Poetry
Lovely Sharma on the Craft of Writing and Performing Poetry
In conversation with Lovely Sharma, a spoken word artist, on life, writing and the intent of her performances.

A half-hour interaction with Lovely Sharma felt like a sweet story-telling session of its own, as she talked about her life and her poetry. Hearing her speak in an ever so pleasant voice, it felt like the conversation should have happened over a cup of tea. Listening to her felt both warm and familiar, as she moved on from telling me about how she used to scribble couplets and poems when she was young, to the incident that led her to enter the platform of spoken-word. It was nice because of the clarity she showed about what she does and wants to do as a performer-poet. And it’d be illuminating for anyone struggling to find the intentions of why they should create content, in whatever form may it be.
She goes back to her first performance of September 2019, when after a friend’s persuasion she decided to take half a day off from her office, and go perform at an open-mic. Her plan was to attend the gig and leave immediately after her turn, already convinced in her mind that this was going to be her first and last performance. And even the number of applause and appreciation she received after, was not enough to convince her that her poetry could lead to something more.
Cut to a month or so later, the video of her performance went viral, garnering more than half a million views. She tells me that her face and voice were new, not just for the viewers alone but to her as well, because she couldn’t recognise herself as a performer. She couldn’t believe that so many people would want to listen to her.
When on stage, she mentions, she doesn’t like to look at people, wanting her performance to not be influenced by their reactions. However, their responses have served a larger purpose to her in making her continue doing what she does. She has been writing poetry since 8th grade. Her pens and diaries were her constants, as she used to write for herself and her satisfaction. But it only was after realising that people drew the same connection from it as she does from her work, that she felt like this was something that she had been waiting for all along. She very beautifully expressed that everything is secondary now, the smiles and tears of those listening to her and her words is what matters.
“Jo zindagi ne seekha diya, ya logon ki kahaniyon se aa gaya” (From what life teaches, or what comes from the stories of others), she attributes as the source of her poems. She writes about life and how she observes it. Perhaps this is why people build a connection with her words. Talking about that, she says her writing’s purpose for her audience is to help them get back up in life. “Ya toh vo sambhalna seekh jate hai, ya chalna seekh jaate hain, ya fir thaharna seekh jaate hain” (either they learn to carry themselves, to walk ahead or to take a stop, a break) is how she sums it up.
She draws her motivation from her past. When she looks back on her life, she says that she was living in the shoes of others too much, causing her to forget who she was. Her lessons from that is what keeps her going. A desire to become better than she was yesterday, and the hope to be better in her future than she is today.
Another driving force for her has obviously been the love and acknowledgment that she has received from the people. She remembers one particular piece of her at this instance, written from the perspective of a martyr’s wife, called ‘Kaash’. She recounts the responses that she received for it. How an army man wrote to her, and how families of martyred soldiers, who had lost their loved ones, felt that they could remember them in what she spoke. A touching reiteration of the value some words can hold in the life of others.
Talking about her own family, she says that even after taking the very bold step of quitting her job to pursue spoken word, they still support her. Even as there were people in her life who considered open-mics as nothing better than ‘tamashas’ or ‘mehfils’. But she continues to write and perform. And she also points out, how the pandemic and lockdown have positively helped in the growth of her online presence. In response to the question of online hate and criticism, she very simply puts, “[their] opinion is not who I am”.
She also sees the difference between reading poetry and performing it as a major feature that makes stories worth listening to. We end the conversation after she gives her creative insight on how one should follow their passion for writing. You should have love and a sense of purity for your work, she says. It is better to focus on the quality of your content than running after appreciation. Be the first judge of your creation, and aim to add value to it.
Finally she asserts, write not to impress, not to earn, not for followers but primarily for yourself, and all else will follow.
Confluentia of Talent
Rhymes of Romance: Poetic Odes to Love
Love, Pyaar, Ishq, Mohabbat – many words for a universal emotion, how better to explore this emotion through poetic odes to love?

Love is a universal language, although we have many names for it, we all feel it at some point in our life. The funny thing is that while we all are bound to feel this love at some point, we still struggle to explain and describe how it makes us feel. Through poetry, songs, books, Dohas and Shayari we resonate with and find ways to express how this universal emotion makes us feel. With that being said, let us dive into a compilation of poetry on love and its enchanting spell.
“Teesri Mohabbat” by Nayab Midha
“Teesri Mohabbat” by Nayab Midha is a beautiful poem that goes on to talk about how if she finds words to describe her lover’s eyes, then their eyes won’t be beautiful anymore because words can’t do justice to their eyes if she finds words for their love, then she doesn’t love them anymore for words could never capture how deep their love is. Through the poem, she goes on to talk about the lessons our first love teaches us so that we can learn what we do not want from love. So that when someone comes along again we would be able to understand if they are what we want or not. She urges us to not give up on love because we were hurt but to let the person who hurt us go and pull back the love you gave them.
“Pyaar Aur Ishq Mein Fark Kya Hai?” by Priya Malik ft Abhin
“Pyaar Aur Ishq Mein Fark Kya Hai?” by Priya Malik ft Abhin is a poem that talks about the difference between Pyaar and Ishq. The poet goes on to talk about what Pyaar is, to which she further describes what Ishq is. In the poem we find that Ishq is a lifestyle we adopt for it does not mean just loving a person, it also means staying alone until you find someone who will love you right, it means letting someone you love go and be happy with someone else. She says that Ishq is a challenge which is why so many people are lost still trying to find it.
“A Burning Heart” by Sainee Raj ft Samuel
“A Burning Heart” by Sainee Raj ft Samuel is a poem that talks about love but in comparison with climate change. The poet goes on to talk about how she and her lover’s favourite spot in the forest has burned away due to climate change. They start seeing it as a sign that may be their love has burnt its course. They don’t let these thoughts stay long for they both decide that as they will help rebuild the forest that is now in ashes they will also build their love by nurturing and caring for both.
“Tabah Kar Deti Hai Mohabaat” by Goonj Chand
Tabah Kar Deti Hai Mohabbat” by Goonj Chand is a poem that talks about the destructive effects of love. Throughout the poem, she goes on to say how she would never express her love for someone even though she may love them a lot. She further explains that she does not want to indulge in love for it has caused chaos and wars in times gone by. She says that she always wears a kajal to prevent her from crying because that is what love does. The poem is painfully true and does strike a chord in you.
We hope you enjoyed this compilation.
Editor's Pick
“Stillness” By Feroze Varun Gandhi
Contemplating Life’s Profound Moments Through the Eloquent Verses of Feroze Varun Gandhi. Immerse Yourself in the Lyrical Symphony of Soothing Words.

After 14 years of his debut collection, Feroze Varun Gandhi’s second poetry installment “Stillness” came as a captivating study of elegance in the year 2015. The poems within “Stillness” possess an introspective spirit, with a lasting sense of calm long after the last verse is read.
Feroze Varun Gandhi, better known as Varun Gandhi, is an Indian politician and the third-term member of Parliament for Lok Sabha from the Pilibhit constituency. He belongs to the Nehru-Gandhi family, which has had a prominent place in Indian Politics since a time before Independence in 1947. Varun Gandhi is the son of the Late Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi.
A Read Between The Verses
Feroze Varun Gandhi’s poetry is distinguished by his ability to curate a balance between poignancy and profoundness. Every poem is a window into his thoughts and a mirror of his ability to write the truth of human emotions. Gandhi weaves together a tapestry of emotions, calling the readers to embark with him on a quest for introspection and self-discovery. The tone of his poetry is reflective, honest, and raw.
“The wrong end of a sand glass
Stillness, Poems by Varun Gandhi
All born in different universes
But the same mind,
Born over and over again”
In addition to its poetic beauty, “Stillness” also gives the readers a visual treat, wherein each poem is adorned with wonderful photography that enhances the reading experience. The combination of visual and written finesse makes this poetry collection a sublime experience for both new and seasoned poetry enthusiasts.
Feroze Varun Gandhi takes the readers on a journey across the realms of silence, solitude, and the deeper essence of existence. The poems held within “Stillness” give the readers a deep sense of calm and serenity.
Final Thoughts
Feroze Varun Gandhi’s “Stillness” is a collection of poetry that embraces silence and offers readers a refuge of calm among everyday life chaos. His poetic imagery is vivid and evocative, sending readers to surreal landscapes where time is forever frozen. The poems gently urge introspection in the readers.
“Stillness” by Feroze Varun Gandhi is a promise to take readers on an enchanting journey into the world of silence, elegance, and the power of stillness itself. Be ready to be awed by the depth and wonder of this beautiful collection.
“I am not at war I tell myself
Stillness, Poems by Varun Gandhi
As I hold these captured silences
As trophies in my war of repose”
Poetry
Unveiling the World of Poetry: Inspiring Instagram Poets to Follow
Poetry is hard to understand, but once you get it there’s simply no turning back. Some poets who are beautifying the world with their words.

Poetry is a language in itself. Not everyone understands it. And among those who do, not everyone interprets it the same way. A form of art that can have thousands of different interpretations depending on the reader’s mood and experience, it is ambiguous yet peaceful at the same time. Poetry is the perfect definition of being content even in chaos. Given its raw nature, not everyone can dare to become a poet. We present to you a few such daring individuals who are not afraid to bear themselves raw in front of the whole world, just to add a little more of their colour to life.
Mahima Dhupar
With simple words and raw emotions, Mahima’s page invites you to come along and join her in this journey of life. Focusing on everyday things her poetry tries to bring out the tiny details we miss in life. Some of her analogies appear so simple yet so profound at the same time. This highlights her ability to look at mundane things from a different and often unexpected perspective. Her simple words make her page accessible and readable for all.


Sherryl Samantha
A rare poet who manages to mingle the complexity of personification with the simplicity of everyday words. Sherryl’s work majorly focuses on things around her most of them taking a rather melancholic tone. Her keen observation skills paired with her vivid imagination makes her poetry a must-read for any poetry lover. The use of themed backgrounds adds a visual context to many of her works.


Prajakta
Making beautiful use of personification and imagery, Prajakta’s poetries speak volumes. With lines that flow smoothly from one to another, her work carries a melancholic yet content tone. Her poetry helps us paint different emotions of life with vivid colours. Her page is sure to help you at times when you fumble and don’t know the right words that you can use.


Deeksha Shukla
Using her page as a blank canvas, Deeksha doesn’t shy away from expressing herself. From sketches to beautiful patterns to raw emotions expressed in words, her page is a window to her soul. But out of all her artistic endeavours the one that caught our eye is her poetry. Complete with simple words, heavy emotions and imagery, her work is sure to draw any poetry lover in.


Soshinie A Singh
With a huge following of 108K followers, Soshinie’s work is bound to motivate you to move forward. Carrying an optimistic tone, her works are rather simple yet memorable. Inspiring thousands of readers with her work, Soshinie’s page has a very minimalist outlook. Keeping her focus on her words and their execution, she manages to take inspiration from her life to enhance her work further.


If you are a poetry-lover be sure to keep an eye out for these amazing Insta-poets who always have the right words for every situation!
Interviews
Shubham Shyam And His Constant Companion, Poetry
A conversation with Shubham Shyam, a poet, and his journey on a path of dilemmas and struggles as an artist.

Poetry evokes emotions many. It is a different language, an easier one perhaps since it brings solace to many. Shubham Shyam is a magician when it comes to words and verses. Two of his much loved poetries, ‘Gir Jaana Mera Ant Nahi’ and ‘Woh Aaj Nahi Toh Kal Hoga’, have been like a ray of hope, promise, and strength to many people.
In an interview conversation with Shubham Shyam, we learnt about his struggles, his dilemmas, and how poetry has been his companion at all times. Whoever he is today didn’t come easily. Here’s a deeper dive into how Shubham knits words and brings an enigma, and a lyrical, thought-provoking masterpiece on the table.
Early Life: How Did Poetry Happen To Him?
Shubham was born in a small village of Bihar, known as Dumaigarh, in Chhapra district. He did most of his schooling from there until his father sent him to Patna city for better educational opportunities. He studied in a CBSE affiliated school, which meant that he was supposed to pick one language from Hindi and Sanskrit to continue in his 9th grade. Since Sanskrit was a scoring subject, and most of his friends opted for Sanskrit too, Shubham too decided to continue with Sanskrit. However, his father wasn’t happy with this decision, and asked Shubham to re-opt for Hindi.
It was natural that Shubham ended up disliking Hindi, because, first, Hindi wouldn’t get him the marks that Sanskrit would have, and second, it also meant that he wouldn’t be in the same class as his friends now. His Hindi teacher sensed this rift between him and the subject. She, therefore, gave him poetry books to read and asked him to pick one line from these poems and write another poem out of it. Thus, Shubham started writing poetries in 9th grade.
After his schooling, he went to Kota to prepare for engineering and further completed his mechanical engineering from Tamil Nadu.
Decisions To Make: Poetry Or Engineering?
Shubham was obviously not born with a silver platter. When he went to Patna and later to Tamil Nadu to complete engineering, he also took along with him the expectations of his parents. It was years of hard work, loans, and pressure, and finally he completed engineering. However, when he returned to his parents, he declared that he’s dropping engineering, and instead is going to pursue poetry, his passion. It was the path he wanted to walk on. Meanwhile, his father was doubtful of a life of a poet. In the end, he wanted his son to live a financially comfortable life. Nevertheless, his father gave up and eventually let him leave.
Shubham stepped foot into the city of dreams—Mumbai. While poetry didn’t guarantee to fuel his income, it for sure was feeding his soul. Till date, Shubham does other jobs to sustain himself, while poetry remains his all-time passion. Currently, he is a teacher. He teaches mathematics to grade 11th and 12th, and on the side, performs poetry shows.
Life of a poet isn’t easy. When Shubham first came to Mumbai, despite the unhappiness of his parents, he ran into a director. This director asked him to write a screenplay. Shubham narrated that while the topic was vague, he still of course wrote it and submitted. It was also the first time he wrote a screenplay. The director disliked it, teared it apart, and told Shubham to go back to his engineering job, experience the world for a few years and then return. As someone who had put everything on line for pursuing poetry, these words completely broke him, but of course, not enough to make him give up. Fast forward to a few years later, when Shubham got featured on Kapil Sharma’s show, the same director texted him the words, “good work.” For Shubham, it has been a different satisfaction to prove people wrong.
Shubham Shyam Shares Tips For Aspiring Poets
Shubham talked about how he writes poetries. There is certainly not any hard and fast rule, because poetry comes naturally to him. He explained that most times, his surroundings impact him. Be it political, social or just natural annoyance which might tug at him for reasons many. Shubham then dumps these feelings on a piece of paper, and these come out poetically, in verses. It becomes a cycle for him, since poetry writing then makes him feel better and also produces beautiful, thought provoking written pieces.
For aspiring poets, he shared many insights and tips. Firstly, that poetry comes from within, and to hone that mastery over words, one must read a lot. Reading opens up perspectives, brings multiple experiences to the table, and sharpens the vocabulary. Ramdhari Singh Dinkar has been an inspiring poet figure for Shubham. His poetry has proved to be this new avenue of writing and perspectives for him. Second, practice narrating it and expressing your written piece, its emotions as accurately and honestly as possible. Make your poetry heard by performing and through social media.
Shubham Shyam has reached a vast audience through the power of the internet. Many of his poems, written years back, have now gone viral. Famous personalities like Anupam Kher, Aakash Chopra and Aditya Thakre have even recited his poems. With social media sites like YouTube, live-streaming is also now possible, which brings all community artists and art lovers on the same level to experience, listen and create. Therefore, getting your work heard is equally important. Shubham also believes that talent will remain stagnant without hard work. You must make your own path to success, because there is honestly no shortcut. Progress can only come when you decide to jump and not be scared. Along with this, discipline and dedication will promise you the wings to fly further. In the midst of this, however, always remember to keep your feet planted to the ground as well.
Poetry
Hiren Bhattacharya: The Most Loved Assamese Poet
Remembering Hiren Bhattacharya on his birth anniversary, the modern poet who changed the course of Assamese poetry forever

You know
This poet has nothing more
Just this one shirt
Coming apart at the seams
Love also is perhaps like this
Unclothing itself to state the heart!
The most meaningful and beautiful things in life are sometimes the most simple ones; after all, what life is? A loved one, the smell of the hometown, the memories, the childhood, family, the fallen yellow leaves, water, the cosmos? So simple yet so simply profound. This is what the poetry of Hiren Bhattacharya is like, using local words and the local dialect to describe the simple life, the simple fields, the simple patriotism, the simple agony, and above all, the simple love, and create an effect that hits right at the depths of the reader’s expansive heart.
What is it that burns in me
That swells
The agony and ecstasy my heart.
In all my senses
Hums the tune of your love
Burns intensely that
Saturates with ash!
Known as the poet of Aromatic Butterflies in the Assamese literary world, the poems of Hiren Bhattacharya are shorter, economical and reflect a strong attachment to rural life. Some of his poems also mirror the political reflection around him, but it is his poems on art, paintings, love, agony, and fear that resonate with the mass of Assam the most. His poems are still used by lovers, and his two nursery poems, “Lora Dhemali” and “Akou Dhemali”, are famous among the Assamese households.
Famously known as Hiruda, Hiren Bhattacharya was born in Jorhat, eastern Assam, in 1932. Majorly a poet, he scarcely wrote in other genres. His first poem was released in 1957, and his first anthology Mur Desh Mur Premor Kobita, was published in 1972. His published anthologies of poetry include Roudro Kamona (1972), Kobitar Rod (1976), Tomar Bahi, Xugondhi Pokhilaa (1981), Mor Desh Aru Mor Premor Kobita 1972, Bibhinno Dinor Kobita, Shoichor Pothar Manuh, Mur Prio Bornomala, Bhalpuwar Buka Mati, Bhalpuwar Dikchou Batere.
Inside and out of my heart.
Maybe the colloquialism of your love,
Will incinerate me in a slow pace!
Hiren’s exceptional contribution to Assamese poetry earned him many awards, such as the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Award, Bishnu Rabha Award, Rajaji Puroskar, Soviet Desh Neheru Award, Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for his anthology of poems ‘Saichor Pathar Manuh’, Assam Valley Literary Award, (Asom Upotyoka Sahitya Bota) 2000.
Hiren Bhattacharya, the poet who engraved the name of the Assamese language even deeper and darker on the Indian landscape of languages, left us on July 4, 2012. However, he will always be alive in the letters of the lovers, in the speeches of the politicians, in the humming of the bees, and in the voice of the lullaby-singing mother.
These my words.
In these my words that have caressed
The orchards of my dream
Is the grace of a lifestyle,
The intimate warmth of time.
I have no inventions of my own.
I am like a farmer,
I roll words on my tongue;
To see how each one tastes;
Hold them in my palms to see how warm.
I know words are the lusty offsprings of man’s noble creation;
A mere poet am I
In these words that I have relayed
From other shoulders
Is man’s cruel experience,
And the maulings of history
(English Translation by Pradip Acharya)
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