Upanishads for Sirshendu, psychiatrist for Debajyoti: Fighting writer's block

Rangan Chakravarty's Baari Tar Bangla revolves around how the protagonist, Rupchand Sen (Saswata Chatterjee), is faced with writer's block and finally overcomes it. Taking it from there, CT asked a few creative people from the city about how they overcome their writer's block in real life. Here's what they had to say...

RANGAN CHAKRAVARTY, DIRECTOR: Writer's block is a major problem faced by almost all authors I know. All my life, I had to write professionally in two languages.Sometimes, this creates problems for me, as I think of something in one language and have to express it in another. But I can't afford a writer's block for too long, as writing is my profession. A strong cup of black coffee has always helped me overcome the block.

SIRSHENDU MUKHOPADHYAY, WRITER: It's a very common problem and in my case, it stays from two-three hours to even seven-eight days at times. I generally stop writing and try to motivate myself my reading the Upanishads or other religious texts. Meditation also helps.

DEBAJYOTI MISHRA, COMPOSER: It's more of a musical block in my case. And when I face it, I visit a psychiatrist like Rupchand did in Baari Tar Bangla and that helps. The more I talk and share my problems with the psychiatrist, the more my block seems to fade away . That apart, I also visit the National Library to find solace. Reading helps me a lot.

SUCHITRA BHATTACHARYA, WRITER: I often face this problem, and trust me, it is quite frustrating, as there is always pressure from the publisher's side. But there are times when my mind stops working. I just keep my writing pad and pen in a room that I seldom enter, and either go out and shop till I drop or I shut myself in a room and listen to old Bengali songs. After four-five days, ideas start pouring in and I start writing again.

ANUPAM ROY, SINGER-COMPOSER: I face this problem while writing poems. After writing four-five lines, I suddenly start feeling that it's just not happening the way I want it and I just delete it. For twothree months, I don't even try to think on those particular lines, as no matter what I try to write, it doesn't happen. But frankly speaking, when I am in real pressure, then any kind of block can't stop me from delivering on time.