What Is Your Pen-chant?

Slow & Steady: The Word Of The Day.

Image by Chat GPT.

Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi Shikva To Hahin!!!!

The song that I’m listening to on Indian Idol right now.

Fitting, somehow. A song about completeness despite absence.

Parvathi J tagged me for this prompt, and I was absolutely clueless.

First, I googled the meaning of Pen-chant. The word itself has a very musical 🎵 feel.

“A penchant is a strong or habitual liking, taste, or inclination towards something. It refers to a tendency to do or prefer a particular activity, style, or subject”.

My life changed after my dad’s passing. I wish I had a manual to help me deal with that grief. It has been two years, but the grief doesn’t age. It doesn’t soften with time, as they say, but it simply becomes a part of you. It comes back in waves when you are least expecting it.

In the months that followed his passing, I found myself questioning everything, including my existence and who I was without him. The things that had once felt significant suddenly seemed minuscule.

That is when the words started to appear and drove me to writing. The writing that turned into healing. The tears I couldn’t cry took the form of sentences instead.

That’s when Medium happened, and I discovered my Pen-chant. It allows me as a writer to express myself.

Medium became my second home: a place where I can turn to in moments of solitude, a space where writers from every corner of the world open small windows into their lives, giving a peek into their surroundings, their culture, traditions and beliefs, their vulnerabilities, their travel tales, their triumphs and fears.

Reading them makes me feel less alone.

Writing there makes me feel seen.

What have I gained after one and a half years of this Medium journey?

Dollars? – – not earned even $20

Followers? – – not even 400 of them.

Recognition?? – – not even close.

So what have I managed to gain through my penchant?

• Some beautiful people who believe in my writing,
• some who inspire me through their writings,
• those who teach me the technicalities of writing,
• some cheer me up for my wins, even if small,
• and some who understand where I’m coming from.
• It has given me the courage to pen down thoughts that I would have been ashamed of in front of my own tribe.

But one of the main reasons I turn to my pen-chant is to bring my Dad back to life through my stories. To re-live them. Every story I write carries him in it. His laughter. His voice, his singing, could fill a room. His words of wisdom. His blessings.

At times, I can see his eyes that hid his worries to protect us, right until the end.

He, who has brought out a better version of me that I didn’t know existed, but he did. So whatever I write centres around him. It always will.

Slow and steady wins the race. How Slow?

I sometimes wonder if I’m moving slower than the tortoise in the fable, The Hare & The Tortoise. Whether that tortoise has long since crossed the finish line, while I’m still here, finding my footing. Perhaps. 🤔

I have a long way to go before I see myself as a writer. I have seen so many young, talented writers join Medium long after me and have proven to be excellent with their writing skills. And me…… never mind!

But I’m not here to race anyone else. The only competition I’ve ever been in is with myself.

So writing has taught me patience.

“Patience is not about waiting. It is about trusting your journey.” by Rumi.

Progress isn’t linear. Every passion has frustrating plateaus. Living through those teaches you that not seeing progress doesn’t mean nothing is happening on the surface.

I realised that with my Dad’s loss, I had lost my sense of identity. I felt lost. I felt scared. But finding my passion reminded me that I still exist. It reconnects you to yourself.

The key, I’ve come to understand, is not to use your passion as an escape from grief but to carry grief into your passion, and let it become something meaningful.

The passion that honours the fact that they (who left forever) were part of a life worth living fully.

The fact that my pen-chant now has a purpose in life.

To keep going!!!!

Thanks to 🌸Preeti Pathak🌸 and Arpita Srivastava for the beautiful prompt though I’m still confused about my response to it.

This is part of the May monthly writing challenge by Parvathi J from the Writer’s Circle publication.

[embed]What’s Your Pen-Chant? May 2026 Writing Promptsmedium.com

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