VINAYA WALAVALKAR

Sampada Kunkolienkar has an ardent reader. She has now graduated from being a reader to writer. Right from penning columns in various newspapers in Marathi and Konkani to having nine titles under her belt, she has been one of the most sought after writer in the State. She is a column writer in newspapers like Navaprabha, Lokmat, Sunapranth, Gomantak and Bhangarbhui.
“Ever since my childhood days I had a flare for reading.. It was my favorite hobby and still is a part of my life and it was also the way through which I got into my line of work,” says Sampada who is certified diploma holder in electronics and communication.
“Even during my time as a student I was always reading and in that process I came across ‘the monk who sold his Ferrari’ by Robin Sharma. This book was my inspiration to become an author and ever since my focus on positive thinking grew,” she explained.
Born in a family of writers, Sampada followed footfalls of her mother Jyoti Kunkolienkar. “My career started with an article in Navaprabha in June 2009 which was widely appreciated by the readers. This boosted my confidence in my writing. It was the starting point of my journey as an author,” he said.
“My first book ‘Mysterious Power’ was published in 2010. It was in English.
I am a vigorous reader, such that I have atleast 15 unread books in my house stacked at any given point of time so that I don’t run short of books. She has finished reading more than 100 books.”
“During this process of reading, I came across the works of Mr. Ravindra Kelkar, after this there was no looking back, I just couldn’t stop myself form reading all his work but I just didn’t stop at reading it but I also went on to do an in-depth study of his literature. While I was doing the study I realized that one’s own mother tongue is the best medium to express oneself freely,” said Sampada.
“This made me realize that if I can write in English than why can’t I express myself in a language that is so close to my heart and soul. Since that day I began writing in Konkani as well.”
“My parents have always been a huge source of motivation and support throughout my journey. I was always given the freedom to decide for myself and they trusted my decision. Off course my family having a literary background owing to my mother’s reputation in the literature field was a good ground for my choices to be understood.”
Being daughter of Jyoti Kunkolienkar had several plus points, but Sampada recalls one minus point too which she took as an inspiration in a very positive way. “In my early phase this also was a little bit of a hiccup as when my work used to be published my friends teased me that my mother might have had a hand in it’s creation, but as for me I took it as a compliment as people could see that level of expertise in my writing as my mother. It did make me feel proud.”
Sampada says her mother has always been a source of inspiration for me but I always wanted to make an identity of my own for my satisfaction as an author.
When she was asked how she feels about her achievements, she had two instances to express her feelings of joy.
She recollected the time when Bhakti Kulkarni- a well known chess player, said in her interview, “I read book Mysterious Mind by Sampada Kunkolienkar during the Asian competition and I must say that book helped me tremendously.”
Secondly I always feel that when one’s work reached the common man and he appreciates and understands it, that is the time when one has really achieved something in real.
One day when I was in a queue to cast my vote, the person who was marking my hand with ink recognized me and began to appreciate my work and he also was curious about my future plans. I was the happiest I could be as that day I had achieved what I wanted to achieve through my work.
She said that till now her literature mostly revolved around mind power but from past two years I have began researching on world philosophy. By now I have studied Indian philosophy, Chinese wisdom and Greek philosophy. Currently I am focusing on Bhagwat Geeta.
Sampada said after completing her study on world philosophy it is her dream to make it available the same in konkani.