ILLUMINATION Writers

Interview with Suntonu Bhadra

Featuring creative writers of ILLUMINATION

In this story, I share with you an interview that I conducted with Suntonu Bhadra. It is pleasing that Suntonu joined ILLUMINATION as a preferred publication.

He has already submitted several great stories. Suntonu is already well known as he is actively engaging with our writers and supporting them.

I enjoy the style and meaningful content in Suntonu’s stories. Let’s explore the interesting background of Suntonu.

Tell us a bit about your background, Suntonu.

I am the middle child of my parents. Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh (a country in South Asia; beside India, Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal), I had been into different places in that country because of my father’s job nature. So, from childhood, I had the opportunity to expose to the rural and semi-urban culture of Bangladesh — which I believe was a fascinating journey.

Along with the exposure to the diversified cultural impact of different locations, my mother’s side of the family was involved in various cultural aspects in the country. So the musical touch and the artistic vibe had impacted me to love different sides of literature and music.

I am from a Business academic background and currently in the Technology field Sales Division to support clients. Now living in Canada with my spouse and staying safe during this pandemic, what else to say.

Why do you write on Medium?

I write poetry and articles mostly. The crafts and art of poetry and the expression of words are always of importance to me, as it helps me to write down the emotions associated with an experience or thinking. In regards to articles, I love to express some meaningful insights into the subject matter that I write. I believe, through articles, I am helping the other personnel. And with poetry, I’m either venting out the feelings of soothing other people’s pain in life.

In the future, I’m looking forward to writing short stories. Let’s see when I can create on that horizon.

What are your values as a writer?

Ah! A challenging one. I will put it straightforward:

Helping people with my insights (and on the process, helping myself to learn)

To be honest about my words, as it is a reflection of me as a person.

What are the top three books affected your life?

It is a difficult one to answer for sure. Different books changed my life in different turns.

Aesop’s Fables (‘the Aesopica’). This one is in the top because of the advice with the fables in a simple yet dramatic way.

‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind’ by Yuval Noah Harari. A recent one for sure, which changed my perspective on the human race in so many different ways.

‘The Da Vinci Code’ by Dan Brown. The reason: because it changed my perspective of religion, holy books, and their interpretations in a different direction.

What are your hobbies?

Capturing the moments with stillness is one of my hobbies and passion, to be frank. Yes, some of my pictures are on different sites for usage, but most of my favorite photos are not on websites, as those are for my satisfaction.

Here are some photos I want to share:

Traveling is a big part of my life (pandemic changed it for a long time, I guess). The exploration of new places, culture, food, and tradition are essential for me. Humans as a species were travelers always, who roamed from one place to another, and I feel like the same way somehow.

Reading books & writing are also close to my heart. I understand that my writing might reach some people and will not reach out to others for their individual preferences, but that’s the beauty of writing. You have your voice and your readers to reach out.

Spending time with my family is my utmost pleasure, to be frank. But I also indulge myself in spending time with myself alone; I believe everybody has their own space to relax.

How do you connect with your readers?

I connect with my reader mainly through Medium. I’m also active on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. I’m planning mostly to improve my writing quality first, and once I reach a certain level of satisfaction; plus reach a certain number of readers, I will consider the email list option.

I am also working on a niche publication on Medium, called ‘Sales Notebook,’ which will be for readers to have an interest in the business development and sales development field. As just started, I am also planning to reach out to the readers through newsletters.

Why did you join ILLUMINATION and how do you find it so far?

The first and foremost reason when I joined was to write in a publication where I can express my words. I had responded to one of your publication notes to express my interest (on April 21st, 2020), and thankfully, you have accepted the request. ILLUMINATION was the 2nd publication that I joined in Medium; however, it became the instant favorite once I started interacting with the other fellow writers. The fascinating support, encouragement, and feedback I have received (and am receiving) is out-of-the-word. A newbie writer needed to get assistance and support, and ILLUMINATION is supporting me throughout my Medium journey.

Here is a short clip to say hi to our great writers and readers on ILLUMINATION.

Who are the top ten writers you follow on ILLUMINATION?

So many great writers, so many great stories and poems on Medium — it isn’t easy to choose a couple among the excellent vast writing.

As I have to limit myself to mention ten names, I sincerely apologize as I love the works of so many great writers. Here goes the names: Tim Denning, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Kevin Buddaeus, R Tsambounieri Talarantas, Keno Ogbo, Holly Jahangiri, Trista Ainsworth, Tree Langdon ♾️, Chirag, Paroma Sen, Sanjukt Saha, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, Connie Song, Suzanne V. Tanner, Terry Mansfield. See, its crossed ten already, thanks to Medium for the opportunity to explore so many excellent contents.

What are your top five stories that you want to share with your audience and why?

I have some definite favorites, to be frank. However, the list changes and eventually grow as I am continuing to write.

Gods & Goddess among us, in our life (story). It is about how I’m feeling now during this pandemic scenario for the front line people, putting their lives at risk. I admire them from my heart, and no words are good enough to describe their sacrifices, I believe.

Gibberish Thoughts! (Thought words). Sometimes my mind circles around alternative theories, and I can’t ignore those feelings. I think this might open up a new horizon for thoughts or debates. I’m planning to write a short series on these oncoming time.

Memories of my small village (poetry). The words are the reflection of my mind of my beloved village in Bangladesh, and I still cherish the memories, so I wanted to put some of the memories into words.

Nature’s Guitar (poetry). A reflection of my closeness with nature.

A Leaf of a Graveyard Tree (poetry). A thought about after-death transformation transformed into this poem.

What are the success factors for you as a writer on Medium?

Everyone has a different definition of ‘success’. I felt my success when the first reader clapped for the story of my own published story in Medium. In the traditional sense, I’m not successful yet (in terms of earnings, followers, readership, etc.). Do I admire these? Yes. Do I aspire to get a higher number in any of the mentioned? Yes. Do I write for these referred? When started initially on Medium, Yes. Currently, nope.

About the success factors: I believe, I am hungry for learning and am ready to adapt to new styles, but in my own words. Aspiration and the long walk to spread out your words into the readers are two crucial things in this field. And, of course — you have to believe in yourself as a writer. You are what you think.

What do you recommend to the new writers on ILLUMINATION?

Write whatever you want, write every day and write a lot. Eventually, you will look into the quality aspect and will reduce the number. But experience the writing journey like a job first, which will build your momentum.

Read a lot (paper-books and Medium articles), support a lot, and share your feedback a lot on other writer’s work. Build the network; it works in both ways.

Always and always jump onto creative things. Bring your flavor; that’s the difference you will bring, and probably there’s a niche waiting for you. I’m still searching for mine.

What are your future plans as a writer?

I’m currently focusing on bringing creative ideas to my writing, not in regular formats. So, I’m focused on reading more books than before, and I am trying to visualize the different thoughts in writing.

I’m also structuring my writing journey from ‘Atomic Habits’ perspective, finding out the loopholes in my writing styles, and trying to improve the small bits every day and every week. I do not have an end goal to achieve. I want to improve every day without any expectation in mind, and you know what, success with improvement without expectation burden makes you happier because of little sparks of joy you achieved through this without bundling yourself, tied into schedules and deadlines.

Thank you for your valuable time Suntonu Bhadra. I enjoy reading your inspiring, informative, and engaging stories on ILLUMINATION. Your thoughtful and engaging stories are appealing to me. I appreciate your support to our publication and writers. Appreciated your excellent video to connect with us. We will add it to our YouTube channel.

You can also check writer bio of Suntonu Bhadra from the attached link.

You can connect with Suntonu on LinkedIn and Twitter.

If you are a writer on ILLUMINATION and would like to be interviewed, please send a request via this link with title of “Interview Request”.

Other Interviews

You may also check other interviews I conducted with inspiring writers of ILLUMINATION recently. These stories can provide a great opportunity to know more about our creative writers and connect with them.

Timothy Key

Desiree Driesenaar

Holly Jahangiri

Dr John Rose

Ming Qian

P.G. Barnett

Jill Ebstein

Bill Abbate

Terry Mansfield

Ann K Frailey

Woei T

Charles Roast

Julia E Hubbel

Aric D Mayer

Chris Hedges

Paroma Sen

Jeff Hanlon

Besom & Bletherskite

Sherry McGuinn

Sylvia Love Johnson

Maïa Belart

Henery X (long)

Chowa Sekai

conny manero

Sumera Rizwan

Karen Madej 💛

Anita Lesko

Marianna Saver

Kevin Buddaeus

You can find inspiring profiles of ILLUMINATION writers from this story.

You may check more interviews in the attached collection.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

Besides technology, self-improvement, leadership, and health, I also write about essential molecules such as alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, digestive enzymes, magnesium, hydrolyzed collagen, creatine, choline, nootropics, CoQ10, NADH, TMG, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, and several other nutrients for health and fitness.

About the Author

Thank you for subscribing to my content. I share my health and well-being stories in my publication, Euphoria. If you are new to Medium, you may join by following this link. You may also join my publications as a writer requesting access via this weblink. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis. I share important life lessons from people in my professional and social circles.