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"Shrinking in a corner pressed into the wall, do they know I'm present at all? Is there a book that tells you how to be all the right things to talk about; that everyone has but me? Slowly I am withering, a flower without petals, longing to belong to somewhere or someone.." If you love writing poems the way I do, in the dark about what has been bothering you and you have a folder or a notes app, something you wrote at 2AM that you've never shown anyone, this is for you

I was never meant to be a performer that night. I was just there to be an observer, to see firsthand how an open mic event would be like. But there was this one person who made a very interesting move. This guy, who never really got on stage, didn't know anyone in that room, and was completely a stranger to everyone present. He started clapping, not just softly, but loud and strong. And while I sat there, I couldn't help wondering how was he not aware of the performer? It too

It did not feel like excitement. The night before the open mic, I felt two things at the same time and neither of them was confidence. It felt like excitement that a kid might feel just before the school trip, knowing that the adventure is coming up. However, there was another part of me that kept analyzing everything, thinking whether or not I am prepared, just as one would before the board exams. Part of me was genuinely looking for a reason to not go. There is always a rea

What Is Spoken Word Poetry And Why Is It Having a Moment? Poetry is something that you perform out LOUD . Not recitation, something closer to storytelling, or a conversation you've been rehearsing in your head for weeks. The form goes back centuries but it's having a very specific kind of revival right now, especially in India & its people. Part of it is social media,Part of it is a generation that grew up watching people reciting poetry on YouTube and thinking ....”wait ! I

In a live performance, your presence is impermanent. You are one of many. But you are one of many like a star is one of many in a constellation. You become part of the art much larger than yourself. Silence in the Room I pressed ignore on the Instagram reminder of crossing my daily limit for the 4th time that day and still kept scrolling. It wasn’t curiosity that kept me going, it was the quiet fear of missing a moment I never actually lived. Fear of my own thoughts if I s

A World Where Everyone Belongs Every year on March 1 , the world observes Zero Discrimination Day , an initiative led by UNAIDS , the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS. But beyond campaigns and official statements, this day asks something deeply personal of each of us. Who do we see as fully human? Who do we subconsciously place at the margins? Discrimination rarely begins with cruelty. It often begins with distance. With a quiet assumption. With a label that re