have another two hours before lunch. This is the time to work on the second and third priority of the day. I have a tracker on my pinboard with seven tasks (any more, and I can’t fit them). I work on those seven tasks each day only the priority varies. Tuesdays and Fridays are the articles for my blog. Three days a week non-fiction book is priority number one, and for the remaining two days, it is the novel.

In the afternoon, I draw cartoons. I do that each day and post them on Instagram. It is a fun thing I do. I have created a character Ms Jolly who is now the creative inspiration behind my writing as well.

KK: Now, let’s talk a bit about culture; what was your biggest culture shock when you moved to Australia in the 80s?

NM: Oh gosh! It was so far back that it is hard to remember. I think more than anything else; it was the cleanliness and lack of people in the streets. I lived in Ballarat for the first six months when I came to Australia. Coming from a crowded India, it was the biggest shock. There were hardly any people in the streets.

KK: What is considered auspicious in your culture? Do you believe and practice it?

Indian culture is full of auspicious days.

NM: There are so many.

I don’t come from a religious family, but when my mother-in-law migrated to Australia about twenty years ago and started living with us, we started practising many Hindu festivals. My mother-in-law used to observe ‘Navratri,’ nine days that usually fall in October most stringently. No meat was allowed in the house. She would fast all nine days. On the eighth day, the young girls would be worshipping, which my daughters enjoyed a lot.

KK: What is the biggest festival in your culture? What kind of food is usually prepared for it?

NM: It is definitely Diwali, the festival of lights. I used to make a lot of sweets on this day – rasgulla, gulab jamun, burfi, laddu, jalebi – all at home. Now everything is available in Indian shops and of such good quality. So I concentrate on making a nice vegetarian dinner consisting mostly of chickpeas, vegetables, puri, and halva.

KK: Speaking of which, what’s a must-try food in Amritsar?

NM: Amritsar is famous for street food. It is a foodie’s heaven. Each street or corner shop has a different specialty. There is a guy in a shop no bigger than a walk-in wardrobe who sells only jalebis. He starts after five pm and is sold out by eleven pm. People come in Mercedes and queue up to buy his jalebis.

But the must-have food in Amritsar is Amritsari-kulcha – a potato stuffed paratha that melts in your mouth.

KK: What’s the best travel souvenir to get from Amritsar?

NM: Amritsar is known for The Golden Temple. It’s the most sacred place I have been to in India. A small replica of it in a glass cover is often what Western tourists bring back with them. Punjabi Jutta, shawls, and embroidered dupatta are other things if you are into fashion accessories.

KK: Tell us about the best market you have ever visited in the world.

NM: While in Melbourne, we used to go to the Victoria Market almost every weekend and loved it. There is a smaller version, Fyshwick Market in Canberra, which I often go to to buy fresh veggies.

I have been to Borough Markets in London, Egyptian Spice Market (Mısır Çarşısı) in Istanbul, Farmer’s Market in Vancouver, Dubai Spice Souk, and Cairo’s endless Souq El Gom’aa Friday market.

There are many more I have been to, but for some reason, I really enjoyed the experience in the Original Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles with my daughter when we visited it with my older daughter in 2014. Maybe because we spent the whole day there.

KK: What is the must-visit cultural spot in Canberra?

NM: I would say Floriade, my favourite festival that falls at the start of spring, usually in mid-September. It is a Holland-style Tulip festival with millions of tulips in bloom, marking the end of Canberra winter and the start of spring. It is held in Commonwealth Park yearly, although it is cancelled this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

KK: Lastly, tell us about a blogger whose work you admire.

NM: I like Henneke’s blog, Enchanted Marketing because she draws her own cartoons. She has inspired me to do the same. I am happy to say I have also learned to draw my own cartoons.

Thank you for being uber inspiring Neera. Though it’s hard for me to admit, I feel like the pandemic has put a huge damper on my writing. But reading your blog and your passion for writing has reignited my passion.