The digital world has provided an accessible and free platform for both artists and their audience to enjoy and consume art. Contemporary poetry has become one of the fastest-growing genres, and it seems to be getting bigger and better. One of the main reasons for this is that, now, poetry is out and front, readily available. While the classic poems were meticulous and difficult to navigate, contemporary poems have come to be in easier language, dealing with our day-to-day lives in the creative use of words. These poems also seem to feed the aesthetic needs of the audience. More importantly, it has also opened an avenue for women, people of colour, and other marginalised communities to showcase their words and rhythms, which was otherwise an arena just for elites and men only. 

In this light, we have some poets and their smooth flowing words. 

Arunoday Singh

Arunoday Singh, who goes by the username, ‘sufisoul’, on Instagram, is truly replicant of his username selection. Arunoday’s poems are soulful indeed, as we see his page filled with poetries expressing his and our thoughts eloquently. His pen inks the paper with not just one genre of poetries, but everything ranging from the mundanity of life to the struggles and hardships, to love and friendship. Also, we may just also appreciate Arunoday’s beautiful handwriting as well! His Instagram poetry page will also fill your aesthetic needs!

Tuheena Raj

Tuheena Raj and her words have an enormous tranquillity over them. With each word, she captures the essence of a multitude of feelings. Browsing through her Instagram page, one can come across not only short poems but also think pieces and paragraphs, which are as unequivocally crystalline with emotions as her poetries. Through her poems, Tuheena faces her audience by simplifying the incomprehensible feelings into beautiful coherent words, as the one featured here.

Sonia Sabins 

Sonia Sabins’ style of writing is descriptive and realistic. One can often find solace, calmness and clarity reading her words and thoughts. Her writings deal with friendships, love, mental health, and above all, the importance of loving oneself, and realising one’s worth. As her bio says, “I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think”, stands true for all of her think pieces. The plethora of words stringed with simplicity and easiness will definitely leave you to ponder over a lot of aspects of our life. 

Growing to love yourself for who you are and the world for what it is, is a complicated endeavour. It entails shedding past obsessions and habits, regardless of the comfort they offered you. Poets Ranya Warren and Suhani Shah hold the prism their own experiences to the sunlight of words and rhythms to portray the multifaceted being of self-love and growth.

Warren retells her childhood in bittersweet melancholy, going back to her parents’ split and touching up on her issues with her own body. In an age where body positivity has morphed from an inclusive movement to just a hashtag on the internet, Warren illuminates us that simply looking at yourself in the mirror and redundantly uttering the words “Your beautiful” doesn’t make the gut wrenching self loathing disappear. It’s still there, it’s still palpable. In the same breath, she tackles the world’s indulgent fantasies of fair skin. She empowers women to be themselves, and more importantly, be vulnerable. Because we’re all told to be fierce, confident, gorgeous women all the time. Warren argues, why can’t we just be human.

In Counting Stars, Shah narrates the all too familiar phases we go through from childhood, to puberty and then adulthood. From the escapist imaginations of us being pilots, detectives, international spies, our juvenile expectations of unending happiness, to the sudden crashing understanding of the real world Shah hits all the soft spots we had as little kids. The harsh reality of the system obsessed with success and the brutal killing of passion as we know it, an experience we’ve all had. Coupled with her phenomenal stage presence, we’re glued to her performance, as she takes us through the emotions of becoming an adult.

You don’t want to miss out on these impactful artists, because their voices speak too much truth to be ignored.

Poetries that seep through the cracked walls of the heart and enlighten the attic therein. The echo that parallels the beats inside the cages, touches it and heals it. The emotions that trickle to lace the lines of the poetries, and wonderfully resemble the submerged feelings of ours. Sometimes the lines make us plunge into the ocean of love, at other times it questions the existing injustices. It never escapes to enchant and spellbind us with its magic. How remarkably we dive into the lines and brimming emotions, enter into the labyrinth of incredibly knitted words that lift our spirits and beep the minds. Sometimes we smile through it, at other times tears dribble through the cheeks. Out of the castles of fantasy, to the stark reality, it wraps all that is within. Here are two exceptional pieces of poetry fully equipped to resonate with the unexpressed emotions underneath the niche of our hearts.  

There is someone for everyone by Sainee Raj: The composition of resplendent verses and the magnificent recitation of it made us swoon over the lines. 

She captured the intangible and intricate feelings in her verses and poured out the spell-working effect onto us. Love, the feeling that gives butterflies in the stomach, that makes the heart skip a beat. The exceptional verses and the majestic recitation made us eulogised. The impeccable use of metaphors to describe the most beautiful feeling spells magic onto us. From the sharing of magpies to losing ourselves in the wonderland the lines lured the fantasies. Be it the love at first sight, or the love after the heartbreak, meeting the right person is always special. Some of us long to meet the person the destiny has designated for us, while some are with the smithereens of heart smeared with hopelessness. Sainee’s verses have an escape for all. There is someone who has been carved for us and is destined to meet us. For the ones who have lost the fond hope, or the ones who are reeling in this abode this poem will relish all the hearts. The poem ends with a smile on our faces and an imprint on our hearts. Sainee has taken us through these topsy-turvy aisles, rekindling the joy, and reawakening the hope of finding our “perfect match’’. As she enthrallingly recited ‘every moon has its sky’ and ‘coming home to someone who is yet to be known’ our utopias leapt and bounced. This poem whispered to the lonesome hearts ‘And there is someone out there, someone for everyone’.

Next Time Ladka Hoga by Divya Chaudhary: The astounding storytelling skills smashing the prevailing misogyny. 

Divya Chaudhary rose to challenge the benchmarks set by patriarchy. Divya highlighted the injustices prevailing in society through the stories, citing her own experiences. How the clutches of patriarchy have been ingrained in the minds, how the family without a male child is considered incomplete. The aspiration for gender equality moans in despair when inequality exhibits itself in every niche. Her story started with an example from the most famous movie ‘Dangal’ and ended with the most famous ‘dialogue’. Rhythmically moving through the verses, she brought forth a crucial segment of injustices and inequalities pertaining which made us rethink the biases. How she has always stood for what is right and has conquered the so-called dogmas of society that give rise to the unequal ambience, she rightly expounds through the lines. Putting forth real-life examples from various sectors, where gender inequality has been pumping itself ostentatiously. This has put up a big question mark on the mindsets and a big hurdle onto the abode of gender-neutrality. Sometimes through satire at other times intrepidly ridiculing it, she has equivocally challenged the mindsets. The closing line ’Gold is gold whether a male earns it or a female’ smashes the patriarchy. 

That one and only thing that holds the power to replace music is poetry. Poetry is not just a way to express, it also gives shape to the emotions of the listeners and readers. And it cannot be denied, how powerful lines have changed the world around us. Hence, the quote, “A pen is mightier than the swords”, is an apt saying that justifies the power of the lines.

Let us dive deep into the world of some handpicked soulful poetry. The lines that will feel like your own emotions. The recitation so strong, that will leave you in awe. Here are some poetries you should not miss listening to.

‘Mujhe Tumse Aakhri Baar Milna Hai’

Written and performed by Gunjan Saini, ‘Mujhe Tumse Akhri Baar Milna Hai’, is a heart-touching poem, meant to fill your heart with emotions. The last meet with the lost love, the lines express the wish of every hopeless romantic. How memories always stay after people leave, is fluently expressed in the verses. This poetry will take you down the lanes of the first love and to those unforgettable pictures in your heart. The lines which will bring some bitter-sweet incidents back to your mind, and leave a faint smile on your face. Gunjan has perfectly presented the poem with firmness in her tone, making it a must watch.

“Mat Pucho Aukaat Mohabbat Ki”

Karan Gautam wrote and recited the piece on an open mic platform and left a mark on the hearts of his listeners. Expressing the magnificence of the ‘special’ one, his lines are a balanced blend of love and beauty. For a lover, his love is the center of his world and the day ends and begins with that one person. If Romeo had to express Juliet’s beauty in words, ‘Mat Pucho Aukaat Mohabbat ki’, would be the poetry he’d choose. His words will not only seep into your heart but even make you feel his emotions. Don’t miss listening to him if you want to impress your crush with some wonderful lines.

“Ab Darr Nahi Lagta”

As the title says, this poetry piece is a powerful, motivating portrait of a fearless girl. Written and recited by Ruby Gupta. A girl who has overcome her fears, moved ahead of the ‘tags’ given by the society and lives on her own terms. The lines would feel relatable to every individual who have chosen to live their lives fearlessly, after going through the hardships of the world. Ruby’s words have not only reflected the reality of today’s generation but strengthens them to overcome their fears to be their better versions. It is a must watch for all those who hold themselves back for the fear of being judged.

Poetry is a creative medium of language. It is a free expression of oneself. It is always a soulful experience to be able to converse with the poet through their handful of twisted words, finding meaning in the metaphors, rhythm, and sentiments portrayed. Love poetries swim in a wave of emotions. They are often a mix of intricate passions. Here are three poets, who with a blend of Hindi and Urdu words, present eloquent and heartfelt stanzas, the central theme being love and heartbreak. 

‘Kyu Woh Mera Hua Nahi’ by Gunjan Saini 

“Ankhon se behte hai ashq, jo alfaaz ban jaate hai, jaane kitne aashiqo k ishq kitaab ban jaate hai”. This is just a gist of Gunjan’s ocean of words. She intricately picks and puts together the perfect words to form the most poetic narrations. The profundity in the rhythm and the choice of her words to narrate the tale of an abandoned and unattainable love makes you want to relish every word. The poetry also attempts to convey how every broken and hopeless heart becomes both a poet and a reticent. While on the one hand, we strive to convert the complex feelings into a pool of words, but on the other hand, we fail to comprehend the inner conflicts and sorrows. 

‘Usey Mera Hona Hoga’ by Krishna Singh 

Krishna is writing a letter, but it is not any ordinary letter. It is the most sweet filled letter you’ll ever read.

Human beings are made of little minute habits, attitudes, and gestures, which to some eyes go unnoticed, while others adore the same. From our food choices, to clothes, to walking for work, phone calls, our preferences, certain fragrances, travelling, memories, etc., all of this makes us who we are. Similarly, Krishna inputs every minute bittersweet experience and moment in her poetry. She heeds to the moments and things we might not consider important and paints them in a different light. She brings out the colourful, vibrant side of love. Her words make us appreciate every tiny speck of our existence in one poetic letter. 

My favourite lines from her poetry have to be this: ‘yeh khat use pohoche, jiske shirt ke bazu se sate sate meri saree ki kinaar khilkhilati’. Who would have thought to find intimacy in the concealed spaces of hanging clothes? 

‘Mujhe Tumse Aisa Ishq Hua Hai’ by Lovely Sharma 

Urdu words have calmness in them. Lovely adds even more serenity to Urdu with her soulful and brilliant bend of words. Her poetry will flow within your body. It is quite impossible to define love by one entity, or one word, or one season. Lovely justifies this by encapsulating varied aspects around this four letter word: Love.

Lovely compares and contrasts love with nature, universe, nights and days. She sees in love, a purity similar to loyalty and belief in one’s faith or religion. For her, love is also divine. The poem describes love as spiritual, exciting, and happy, like losses and victories. She compares it to games and the sweet wind during rains. She depicts love as an entity existing on the centre of transcending opposites, which blurs the distinction between these opposites. For instance, she conveys that love could be both like the daylight and the night stars. It could feel both like the lesson in loss and exciting victory in games. It could feel controlling, yet liberating.