Pratiksha Thanki @Lisbon
Those who’re into travelling places, would love reading this interview of Pratiksha Thanki. She basically hails from Gujarat but now residing in Germany. She’s a journalist, a writer and a frequent traveler. In this interview, she shines more light on these parts of her experiences. The best part I myself liked reading about this interview is the lines when she said “….It may sound cheesy but the process of discovering the world helps you discover yourself.” How true it is!
So, if this interests you a bit… the further reading will be more interesting for sure.
Interview
Q.: What evokes you to write?
Ans.: Inspiration to write comes from different corners. It could come from a good book, a historical castle, painting, unique software or simply being surrounded by natural beauty. It will be safe to say that everything evokes me to write. I grew up in a very literary environment at home so I end up converting my surroundings and circumstances into inspiration.
Q.: Your roots are in Gujarat. At present you live in Germany. You have also written a book in Gujarati language named “Europe Ma Harta Farta” – Europe through the eyes of a Gujarati – Gurjar Prakashan [A travel book]. Do tell us about your connection to traveling in different parts of the world.
@Venice Grand Canal
Ans.: I grew up in Gujarat and have been working for Gujarati print media since I was in college. Later on I also ended up working as a Feature Writer and Correspondent for The Times of India in Ahmedabad for a couple of years. My husband went to Germany on a work project then and I decided to pursue my full-time PhD around that time. This gave us a base in Europe and the continent sort of opened up to us.
I decided to grab the opportunity to travel as much as possible while we’re based here and that has led me to travel to countries like France, Italy, Austria, Greece, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Czech Republic, Spain so far and a lot more is still in the pipeline. Obviously this also led me to a lot of travel writing.
Q.: You have also written another book named Web@home. What’s next from your writing bucket?
Ans. Web@home came in very early in my career while I was still doing my Masters, dabbling in new technologies and finding my niche. Web@home started as a newspaper column in the Gujarati daily Jansatta-Loksatta in 1999, introducing people to the Internet. I wanted to bring this fascinating technology to my Gujarati readers. For TOI, I’ve written hundreds of articles and interviews on every possible feature subject. Later on the travel experiences and boat loads of reading made me realize I do not need to tie myself down to a single genre. Now I am in the process of writing fiction as well as non-fiction pieces in English and Gujarati.
@ Road to Plato's academy, Athens
Q.: What is the best part of traveling to different places of the world?
Ans.: Traveling changes your perspective to life. The uncertainties of constantly being on the move prepare you for a variety of experiences, food, languages, people and landscape. Real travel experiences free you from a lot of cultural prejudices. It may sound cheesy but the process of discovering the world helps you discover yourself.
Q.: Your also blog at http://www.pratikshathanki.com/ (Never lost for words…). How does blogging act as a creative part in your writing journey?
Ans.: Blogging means freedom to experiment with forms. I’ve been blog-hopping since 2003 on different platforms like Blogspot, Yahoo 360, WordPress, Rediff blogs, O3 Indiatimes blogs and more. I’m on my own domain since three years now. When writing for a magazine, newspaper or preparing a book means you’ve certain word, subject and format constraints. My blog is a personal space where I’m not bound to write in any particular way. This way, many blog posts also end up as warm up exercises for serious writing.
@Barcelona Sagrada Familia
Q.: Something special you would like to share with SpeakBindas, which you have not talked about yet?
Ans.: I’m pretty much hooked to Audio Books at present. Past decade has changed a lot, from the way we read, use technology to the way we travel. I wish I could read a lot more than I can at present. Why just me, I wish everyone in the world can read a lot more. After all, you can travel the whole world through words if you pick up the right book. Another thing on my mind at present is to find a balance between the pulp books and the literati.
Devang Vibhakar is the Founder and Editor of www.SpeakBindas.com. He has interviewed more than 350 people. His effort was recognized by Limca Book of Records, twice. He has been to Scotland as well as Germany as part of vocational & cultural exchange programs and has compiled five books so far. He's passionate about bringing forth interesting stories & interviews of entrepreneurs to avid readers of SpeakBindas. He can be reached 
Its always good reading about Pratiksha Thanki and her pieces of writing. Always find something interesting there…..
Ya, i am agree with varsha’s comment about Pratiksha Thanki and his writing skills,
she is always innovative & come up with something new & interesting, Her book “Europe Ma Harta Farta” is amazing.
Imagine a child reciting the nursery rhyme “Pussycat pussycat, where have you been?”
“I’ve been up to London to visit the Queen.” before you, when you visit her home … And one day you are FORTUNATE enough to learn about London and its 500 odd miles surroundings from the same child… who is now introduced to the world as a journalist, a writer and a frequent traveler… proud moment, isn’t it?
I have completed more then 150 pages of ” Europe ma Harta Farta ” ,as she declared in beginning of the writing that, it is not ” Tick marks ” aa patavyu, phalanu patavyu, have 2, 3 spots patavvana baki chhe. Right ! It is a virtual experience, which remains always in life. I will write some thing special in my blog after completing entire book.
I know about the writing talent by Pratiksha Tahnki since she was doing her Post Graduation and even later where she contributed as content provider for the television series ‘Digital Funda’. She can write for non-fiction and fiction both as she has family background and also she is surrounded by many creative people.
I wish her all the best.