I am Ashlesha Mahajan—a writer and poetess wandering enthusiastically in the realms of Marathi Literature! I try to put together the emotions in the carnival of urges rising in the depths of my mind in words. I am a deeply emotional and sensitive person.

 

I was born in a small town known as Narayangaon in Junnar Taluka of Pune district (erstwhile Poona). On the one hand I was experiencing the scent of wet earth from the farms of the rural side and on the other the same place metamorphosing into a modernized and urbanized township. In the same town my parents taught in the Guruvarya R. P. Sabnis Vidyamandir later occupying the position of Vice Principal. My primary and secondary education took place here and my character was moulded in the precincts of the school and the town.

 

The atmosphere in my house and school was culturally oriented. My house stocked a lot of literary magazines, books on various subjects. A lot of discussions used to take place in my household on different topics. I was endowed with good essay writing ability. My grammar and handwriting were good. I was pulled in reading and writing at an early age and took a lot of interest in performing arts too. I took part in plays and dance and wrote in handwritten class periodicals regularly.

 

Later I studied arts in S.P. College in Pune for my graduation and simultaneously took a B.A. degree in Sanskrit from Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth. I took master’s degree in political science. I also did a diploma in journalism standing first in Pune University.

 

A did a brief stint in journalism and editing of literary magazines including Diwali issues. However, I shifted to freelancing owing to household responsibilities. I have written columns in newspapers like Lokmat. My stories, serialized and general articles have been published in prestigious literary magazines including Diwali numbers.

 

But my first love is poetry. I like to indulge in rhyme and meter and love to experiment in general poetry and children’s poems. I organize workshops on poetry writing and actively take part in poetry recitals. I also give talks on literature, creativity and related subjects in various institutions.