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Spoken word poetry is becoming more and more common in India and around the world today, especially with women who wish to make a stand against the expectations set upon them by society.
This list of 6 strong women spoken word poets is a starting jump into the world of spoken word poetry. They speak about differences and equalities, speaking with touching and emotional words which cause the listener to think, really think about what they are saying, who have grown in popularity in the spoken-word community.
Johar is a young woman who has made quite a name for herself as a spoken word poet. She writes passionately about the expectations Indian women and men as well face in this world, both in India and across the world.
In her piece, “A Brown Girl’s Guide to Beauty,” she speaks about how both Indian girls and boys are given unrealistic expectations set upon them because society tells them they are not good enough in any way.
Watch it here.
Most of us are familiar with Rupi Kaur’s deep, emotional poetry through her book Milk and Honey. It’s well written, but even better spoken out loud.
In this video, Rupi reads her poem “What Love Looks Like” and breathes emotion into it through her voice, resonating with women all over the world as she speaks about how she assigned love a face, but really it means so much more than just one person. She speaks about how love is more fragmented, more diverse than just the one person she thought was her love.
In her piece “Swipe Right For Choice,” Priya Malik talks about a woman’s right to her own body and her own choices. She speaks about how this perspective has been hidden away under all the shameful things women are told in order for them to appeal to society. She talks about how her body is hers and not under the control of her family or men in her life.
Her words are carefully chosen and can be inspiring to young women who may feel societal pressure weighing them down.
Prachee Mashru is a spoken word poet and an activist. In her poetry piece “#PRIDE” Prachee Mashru speaks about the LGBTQ+ community and how they are being done an injustice in Indian society. She raises significant questions about why straight people think the LGBT community is different and states that people shouldn’t say they believe in pride when they say something completely different one second later.
Ankita Shah writes poetry that speaks to our differences as humans. In her piece ‘Borders’ Ankita Shah speaks about how borders are superficial and our differences are manmade, and how so many people fail to see that. She says that so many people look at her and see a Nepali, nothing more. She asks, how does being from difference places separate us? How am I different because I am not from your country?
Shah raises important questions in the dialogue of racism and even just hate of people from places that aren’t theirs.
Swastika Jajoo is a passionate spoken word poet who raises a point about the set expectations girls have weighing them down and in her piece “If A Bra Strap Could Talk,” she speaks about how society judges and marks down girls if their strap is showing, even through the kind of bra she’s wearing. Jajoo refutes society’s expectations and clearly states that it is society who has the wrong expectations, not girls whose bra straps are showing.
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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