Woman Times recently had an opportunity to have a heart to heart conversation with Soma Lahiri, the Editor of Sukhi Grihokon – a periodical from the House of ‘Bartaman’. Soma Lahiri is one of those women who stay grounded despite their remarkable success and repute preceding them. She has shared with us many little anecdotes of her journey at the publication and even a few suggestions for budding writers…Interview by Poulami Chakraborty, written by Jahnabi Mitra.
Draped in a saree well platted and accompanied by subtle and matching pieces of jewelry and as we started off the interview the lady in purple reminisced how she by chance encountered Bartaman’s the then editor Barun Sengupta and the sudden visit to a friend at their office led to her appointment at the publication as a Fashion Feature Writer. Adhering much respect to Barun Sengupta she calls ‘Bartaman’ as her family. She shares a small yet significant incident of learning from Mr. Sengupta. She recalls an incident where she was scolded by him for using a ‘twisted headline’ for an article. “A writer should be able to reach the mass” is what she kept mentioning throughout. A writer should be able to express in simple, articulate and easily comprehensible language is the takeaway she has for all upcoming writers and journalists. Though dealing with her old school of thought the veteran weaver of words, Soma Lahiri, believes that one needs to be flexible with time and must allow change to progress and with that comes her acceptance of little twisting of headlines when needed. Apart from that she also suggests regular reading and thorough research on a subject before starting a new project. But she realizes that the new generation is impulsive and less into research which she wishes may get corrected. The deplorable condition of the new generation Public Relation also shakes her soul as those who come to her without any knowledge of the newspaper does not care of the groundwork and she stresses on the homework that one must do before jumping into any work.
When we asked her if there is anything she regrets about her journey as an editor so far, she says,
“I wish I wasn’t much of a people’s person as I am now”.
She mentions, quite ironically, that she often regrets being the approachable person she is now. The celebrity status is much missing with Lahiri’s profile but as one interacts with her shall come to know the in-depth knowledge she has inculcated within her in so many years.
She confesses that she often ends up rewriting many of articles whenever she feels that the writing needs to improve. The reason for it, she says, is her inability to be harsh towards her juniors. Her inability to be stern to the juniors makes her work for the others’ share of work as well. However, we believe what Lahiri considers as her regrets are what makes her a gem of a person.
Soma Lahiri also shares with us a few wise words on her viewpoint about the work-life balance for any woman. As we poked her on being busy at the office and taking care of the family if becomes burdensome at times she smiles and denies saying,
“If you think of it as a burden, it will become one. Cooking a meal for my family after a day’s work at the office is an enjoyable task for me. I feel relaxed.”
Lahiri also enjoys a good read while winding up. Adding to her domestic portfolio, Soma Lahiri and her husband are good at parenting who has taught her daughter to be independent, who went to Paris with a loan on her own, studied and managed a job all without her parents’ help, is much that teaches one about good parenting.
As she answers our question of her schedule after retirement (which has few more years) that she will take up to writing scripts for serials. As she mentions ‘serials’ her lips twists to her side beaming about writing scripts where women will be plotted as vamps (she laughs).
We are more than privileged to have shared this conversation with Soma Lahiri and we hope she’ll keep inspiring the generations to come both as a woman and a veteran editor.
