Over the years, communication has become easier; yet sharing ideas in public can be as challenging as ever.
This is where Inscribers, a city-based writers club comes in. It was formed with the sole intention to create a platform for writers to share what’s was on their mind. Last weekend, it organised an open mic for storytellers and poets at The Gallery, a cafe near Siripuram Circle.
College students, Sanjay Singh, G Neha and K Shri Nidhi are the musketeers behind this initiative. They believe writers’ meets are common in bigger cities and with little effort, even Visakhapatnam can have such events.
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“Art holds the potential to change the world,” says Nidhi. She continues, “There are many writers in the city; we want to create a platform which gives them a free space to share ideas and connect other writers.”
The open mic began on a patriotic note with a poem on India, reaffirming the pride before the 72nd Independence Day celebrations. However, the rest of the session was light-hearted as people shared their beliefs, love life, heartaches and ambitions.
One of them was Sajala A, who recited a poem expressing her anger towards the fact that marital rape isn’t a punishable offence in India. She says, “It is important to share your thoughts in front of people as it makes you feel a part of a group.” She prefers to share her writing in such meetings rather than on social media.
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Another participant, Anisha Kumari told a story about a girl who embraces K-pop music and Korean drama shows so much that she wants to migrate to South Korea! Anisha says, “I wanted to remind people that inspiration need not come through great personalities. It can also come through hobbies.” Incidentally, the girl in Anisha’s story is herself. “I don’t reveal it to the audience because I don’t like to be the centre of attention,” adds Anisha. Currently, she is studying computer science and learning to code, as South Korea has many opportunities that field.
Apart from sharing ideas, open mics for writers allow them to learn from other writers. Vennela Kanchipuram, a participant, says, “Events like this give a platform to people to learn about the various forms of writing and discuss ideas.”
While most of the participants where college students, there were others who turned up after learning about the event on Facebook. Poorna Krateli, a psychologist, was one such participant. She read poems on importance of emotional well being. Poorna says, “Each person is raised with different values. In such events, people exchange ideas and understand perspectives of others. This helps to understand life better.”
The two-hour session came to an end with a musical performance by an upcoming local band called Sukoon. Their upbeat music echoed and successfully turned writers into singers.