Why more Indian men are turning towards writing and reading poetry

Like many young men today, Shreyash uses poetry to understand himself and the world around him

It's not the best time to live in the head of a young man. Not that it has ever been the most pure and lucid space, but these days, it is filled with all kinds of noise.

The din of pressure, unfulfilled expectations, growing disillusionment, and anger. The tug-of-war between what society has primed him to be, and a new understanding of what he can become.

The isolation that comes from an insistence on stoic self-reliance that leaves no room for vulnerability. Issues surrounding him are hotly contested online. Everyone has an opinion on whether he is victim or entitled.

Amid this great divide on the "male loneliness epidemic", are the growing social media accounts dedicated to poetry. Young poets, both men and women, are posting their own verses, or sharing snippets of their favourite poets. There is something in their words that our protagonist appreciates. He feels seen, and a little less worried about everything.

Yogesh Kumar

Soon, the reader has something to say about his own condition. Once pen meets paper, the rhymes become a refuge. Poets like Faiz Abdulla can testify to this. He is a published poet and writer now, but the first poem he wrote was at the age of 16, after a fight with his mother. The result was a work of rage that spoke more than he could have voiced out at that age. A childhood fascination with the different interpretations verses can have, propelled him to write more and more.

He's written at several low points, reconciling himself with the realities of his life and even with his faith. "There was a poem I wrote called Leap of Faith," he remembers, "I don't know if it's that good, but it was a very personal poem. I haven't shared it with anyone. Ever since I wrote it, life has changed. I have finally surrendered to the divine will or my faith. Once you accept things for what they are, things start changing."

For Yogesh Kumar, a 23-year-old actor and performer, rhymes offered comfort in a phase when he felt completely alone.

Faiz Abdulla and Shreyash

"College had just ended and I didn't know what to do in life. No one was really around me, so I got even more lonely. I felt like even if I reached out to friends, that wouldn't solve anything - they wouldn't understand everything and I just felt too exhausted to explain. I also used to feel, for a long time, that everyone is going through something, so I always thought twice before burdening them with my own problems," he recalls. "All I did then was write poetry. I would write, eat, go to sleep, wake up and write again. I kept writing about how I felt and started enjoying the words spilling on the page."

He also finds great solace in the words of others. "Poetry has become my comfort zone. Whenever I listen to a poem, I feel like I am home." This is an escape from what psychologists call existential isolation, a prevalent condition where they feel like no one can understand the extent of their existence.

Paras Sharma, a psychologist who works with men, says this feeling is not rooted in the absence of people. "Men," he points out, "are rarely short of company of friends or family. But throughout all their interactions, they lack a sense of being known. This is where poetry comes in. It fills the gaps that make a person feel lost and alone. Reading words that mirror what you feel can break the isolation."

While some poets fight inner demons, others write to fight the ones roaming outside. Shreyash, 23, writes and performs nazms in Hindustani, always trying to shed light on the human condition and on the issues of the world, such as what's happening at Gaza. He performs at open mics across cities, where he sees fellow poets expressing unfiltered feelings in front of strangers who can relate.

He has grown both as a person and a poet. "When I started writing, it was just merely to express initially. Over time, I have started writing to reach new people."

In a world that does not make sense, writing poetry can be a good place to start making sense of yourself. As Abdulla puts it, "If you don't even make an effort to know yourself, can you ever really place yourself in society and in life at a point where you can thrive?"