A dreamer, who believes in making the world a better place, Nzan Kikon has much to offer through his work. When he isn’t busy reading, you can find him pursuing his profession as a counselling psychologist. We chatted with him as he launches his book, ‘The Starry Night’, a book based on family drama with a psychological theme on living with mental illness, family bond, forgiveness, second chance. 

Nzan Kikon

• Tell us a little bit about who you are, where are you from, and what you have been up to?

Hi, my name is Nzan Kikon, and I’m 31 years old, residing in Kohima, Nagaland. I am a dreamer who believes in making the world a better place, for those who are here today, and those who will be replacing us. I am also a Science enthusiast, where I believe that embracement of Science will propel us to a time where we can only dream of now. I am also an avid book lover, with my ultimate goal to build my own library at some point in time. By profession, I am a Counselling Psychologist and love studying the human mind and human behaviour. It is quite a powerful understanding of why people do the things they do.

 

I am a dreamer who believes in making the world a better place, for those who are here today, and those who will be replacing us.

• Introduce your work to us. What got you started?

My first book is titled “The Starry Night” it is a family drama with a psychological theme. It is a book that talks about living with mental illness, family bond, forgiveness, second chance, amongst many myriads of things.

• What initially sparked your interest in this field?

I grew up in a family of book lovers. I would invariably see my family (mom, sister and brother) with their faces buried in novels. When my turn came, I picked up my first novel by Sidney Sheldon at the age of 14 and ever since then I have not looked back. I have no clear recollection of when my interest in this field started but learning to love literature at a young age sparked an interest in writing, I believe that the natural corollary for a true reader is to write one day.

• How have your roots/upbringing influenced your work or working style?

As I grew up in a family that often indulged reading, I believe that has influenced the work that I am doing now. I often say that I give credit to my mother for my love for reading and the decision to become a full-time writer.

• What do you do full time? If part-time, how do you manage to indulge in your hobby?

As of now, I write full time. But when I take a break from writing, I take clients for counselling which I enjoy as much as I enjoy writing.

• What’s your creative/work philosophy-where do you take inspiration from?

Inspiration can come from anywhere, anyone or anything, I take inspiration from the books that I read and from those special moments in life where get into deep rumination. But most of my inspiration comes from the time I spend contemplating alone. Being alone can be very addictive and teeming with ideas if we know where to look.

• What do you hope people take away from your art?

After I released my first book I received feedback. It went something like these “I see myself so much in Zaren”, “I can see my mother in Adi” “I started crying in the middle of the book” and many more (Zaren and Adi are the characters in the book The Starry Night). Getting to hear such responses tells me that I have done my job and that’s what I want people to take away from my work. I hope people will see themselves in the work that I do, I hope it inspires people. When I know that I have inspired people I will be assured that I am doing something right.

• Tell us about your latest work/project/art piece.

My second and latest book is called “The Unlikely Indians”, it’s a book that birthed out of my experience with my five close friends travelling the expanse of India twice. It’s a book about camaraderie, culture, experience, humour, India and so on.