Reading is the closest I get to meditation: Prajakta Koli

On World Book Day yesterday, actress and content creator Prajakta Koli spoke to us about the profound role books have played in her life. Excerpts...

From digital creator to actress to now author, did Little Prajakta ever imagine this journey? Was storytelling always a part of your dream or did it find you along the way?
When I was younger, I always knew that I had to be in some kind of performing arts. I always knew that I'm either going to be on stage or I'm going to be on camera or I'm going to be in a studio behind a mic. It was always a part of it.
Also, now that I think back, there are so many signs that tell that I always wanted to be a part of or I always wanted to be a creator and tell stories in whatever way or form that I could. So I could say that I did find the ways or the processes of making this come true along the way. But I genuinely do also think that I've always wanted to do this. It has always been a part of my dream.

Did you write as a child? Journals, sacred poems, scribble stories, what was your relationship with words you were writing?
I did actually. I was very, very young when I started journaling. I grew up a single child and I've always been, I wouldn't call myself an introvert, but I've always had a lot of friends and I've always kind of had these people around me. I was always very close to my parents as well, but I also did always enjoy spending time by myself. I would color, I would read a lot.
And I remember my father and my mother buying me one of my first journals saying, why don't you write about your day? At that time, they also used to say that handwriting will also improve after practicing. So that is literally how I started writing, where then I would write about my day, like I'm telling a story about my day to people or to a friend. And that's how it started.
For many, many years, till I think about 2023, I have been religiously journaling. It's in the past couple of years, I think now that I think of it, it was after I started writing the book. Actually, the journaling kind of is now a part of my tough days. But otherwise, always. Never poems or scribble stories. It was always journaling.

What was your most cherished memory related to books or reading?
I will never forget the day my mama bought me my copy of Anne Frank's diary, the diary of a young girl. And that book has changed my life in more ways than one. That will always be very, very special. I also remember the exact store that we bought it from. She also got it wrapped for me. She wrote a very sweet note inside for me and I happen to cherish that copy a lot. And favorite corner to read? Honestly, I can read anywhere. I can sit anywhere and just read.
I carry my Kindle everywhere with me. My Kindle is like my emotional support object. So it's attached to my body at all times. So I will read anywhere, everywhere. I'll read between shots. I'll read when I'm taking a break.
I'll read when I'm getting my hair and makeup done. I will read when I am traveling. I will read before bed.
I will read as soon as I wake up. It's all the time. And my bedtime ritual is that I actually read right before I go to sleep. So many times I fall asleep with my Kindle in my hand. But I sleep so well.

In a world buzzing with AI screen time and endless scrolls, how important is reading today? Do you think books will hold the power to slow us down and connect us to ourselves?
They always have held that power. And I honestly think that we are missing out. Everyone who doesn't kind of tap into that power is really, really missing out. For me, reading is the closest I get to meditation.
For someone like me in the job that I have, there are multiple tabs open in my mind at all times. There are 100 voices trying to speak and say something at all times. But when I'm reading, there's just that one tab open.
When I'm reading, it's just that one voice of the author that I'm listening to. And it calms me tremendously. So I think, yeah, they hold that power that it does.
I wouldn't say it slows us down, honestly. I wouldn't say because there are books that have gotten my heartbeat racing. There are books that have made me pace in my room while I read them.
There are books that have gotten me stressed at the same time. But it does help you make a beautiful relationship with the voice in your head.

What, in your opinion, is the real significance of World Book Day in today's fast-paced world? Is it just about nostalgia or does it go deeper for you?
I'll be very honest with you. And might not be the right thing to say, especially today. But I didn't know it was World Book Day. I found out when you asked me to talk about this to you. I actually had absolutely no clue. Books have been very, very dear companions of me, of mine, for years, ever since I was a child. It started with Tinkle Comics, then went on to the whole Annette Blyton collections of Famous Fives and Secret Sevens and Hardy Boys and then the Nancy Drews and the Agatha Christie novels and the Haruki Murakami novels.
And I had a whole phase of reading biographies and autobiographies. And then I went through a whole mythological fiction phase. Then I went into romance and I haven't stopped ever since.
So they've been my companions every day. So every day for me is Book Day. But I like that we have a day specially dedicated to something that brings so much joy and peace and calm to so many people.

Is there a book you consider your literary soulmate? Something you return to time and again for comfort, answers or inspiration?
I actually never quite re-read books. But there are some books that stay back. For me, Maharani Gayatri Devi's autobiography, A Princess Remembers is one of them. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami is one of them. The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee is one of them. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is one of them.
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Dr Joseph Murphy is one of them. So many, so many that I will kind of go to and I don't mean to sound annoying or cheeky about this but genuinely every time I feel low on inspiration, I open my book on Kindle and I am not saying I go through my words and I look up to myself but I keep going to my book or I will take a copy of my book because every now and then I try to tell myself that if I can do this, I can continue writing.
So it also happens to be, also the reactions that I see to the book happen to be a continuous form of inspiration for me.

Your top three all-time favourite books and why?
I cannot pick top three but if I had to, okay, I already mentioned them but number one has to be The Diary of a Young Girl. Number two has to be Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Number three has to be The Last Queen by Kshetra Banerjee and the guilty pleasure is The Twisted Series by Anna Hwang. Oh my god, I'm obsessed.

Has writing your own book changed the way you now read other people's stories? Do you notice different things like structure, voice, emotion more acutely now?
You know, I was really expecting that I would but I'm really not and I'm kind of glad and relieved that I'm not because I tend to also get very also very quickly pick up on patterns that I enjoy. Like for example, if I'm traveling to a place, it's a very lousy example but it'll just help me in explaining to you what I mean. When I travel to a place and if there's a very distinct accent, I subconsciously, I will pick it up and I'll not realize that I'm doing that. Similarly, I hyper fixate on genres and food and music when it comes to any kind of pleasure from art or creation. So, I'm kind of also glad that I'm not overthinking everything I'm reading because there's a high chance I would adapt to that and then that would reflect in my writing going ahead. So, not really.

How do you manage to find time for reading in your hectic life as a content creator and actor?
I think, I was the snob who never wanted to move away from physical books. I was like, no, no, no. I need to, you know, feel the texture of the page and I need to smell my book when I'm reading it.
But I moved to a Kindle and life becomes so much easier. First of all, it's very, very convenient to take everywhere with you and you can literally read anytime, anywhere. So, I think it's just that it's just about snatching every single spare moment.
If your life so far were a book, what would the title be and why? I think I would just call it Mostly Sane because the older I get, the more work I do under this handle of mine, the more sense it makes to me. When I called, when I decided to call my channel Mostly Sane more than 10 years ago, I really didn't think much of it. It was literally a very random phrase that, like a term that came to my mind.
I'm like, you know what, let me just call it this. But the older I get and the more work I keep doing and the way that my life kind of keeps changing. I know it's not a savory answer, but honestly, it makes a lot of sense to me.


What are your upcoming projects?
So, I have a show that I finished shooting called Andhera for OTT that should be out. It's very different from anything I've done before. It's a supernatural thriller, which is quite exciting. Then I finished shooting another show for another OTT platform that I'm very, very excited about. And I am currently shooting a show for the same OTT platform. I also have begun working on book number two, which is exciting.
But again, it's very, very initial. And then we have a couple of really exciting announcements that should be coming through anytime soon now that I'm really looking forward to. So yeah, 2025 is quite exciting.