Whenever I scroll through my Facebook page, I stop at the updates of . Even when I was younger, I used to look forward to reading its column in The Times of India. Needless to say, when I had scheduled a meet with the Director of “Speaking Tree”, I had my questions ready!

I met Shivangi Tewari in the appropriate, classic MGDian attire. We’re easy to spot, y’know! Dressed in a casual sweatshirt and jeans with big hoop earrings, we met at a city lounge.

“I didn’t know you were writing”, I said to her.

She held on to a massive grin and nodded, “I have always loved writing!”

Being the Director of something as big as “The Speaking Tree”, she had effectively blown my mind away. They say, no one’s ever too old or young to accomplish goals. And I agree 100%.

Me: Tell us about your journey to The Speaking Tree.

Shivangi: I was a writing enthusiast back in school, and that’s when it all began. I ran into a national competition for Speaking Tree and was fortunate enough to be one of the top four students who got selected. It was painstaking but worth it.

Me: The Speaking Tree concentrates on spiritual stuff, I had no idea you were into it.

Shivangi: To be honest, I’m not. But when you begin working for someone, somewhere down the line you’ve to follow the norms they’ve set, of course, creativity is possible, but only within the predefined notions. I love working here; it’s good in the way that it has allowed me to push myself to an extent that I didn’t know I could go.

Me: I’m sure there’s some part of you that is spiritual, or even emotional. Let’s talk about that.

Shivangi: You are right. I’ve always been an avid supporter of nukkad nataks. They get to the depths of an issue and chop it off the roots. It might take a while, but it’s more efficient than we think. Whenever I find an opportunity, I take out the time to participate in ones that focus on issues like rape and women empowerment to name a few.

Me: So coming from a women’s blog, I can’t help but ask. Have you always had the mindset to implement a change towards women empowerment?

Shivangi: No, not really. I think the turning point for me will have to be the Nirbhaya case. It completely shook me from within. 

Me: Moving on, tell me who inspires you the most?

Shivangi: I’ve been meeting a lot of people since the time I began working. And by a lot of people, I mean some of the most inspirational ones. , Salman Rushdie are among them. When Barkha Dutt speaks, everyone listens. Despite the controversies, which I don’t care about, I’m strongly inspired by her.

Me: What is the ultimate goal for you?

Shivangi: I do have one, but I’m afraid you’ll laugh.

Me: Well, we can laugh together.

Shivangi: My friends tell me that I’m super silly for wanting this, but I want to write the biography of “Ranbir Kapoor”, and I’m going to call it “The boy who never grew up.”

Me: Dreams are dreams! But why would you call it “The boy who never grew up”?

Shivangi: When Deepika and Ranbir were promoting their movie ‘Tamasha’, Ranbir was asked a question about what he’d name his biography if he ever has one. He thought for a bit and answered, “The boy who never grew up”. Most people probably ignored it, but it is true, isn’t it? Of course, my friends call me crazy, but I’m going to do it.

Me: That’s an interesting dream, and I hope it comes true. But what if someone else writes it before you do?

Shivangi: Trust me, they won’t. 

I’d love to see that day, Shivangi. It could also be the day we review the biography of Ranbir Kapoor and jump around specifying that we knew the idea long before anyone else! After our hasty cups of fresh lime sodas, which by the way, I clumsily dropped onto myself, we got a couple of pictures clicked, at the photo spot of the lounge.

Yay!

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