Ballaleshwar Tela was born in a small town called Umarkhed in the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra. He completed his schooling at the prestigious Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Yavatmal. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics and Mathematics and a master’s degree in Management. After a brief career in the corporate sector, he transitioned to academics, teaching and tutoring mathematics to secondary and higher secondary students. He also coaches table tennis and chess for young players in his hometown, Umarkhed. His work, The Delusions, is inspired by poets like William Wordsworth and Robert Frost.
The Literature Times: What inspired you to write The Delusions and share your journey through poetry?
Ballaleshwar Tela: I studied at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya which is a CBSE school. We had splendid English Literature course in our syllabus which included poems of literary giants like William Wordsworth and Robert Frost. Particularly, Wordsworth’s ‘Lucy Grey’ and Frost’s ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ impressed and inspired me. These poems had lasting impressions on me and I always dreamt of writing my own poems in their style.
The Literature Times: How did your personal experiences with schizophrenia shape the themes and tone of the book?
Ballaleshwar Tela: The book’s tone progresses in a logical sequence. First it explores love, then suffering, then meaninglessness due to suffering and then it covers enlightenment and my experiences onwards. Lastly there are poems on the death which exposes my views on existential questions. As I went on writing poem after poem, my symptoms of schizophrenia went on improving and when I was done with forty poems, I was fully recovered and normalised with a matured understanding of questions posed by material and spiritual sides of life.
The Literature Times: The book explores a quest for love, meaning, and success. How did you balance these diverse themes within your poetry?
Ballaleshwar Tela: As I have mentioned in introduction of the book, the book is essentially an expression of quest. Unlike most people, I can remember my feelings or what I had felt at a moment in past. When I decided to write this book, I depended heavily on my memory. I wrote the book in such a way that it covers my thoughts, feelings, and experiences from my youth to middle age written in poems. As reader goes from poem to poem, he will have glimpses of my life as I lived it. Since, anybody’s life can not be told in single theme, the book naturally went on to become a diverse yet complete and accessible in its own way.
The Literature Times: How did poets like William Wordsworth and Robert Frost influence your writing style in The Delusions?
Ballaleshwar Tela: Though I was not aware of technicalities of writing poetry, I am good at finding patterns in things thanks to my background in Physics and Mathematics. All I knew was that I wanted to write poems and they must be lyrical and rhyming like the poems I mentioned earlier. So, I had a story to tell in poems and an inspirations like Wordsworth and Frost. In this way this poetry collection become reality.
The Literature Times: What challenges did you face while expressing such personal and introspective experiences through poetry?
Ballaleshwar Tela: The first and foremost challenge was psychological. I had no literary background though I am well read. This barrier or doubt that whether I will be able to complete the work always posed challenge in my way. But I went writing anyhow. When I approached Astitva Prakashan for publishing the work, only then I felt happy when they conveyed me that the work is worthy of publication and reaching larger audience.
The Literature Times: Can you share how your background in science and mathematics impacts your creative writing process?
Ballaleshwar Tela: I wanted to be a mathematician when I chose science stream for higher studies. But the rigidity and lack of creative approach in university discouraged me to pursue my dream. Eventually I ended up in management school. I went on working in corporates like eClerx and TCS and though, I had a good job, I felt dissatisfied by mediocracy in corporate culture accompanied by lacking of support for creative pursuits. I left my corporate job and pursued my hobbies like teaching, coaching sports, and writing.
The Literature Times: How does the title The Delusions reflect the central message or essence of the book?
Ballaleshwar Tela: In schizophrenia, one has distorted view of reality. This state of mind is called as delusional thinking. Since, I knew I had schizophrenia and I was not sure if my thoughts are based in reality or if they are logical, I decided to put the title of the book ‘The Delusions’.
The Literature Times: As a teacher and mentor in your hometown, how do your professional experiences influence your literary works?
Ballaleshwar Tela: I believe in being happy. A happy mind is creative and responsive to things. My teaching and mentorship help me spend my time happily and so when I am happy, I can play with words by writing poetry.
The Literature Times: What do you hope readers will take away from The Delusions, particularly regarding mental health and resilience?
Ballaleshwar Tela: In schizophrenia, often people feel hopelessness and meaninglessness. They are not able to live life like normal people do i.e. work, earn, spend and be happy. I had important discovery while writing this book and it is that though to people with mental health issues perceive life meaningless, the meaning can be constructed by revising good memories of past like school life. The way I found my true calling in writing poetry, someone may find it in something else essentially things which one has enjoyed in past. I strongly feel that one should return to roots, to find meaning and purpose in life when one feels lost.
The Literature Times: Are there any future projects or themes you’re excited to explore in your writing?
Ballaleshwar Tela: Certainly, I am going to continue writing poetry and I have a plan to write a book about art of finding meaning and purpose. I feel pity about people who reaches their middle age and still have existential questions, feel a sense of dread and are unhappy because they have not found their true purpose in life. I expect to publish this book in May 2025.
Thank you.
