Instagram Poets Who Took Our Hearts By Storm: Ruby Dhal

Reading Ruby Dhal’s poetry is very much akin to having a long overdue conversation with an old friend. You rediscover yourselves over piping cups of hot chocolate and pour your hearts out to each other, trading a volley of anecdotes on how to live a fulfilling life. Except, Dhal is not really in front of you, but thousands of miles away in the United Kingdom, keeping you company through your phone screen. She hits the nail on the head with the precision of her words, telling you exactly what you need to hear when you’re recovering from heartbreak or the banality of quotidian life. Her book titled Memories Unwound launched earlier this year and was well-received by readers for the simplicity with which it transferred power to them through little nuggets of advice.

Excerpts from our interview:

Humble beginnings
“I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I’d pen down tales about princes and princesses. Most times, I would gravitate towards stories with happy endings because I believed life would always unravel beautifully in the end. That illusion was shattered as I gained years and understood pain is a driving force for creativity. That is where my poetic talent sprung from.”

Writing off challenges
“As a poet, it’s tough to convince readers that perusing my poetry does not give you a peek into my personal diary. If I’ve written a piece which has undertones of sadness in it, it doesn’t mean that I am upset and cloistered in my room. There have been many instances where followers have inquired after my well-being when I’ve posted a gloomy poem. I keep trying to distinguish my personality from my writing and I hope to get there soon. Besides this, the overall challenge as a writer is to finish the pieces I start because it is easy to procrastinate and let my thoughts run away with me when I’m in a creative zone.”

Instagram connect
“I reply to comments and most of my messages. I also hold competitions to celebrate a landmark when my account crosses a certain number of followers. I don’t think it’s magnanimous of me to be doing this, in fact, it would be quite foolish to ignore the very people who are the foundation of the wonderful happenings in my life. I would love to do book signings or readings but I’m still exploring those avenues to get the most out of them.”

Soul speech
“Every single piece that I’ve written about my mother is special to me because those are the times when I have revealed the rawest parts of myself to my readers. That being said, the piece on forgiveness is one that has stayed with me over the years. I wrote it after obsessing over the number of times I have been misunderstood by the very people whom I loved and admired. I realised that the only way to move on to a happier mind space was to forgive them and take a chance on myself again, regardless of how the past had been shaped.”

You can follow her on Instagram at @r.dhalwriter