The “Unusual Interview” Series: Featuring Vidya Sury
…who collects smiles wherever she goes…
Happy Sunday! Welcome to the Unusual Interview Series for Unusually Brilliant Writers! After all, we’ve got nothing but the best here at Hope, Healing and Humour, and Shorties But Goodies!
Right?
We have such a splendiferous Pub Family so as I mentioned in a recent newsletterish, I thought it would be fun to get to know each other in a — well, not-exactly-usual interview series.
I mean, heck, it’s me. I haven’t done much of anything the usual way in my life (Oh, dear, if you only knew…🤦🏻♀️🙄)
Therefore, every Sunday, you’ll find just such an interview of one of our beloved writers.
Today, we kick off this series by getting to know a few more bits about Vidya Sury. Known for her radiant smile, and the many more she collects around Medium, Vidya is always available to share her wonderful sense of humour, her kindness, her great stories, and her reassuring manner.
I sent 11 questions (a nice, not-round number!) to Vidya and you’ll find them below with her answers.
- What do you love most about writing?
Writing is one activity about which I love everything. I love my predicament of too much to say and not enough space/time to say it. I am never stuck for ideas. I love that my readers enjoy my writing and that motivates me to keep on keeping on. I owe my love of writing to my mom, who would insist that I write about every situation I experienced — could be travel, a conversation, or an event. She would also encourage me to express my imagination (which was rather vivid) in words — which naturally led to self-illustrated stories. Fun!
As a result, I’ve had the courage to attempt all genres of writing.
And now, of course, I am grateful that after a career in sales and marketing, I have switched to writing as my profession. Talk about doing what I love and loving what I do! And? Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life — I am living that dream!
Liberty: How blessed you are! You’re an inspiration in so many ways and for anyone who is an aspiring writer and who wants to make it a career, your answer is definitely rocking some worlds right now!
And how blessed we are to be able to enjoy your writing! It’s always such a joy to read your stories. I swear, it’s just like sitting at your kitchen table while you putter away, cooking something, or perhaps we’re hanging out in your garden for a giggle and a chat. I love how you write like you speak, and you aren’t afraid to laugh at yourself.
2. Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever been? (City, building, event — whatever! — doesn’t matter — you pick!)
I’ve been to all of those. I cannot call a city weird so I’ll let that go.
Building — I once wandered around a building under construction in a deserted area. I was in my early twenties and waiting for a friend. I just thought that getting up a few floors would give me a lovely view of the beach. Except it didn’t turn out like that because clearly others had the same idea and I just about managed to stop myself from walking in on a couple clearly “engaged” — a sight I could never unsee. Sigh.
As it happened, my friend did not turn up and those were the days of no cellphones…so it was just a longish wait and heading back home.
As far as events go, I find weddings the weirdest. The guests end up forming groups and gossiping and complaining about things, and it seems like they really could not care less about the wedding they are attending. Seems weird and kind of callous to me after all the effort the families of the bride/groom put in.
Liberty: Gotta say I agree about weddings and people not really seeming to care about attending. Much like I felt at all but one of my own six weddings! Haha! (Sorry. It had to be said).
How awful for you to have stumbled onto that, um, er, uh, “couple” in a rather compromising position! Ew!! Retinas burned out forever! Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!
Gotta wonder what the heck the universe was thinking when it set you up for that bit of ickiness! I mean, really! Could you not have just enjoyed the view of the beach and at least not felt like missing your friend was a complete waste of time?!
3. Have you had an embarrassing nickname? If so, what is it and what’s the story behind it?
Bajji. My uncle called me that. Every Sunday we would have a discussion at teatime about what snack to make. He loved deep-fried stuff. After a fun family argument, we would have a savory and a sweet. I would always go for the savory as I am not fond of sweets.
And my uncle would address me by the name of the snack. Somehow Bajji stuck. It is a sort of fritter — sliced veggies dipped in chickpea flour batter and deep-fried. And my uncle thought I was wonderfully hyperactive and always ready to try anything new. 😏 He also taught me, by example, the value of appreciating the present moment.
Liberty: Awwww, what a lovely story!!!!😍
4. What is the most useless talent you have?
Surely you know that no talent is useless? But I suppose it is a matter of perception, eh? In that case, go ahead and be judgmental.
- I can take my bra off without taking off my top.
- No matter what the quantity of the food, I always pick the right sized container to pack it in.
- I can crack a coconut exactly in half
- I can alter a knee-length top and convert it into a blouse for a sari
- I can find a use for just about any scrap — blame it on growing up in a thrifty (but not stingy) family!
- I cry every time I hear a group of kids singing or when I hear an ambulance’s siren. I mean, the tears just involuntarily flow.
- I can remember what someone was wearing when I first met them.
- I watch a show/movie fully even if I don’t really like it because…Zeigarnik effect. Same with a bad book. I just cannot leave something unfinished!
- I can talk audibly with my mouth shut.
- I can move my ears up and down.
- In the 80s and 90s I could remember the top 10 lists of songs.
I think I’ll stop there.
Liberty: Well, that’s an impressive list! Although, I would say that some of those are quite useful! Like taking off your bra without removing your top (I’ve had occasion to do the same and it was extremely useful!)
Also your superpower with the right size container! I mean, you could be saving loads of time on trying the wrong ones and then having to wash them, or wasting needed fridge space with one that’s too big. A massively useful talent, for sure!
Same with finding uses for scraps and converting a long top into a blouse for a sari! Handy skills!
5. What kind of secret club would you start, and what would you do in it?
I’d start a Random Acts of Kindness club and make it a worldwide organization where the sole focus of the members is to perform acts of kindness and help people. Especially underprivileged children and the elderly.
Liberty: I’d join that club in a heartbeat!
6. You’re an artist. You have lots of jars of paint. The beige one is having an identity crisis. Is it ecru? Is it eggshell? Is it cream? It doesn’t help that a lot of people say beige isn’t even a colour! What are some of the conversations between him and the other colours?
I cannot stop laughing at this question. I am colorblind and wouldn’t know ecru from eggshell and cream. Yes, I know those shades exist — it is just that I cannot identify them. I’d be confused. I’d tell Mr Beige not to worry, because the right person will come along and choose him. His convo with the other colors would go something like this:
Beige: Hi! I am beige.
Ecru: I am ecru
Eggshell: I am eggshell
And so on and so forth with the other colors in the spectrum. By the time they are all done introducing themselves, they’ll have formed groups; some would be shades of the same color, while others might be contrasting opposites-attract types of groups. They’d be busy getting to know each other and sharing their experiences. They’d be having fun, fascinated with each other.
As for me, I stick to black and white sketching. I don’t risk colors. In school, I remember painting skies mauve and leaves brown and water …. Well never mind. As a woman who’s colorblind, I am unique. That’s my takeaway!
Liberty: Awww, your colours are much more amicable than mine. I envisioned them giving Beige a hard time. A couple of them picking on him, one or two snickering in the corner and pointing, another one sticks up for him, an argument ensues…! You know, playground stuff!
Or he’s in a therapist’s office.
Or “C” Both of the above 🤪
7. Where do you think missing socks go?
Nowhere. They just hide at home, sick and tired of being pulled this way and that and being called stinky! Hehe. They’d be plotting the revenge of the socks!
Liberty: Haha! Oh, dear, I wonder what their revenge could be? To become even stinkier so everyone leaves them alone?!
8. Is cereal soup? Why/why not?
Depends on how you eat it. If you eat it dry, it is a snack. If you soak it in hot milk… Yuck. In cold milk…yum. In yogurt… meh. Yogurt deserves to go solo and enjoyed.
Liberty: I have a complicated relationship with cereal but I’ll leave that soap opera for another day. 🤦🏻♀️
9. Harvey the moth got fired from his job pollinating flowers. What did he do to get in trouble?
He probably ventured out afar from his work territory and got fascinated by the big wide world. Then suddenly realized he hadn’t told his boss he was taking time off. Sigh. But he’s not worried about being fired because he’s now discovered the big wide world and knows there’s always a job or two for him!
Liberty: As long as he doesn’t need a reference from his previous boss! 😂
10. Why do superheroes wear their underpants on the outside?
Well, why not? They’re just setting a trend. Go superheroes! On a serious note, they wear one-piece suits so — the underwear gives them shape? Also, it makes their fit sculpted butts cute!
Liberty: 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
11. Is there anything unusual about you or your life that you would like to share?
Mmmm…Nope. Oh well, okay — I have ghost-written books on some interesting topics such as dating advice for men. And some years ago, I wrote a series of erotica stories just to win a bet. It happened because I criticized a story my friend forwarded to me and he dared me to write something better. Still getting the occasional fan mail! 😏
Also, I have the talent to adjust to any situation quickly and can be pretty detached — and not make things personal. Comes from a lifetime of practice facing tough times with Mom and basically learning to be grateful for anything that is good in life, no matter how trivial.
Liberty: Ahhh, beautiful that you can adapt so well. I hear you there…! As you said, a lifetime of practice and facing tough times will do that for you.
Fascinating about you writing erotica to win a bet! And fun that you still get fan mail! Hehe!!
Thanks so much, Vidya, for your wonderful responses and sharing a bit more of who you are. It was fun to read your responses and see what you did with the goofier of the questions.
Here’s how you can support Vidya in a big way:
I wrote a very short story about Vidya’s heart of gold — and about how she works endlessly to support our writing community on Medium, even though she will never earn one penny for it. I see complaints all the time from people who aren’t earning as much as they’d like. Well, count your blessings. You, too, could live in India where you aren’t allowed to join Medium’s Partner Program.
For those of you who don’t know, Vidya’s mission in life is to improve the lives of underprivileged children. She donates part of her income to her local welfare homes. Perhaps you would considering supporting her via Ko-Fi, so she can have an even bigger impact on those in need.
Next week, Sally Prag answers another set of dopey questions! Stay tuned for more silliness!
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