Interviewee- pahul_gpk
Interviewer- Nandini_001

Nandini: Hello Pahul! First of all, many many congratulations for winning the award for the Best Book Cover! FamiliaDeYUDKBH is immensely happy for ya.

Pahul: Thank you so much!

Nandini: So, let's get started! Every person's name is unique in its own way. Even if you don't like it, its a part of your identity. So, do you know the meaning of your name? If yes, then what it is? And if no, what do u think it would be??

Pahul: Ofcourse I know the meaning of my name. I belong to Sikhism and most of you would be knowing that we Sikhs can get baptized if we wish to. Which is actually known as 'Amrit Chhakna'. So that 'Amrit' or the sacred sweet water which we drink while getting baptized has another name which is "Pahul". So all in all, for a layman, Pahul means Sacred Water or Amrit.

Nandini: Your name is awesome, I must say. Continuing the topic of identity, the most important element of one's identity is their personality. What do you think about your personality? What kind of personality you have? Do you have atleast one word to describe it?

Pahul: In one word, it would be 'fluctuating'. Well, that's so because I don't have one shade, I have thousands of shades in my personality and which person gets to see what side of mine is totally variable. Along with that, I am two people at the same time. I am the most careless, yet the most responsible. I am the most outgoing, yet love to stay alone. I am the most aggressive, yet the most silent. So it's completely fluctuating.

Nandini: Well, as long as you're a good human and kind to everyone, it's totally fine to have any kind of personality, right? Moving on, there's one more similar element of one's identity i.e your beliefs and culture. What's your culture? How and why is it important to you? Is it important to you? What kind of beliefs you have? How does it reflect the way you are?

Pahul: As I said, I belong to Sikhism. But, shouldn't the main culture of everyone be 'humanity'? That's what my religion teaches me. To be humane. We are known for being selfless. Our history speaks about the innumerable times Sikhs have stepped forward to protect others or other religions. So that's the foremost thing which is reflected in the way I lead my life, that no matter who the other person is, he/she would always find me behind, if they are walking on the right path. Our Gurus have taught us to be as strong as lions and as gentle as a dove at the same time and that's how I am. I cannot stand injustice, I cannot stand immorality, I cannot stand discrimination, I cannot stand girls being demeaned because all these things have never been a part of my culture. I guess, I have said enough and people wouldn't really want to read all this. So ya, let's move forward.

Nandini: Nice answer! I've asked you a lot about your identity eh! I won't stretch it anymore. Changing the topic, this interviewer wants to know about your relationship status. Are you single or in a relationship/married? Most importantly, are you happy with it? How does it feel to belong to this collective?

Pahul: Haha! I am totally single. Idhar se, udhar se, har jagah se. (Please imagine Randeep's actions)😂
Okay, jokes apart, I am actually single and not ready to mingle as of now, because career remains the most important. Though I also feel that the right choice of partner, never hampers your career. Also, I feel I have much more to explore right now, both outside and within myself as well. So ya!

Nandini: Being single or taken has both pros and cons, but we have to choose one in the end. So it's better to make a right decision. Holy smokes! I gotta question for ya. What's the most significant decision you've made in your life till now? How is it the most significant of all?

Pahul: Ahem! So the most significant one maybe is the moment I decided to pursue Humanities as my stream. With 98% in 10th standard, I was surrounded by a lot of pressure from all the teachers and relatives to take Science, but Science isn't really my thing. Though I don't hate it, but I never feel a connection with Science. So taking up Humanities, despite the pressure from people all around, I have taken one of the most significant decisions of my life with my parents' support which will eventually shape my future into the arena I have always loved to study or work in.

Nandini: "What an absolutely delightful thought". Wait! I just spoke a dialogue of the iconic movie, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Movies are always fun to watch, be it bollywood or others. Would you like to jot down your favorite movies of all time? Well, why wouldn't you. So let us know about your movie choices before moving on to the next question!

Pahul: Okay! So as I said, I am actually a person with a fluctuating and variable personality, so are my choices regarding everything and movies are no behind. My first and foremost favourite would always remain "Chaar Sahibzaade" (the original one in Pubjabi). That is so because this is that one movie which time and again makes me realise the importance of being truthful and genuine, the importance of staying right. Since it revolves around a very prominent episode of Sikhism, it always shudders my soul to see that movie, and I am time & again motivated to lead a life of righteousness where humanity is above all. Oh god! I can talk for hours about this movie. But, no one would be willing to listen that, so moving forward, my choice of movies ranges from flop ones like "Shandaar" & "Raabta" to superhit ones like "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", "MS Dhoni- The Untold Story" & "Hum Aapke Hain Kaun". I am equally fond of horror & adventure films wherein Hollywood ones are better and "Conjuring" along with "Jurassic Series" remain the topmost favourites. But then, it actually depends on my mood and the way my day is going, that which movie would become my favourite.

Nandini: Movies provide us the visualized form of various scenes for our entertainment. But what if we somehow don't get to watch a movie? The answer is simple, just read! Reading can definitely be the second way to visualize stuff. You're a reader, I know for sure and that's the main reason you're here on Wattpad. And if you're on Wattpad, you must be having either a small or a long journey, right? We all would love to know about your Wattpad journey so far. Why did you choose to read on Wattpad? Are you a writer as well?

Pahul: Okay, so I began my Wattpad journey as a reader only, in March 2019 and I had got to know about it through Instagram. I had come here only because of my love for YUDKBH, and I didn't know I'll find a whole new world here outside YUDKBH. The journey has been crazy so far. I have gradually grown into a better and a more mature person because of Wattpad and for the past two years, Wattpad has been my constant source of solace. My journey here actually went on step by step. From being a silent reader, to the one who just voted, to the one who started leaving at least one comment, to the one who fills people's comment sections with so many comments, to the one who started talking to people here on Wattpad, to the one who connected with fellow readers/writers outside Wattpad as well, and finally to a writer. I have been writing for years now, but all of them used to remain in the secrecy of my diary as I never thought I was worthy of bringing myself out to people. But, Wattpad gave me that confidence. The confidence, that my thoughts are righteous enough to let people know about them, and that, giving a shot to anything never harms you. Infact, it brings out the better version of yourself. So ya, for me, Wattpad has given a new life to me, with moments so ecstatic that I am going to cherish them all forever, then be it the times when I had my best experiences here, to the times I had the worse ones by dealing with insane people here.

Nandini: You've answered a bunch of questions related to your personal life. Here's a refresher dear! Let us shower our best wishes on you for the fulfilment of your future desires. What career desires/plans you have for your future? Have you achieved your goals? If yes, then please share your experience about it. If no, then what kind of efforts you're putting to fulfill your dream?

Pahul: Ah! That's a very very very hard question. So, I still have to give my boards, and I really don't have any idea of what I am gonna do after 12th. This covid situation has sucked up everything. I had always had this dream of getting into civil services, but the way the current government is working with stupid ideologies, the way they are creating differences among people just for their own benefit, and the way they are dragging privatisation into every damn thing, this isn't really working with me, so I have dropped my plan of getting into civil services because I would never want to get into such a government administration where private companies have their hold on governement working. (I hope you people know about the new scheme under which some seats in civil services have been reserved for private companies so that they can send their people in civil services, and indirectly into government administration). My second plan was to go for lectureship, and maybe I'll pursue that. But, I am completely unaware of even what course I am going to opt for after 12th. So it's like I don't know what I am going to do with my future.

Nandini: To achieve a specific career goal, you always have to get yourself prepared for it. That's the reason we go to schools and universities before doing a job. What's your current academic status? Are you studying in a school right now? If yes, then what grade are you in? If no, then where are you studying? Is it a college? Or a university? And if you've already achieved your goals, then it would sound amazing if you give wings to your memories of school/university.

Pahul: As I said earlier, I am flipping through 12th standard, unwillingly waiting for the boards which are nearing soon, and would be hopefully completing my schooling this year.

Nandini: The memories of your school/university never come without your friends. Friends are literally the best, that's all I can say about them. You must be having that one special bestie in your life like others, don't you? How would you describe him/her in three words?

Pahul: Umm.. so, my journey of friendships has been quite weird. One of my very very closest friends just lost his life to cancer a few years back, and I would describe him as an "insanely ambitious wanderer". And I had a friendship breakup with my best friend, 3.5 years back because of his girlfriend, so ya, I would describe him as a "crazy lover boy". Though we are in talking terms now, but things never got same, and honestly, I didn't want them to be back to normal. So ya, that's how my journey with "best friends" has been, and I still love both of them like anything. And in recent times, I have been more into myself than having friends, so yes, that's how it is.

Nandini: These memories also come up with those particular signatures that we do with our besties. Everyone has it. What's your signature with your bestie? It can literally be anything, be it your specific actions/dialogues or something else.

Pahul: It was a straight slap on face whenever we met. That's insane, but yes that's how it was. Apart from that, whenever anything crazy happened in our lives, our code word to call each other urgently was "Momos" because both of us can literally leave anything and die for Momos. So momos always meant urgency for both of us.
Both these things might be boring, and stupid but that's how we were. Insane and cringey.

Nandini: We can't deny the fact that friends are as much important as our family. If you've to pick just one, would you rather pick your family or your friends? This had to be a tough one because here starts the 'situation based' segment. Enjoy battling with this one, sorry!

Pahul: Ahhh!! Is it wrong to say that this question is not difficult for me at all? It would have been so, a few years back. But now, it's so crystal clear that it would always be my family. Above all, above myself.

Nandini: Wait what? I thought the previous question was difficult! Well, to compansate with the previous question, here I come with a sweet and simple would you rather. So, would you rather be a reader or a writer?

Pahul: You have really compensated man because now this one's so damn tough. Okay, so I would rather be a reader. And by this, I mean a public reader and a secret writer. 😂

Nandini: Hilarious! You know what I feel about it? I think that both the readers and the writers have this ability to fantasize more stuff than a normal person, says this interviewer. Cheers to this ability as I'm gonna put you in a situation where your decisions would eventually lead you to your results. The situation is: You receive the notifications that there are two phone calls from two persons when you check your phone in the morning after waking up from your luxurious king sized bed. You call both of them back and get to know that they want to meet you on the same day at the same time. One of them is your favorite actor/actress and the other one is your favorite person/writer from Wattpad or the writing industry. You can just meet one of them. Who would you choose?

Pahul: I would go and meet my favourite actor/actress and do a video call/chat/normal call with my favourite writer.
Simple reason behind this is the fact that ardent writers have got this ability to talk heart to heart even without words, so even without meeting in personal, we would be able to have a super awesome conversation. So ya, my favourite actor/actress would be my preference in this case.

Nandini: If not 'your favorite actor/actress', the term 'writer' or 'the writing industry' from the previous question surely makes us reminisce about Naina from our YUDKBH being a writer and giving wings to her dreams. This is my favorite quality of hers. What's your opinion about it? What do you think is the best quality of our Naina?

Pahul: Well, for me, writing was secondary. The foremost thing which I adored in her was her simplicity and the way she carried herself. Despite knowing the fact of how her fellow mates in school used to think about her, the way she ignored it and never let it hamper her academics was the best part. This clearly shows that she was always confident and contented about who and what she truly was. She was courageous enough to live her real self, no matter how people perceived her to be, and I believe that's the spirit each one of us needs to have, specially in this era, where peer acceptance is so important for all of us that we tend to lose our individuality very easily.

Nandini: A smile crept on your face when I mentioned our YUDKBH. Am I right? This show has given a lot to us. It has highlighted the importance of equality in many ways. The best example is, that each and every character of this show had it's own uniqueness and importance. Many people must have asked about your views about the leads, Naina and Sameer, which I did too in the previous question. But now I would love read your views about the side characters. What's your favorite side character from the show? What makes it your favorite?

Pahul: For me, there was no "side" character. Each and every person in their own way helped Sameer and Naina to grow into Samaina, even if it was a role as small as that of Keshav or Ramdhari or Kanji. So I won't call them as side characters, but apart from Samaina, of course my forever favourite would always remain Nanaji as he resembled my own Nanu with 90%. There are a lot of reasons for the same. Some usual, some personal, but with each and every dialogue of his, with the way he led his life, with the way he became the perfect companion of Sameer, with they way he was so liberal and open-minded, always ahead of time, in each and every action of his, I could always see my Nanu, who is no more there. So ya, this is that one character which would always remain very very close to my heart.

Nandini: It's absolutely true that the show didn't have any side characters. I simply love the way you elucidated your feelings about it! Now, this question couldn't get missed out anymore. This had to be asked if we're taking about YUDKBH. We all would appreciate if you describe your whole journey/experience while watching this show. Was there any perticular scene that you won't forget ever in your life? If so, why? Is it connected to you in any way?

Pahul: So these are two questions in one, and I'll answer the second one first. So, from the very first scene of some god's idol to the last scene of my favourite five, each and every episode and each and every scene is so so so dearly imprinted in my heart that it's nearly impossible to point out any one scene. But, if I were to choose one, it would always be the Samaina twirl. This is because that one magical scene of mere seconds made me realise that Love at First Sight actually exists and it surely can be as surreal as this one. This was that one moment which made me redefine what I referred to as love. So that one scene would always remain inseparable from my heart, mind and soul.

As for the first question, about my journey, well it's been the one full of emotions and expectations and reality checks and what not. The first thing that attracted me to the show was its basis of reality. Before YUDKBH, I had not watched even a single daily soap, so when this show came into view, I feel so regretful to accept that I let go off this show as well because I was sceptical about starting a "daily soap". It was later in 2018 when my sister got to know from her friends that this show was actually very much Pahul types so she can watch it, and it was then that my journey of YUDKBH began, and the first scene I saw on Television of this show, was the college scene where Naina was wearing a Pink dress, and they were talking about Sunaina visiting Sameer's home. If you see, the scene didn't have anything too unique or attractive, but there was something which pulled me into it and I was forced by my heart to go to SonyLiv and watch the show from the beginning. That's how my journey began and I literally watched 6 episodes a day, despite the fact that I was in 10th standard, to cover the show as soon as I can so that I can switch to television. And once I started watching it, there was no going back. I have cried, I have laughed, I have been frustrated, I have been in awe, I have gone through a variety of emotions during the whole show and the madness for it kept on increasing, even after it ended. You can see my madness in my long answers though.😁
Sorry for making you all so bored.

Nandini: If you have a favorite scene, then there must be a scene where you wanted to change something as well, be it the direction or the situation. What did you want to change in that? Why weren't you satisfied at that time? Share your constrictive opinion with us.

Pahul: There are a lot of such scenes, as all of us know that there were quite a few loopholes in the show. Like seriously, there are A LOT of scenes/situations which I want to reconstruct or would have loved to see in some other way in the show. I wanted Arjun to speak up for his relationship with Shefali. I wanted to see a better conversation or maybe a better screen space for Swati and Munna's relationship over the fiasco that happened between them during Samaina Wedding. I want to change the scene where Chachaji slapped Naina. God! That was so heartbreaking, I felt as if my dad just slapped me. I wanted to bring in the whole Somani family along with Vishakha for the naamkaran of Suman. I wanted Naina to be there when Nanu left abode. I wanted Preedit to be together. I wanted to see something in depth about Sameer confessing of his wrong doings of Delhi in front of Naina. So so so many other things, I just can't pen them all down because I am including all of them in my future stories, of which the drafts are ready, and I don't know when I'll work on them.

Nandini: I'm impressed with your honesty in the previous question Pahul!
Now wrapping up this segment, is there anything else that you would like to share that is related to the show? It can be anything.

Pahul: Well, this show came up in my life when I was going through a very tough phase. Since then, this show has been my only constant, my solace, that the first thing which comes in my mind when I am upset, is to watch any damn episode of YUDKBH. It is because of this show that all of us have got another family to be a part of. It is because of this show that I realised my true self. There's so much I can speak and write about it, and I swear I can have endless conversations over this ever so beautiful show. But, I choose not to, because I have already written so long answers, and I think hardly anyone would have reached till here after reading it all.

Nandini: Your journey has been amazing, I can easily make that up. By the way, did you read the previous question carefully? The term 'wrapping up' from the previous question can be applied here as well, because unfortunately this is the last question of this interview. So, would you like to say anything to your Wattpad friend(s)/writer(s)/reader(s)?

Pahul: First of all, for all the writers whom I have always admired, you people are so amazing that you always become one or the other reason for someone's good day. A good writer has the capability to change others' perspectives and you people too have that potential. And there are so many inactive writers whom I miss a lot and want to see them back, so please guys, come back.
Secondly, for all the aspiring writers who hesitate to write on a public platform, guys just write your heart out, and I don't know about others but you'll have me behind your back always.
Finally, for my readers, I can't express the amount of gratitude I have in my heart for all of you. I read all the dms daily and in the past few months I have realised that my story actually exists among so many super amazing ones, otherwise I always thought that people just read it for the sake of reading because there are so many wonderful writers and books that my story won't be very important for anyone, but the kind of messages you people send, it made me realise that I was wrong. And I would surely give at least one update before my boards begin because I myself want to continue it so badly. So thanks a lot for being there everyone. It really means a lot.

Nandini: Such a lovely message!

Here you go! You have successfully answered all these questions! Thanks for sparing your time on this interview. Will be looking forward to do more with ya. We all congratulate you again from the core for winning. Much luck to you for the future, have a lovely day / night.

Pahul: Thanks a lot! All of you have a great day / night!

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Hope you enjoyed your time with us pahul_gpk.