My pen name is "Ichha" (Desire), and that's how I introduce myself first. Since childhood, I've had a habit of picking up anything I found worth learning, wherever I came across it. I used to keep a diary as a child. Back then, television was a new thing, and even while watching TV, I would note things down in my diary.
As time passed, I grew up, got married, and drifted away from all of it. That desire quietly settled into a corner of my heart. But once I was free from the burden of responsibilities, that same desire awakened again.
My childhood was filled with verses from the Ramcharitmanas, poems by Mahadevi Verma, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, Rashtrakavi Dinkar, Sumitranandan Pant, "Ek Bhartiya Atma" Makhanlal Chaturvedi, and the devotional poetry of Mirabai, Surdas, Kabir, and Rahim-I spent my early years humming their lines. I even gave speeches on Tulsi Jayanti in school, and I owe that entirely to my father. He would write the speeches for me, and I would memorize and recite them. I still remember the joy of returning home with a prize in hand.