Why do we love Jhilam Gupta? For her completely relatable content on social media. For her unmatched, light-hearted depiction of Bengali middle-class sensibility with its lovable quirks and habits, right down to often-used terms and phrases. For effortlessly bringing alive with her brand of humour many small things that we tend to miss in our rushed daily lives. And yes, we also love her for smoothly transforming herself into her many roles – whether as an interviewer, or actor, or author.
As the Kolkata-based influencer and content creator is now a much-confirmed author with her books – not one or two but three – being released at the 48th International Kolkata Book Fair (on till February 09, 2025 in the city), The Profile Pick took time out to speak to the internet personality with a staggering 635K followers and countless ardent fans who adore her work.
Jhilam Gupta aka Mampu tells The Profile Pick – I loved jotting down my thoughts and have been writing since I was a kid. Since a kid, mark you, when my handwriting still hadn’t taken on a style of its own, and was curvy and all over the place. In school, I was a regular contributor to school magazines and journals. I contributed rhymes and poems regularly.
I wrote and wrote in my childhood but sadly there were almost nil readers of my work. Possibly, if you write lots and lots as a child, few care to read what you have written. Thankfully, I found one dedicated reader, my grandfather, who patiently read all that I would produce – more out of love and affection for me, I guess!
Now, here’s the interesting part. There was another steadfast reader who read and kept boosting my confidence all along, motivating me to keep writing. And, it was none other than Me, Myself. Trust me, I was overwhelmed every time I read my own creation. It seemed to me that they were perfect in every sense.
Then, along came Facebook. People have used this social medium in a variety of ways. I used it to post my videos – along with my writings. I wrote on issues that interested me, on topics that I thought ought to be highlighted, as well as stories – short fiction. It struck me that I could post short stories that would appeal to those who visited my page.
It holds true for any newbie writer that unless your work finds its way to the right publisher and he or she decides to print and publish it, it remains literally unknown. What is more, it is downright tough to get a publisher who is willing to put faith in a stark newcomer’s work. Under such circumstances, I decided to hone my skills and keep leveling up gradually by posting my pieces on Facebook.
Then along came my first published work, Bhoyer Galpo, a collection of eight stories of terror and fear.
For the past three years, I have been devoting a good part of my time to writing, alongside video content creation.
Now, my three books are ready for release. (The volumes have been subsequently released at the 48th IKBF). They are – Jalchobidaer Album from The Café Table, Lebu-Lozenge from Shabdo Prokashon Kolkata, Chotobelar Sindabad from Spout Prakashan. The last is loaded with 90s nostalgia for those who grew up in that decade. Millennials who grew up in this part of the country will find it loaded with lots of cultural cornerstones of the decade – para culture, hanging out with friends, playing harmless pranks on one another, rolling in open fields and coming home covered in dust.
With inputs from Antaripa Mukherjee and Neha Karmakar
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