Megha Raos poems about love and life are perfect for a confusion-ridden pandemic time, as she uses words to address her own anxiety and comfort readers
Megha Rao has been performing spoken word poetry for five years
Megha Rao's podcast, Poems to calm down to, in collaboration with Kommune does help you calm down (tried and tested). It has life and love advice, that seems too sage-like to come from a poet who is just 23, but it helps see life's moments from a new perspective. In Pauses, she says, "My mother once told me that the best way to help yourself, was to listen"; in Letters to Friends, she recounts, "Not everyone was going to like you"; and in Love Lessons, she says of her grandparents, "Their love was a teenager's eye roll, not deserving of a drum roll".
Megha Rao
The poems are sweet, and uncomplicated, making it a read for everyone. Rao, who we learn is spending the lockdown in her home state Kerala, told us that like so many others, she experienced bouts of anxiety and confusion, and wanted to make her mind a safe space for herself. "So, I started writing about hope, gratitude and self-care. So much of what's gone into the poems is from my personal diary. I knew it had to be a concept album of confessions, snippets from a private conversation, something excruciatingly personal, but also something that had a purpose to make someone else's day better, even if that someone was just me."
The feedback has been overwhelming for Rao, and the podcast is already trending on Spotify's podcast chart. "Most messages I get start with 'I listened to this at 3 am...' and I think that's my own witching hour. That's when I see ghosts, that's when the past comes knocking, and the voices in our heads get louder. And if someone used my poem as a pillow, that made their heart less heavy, I'm thankful."
When we ask her how being a full-time poet is going, she says, "Interesting. The devil is always the rent, of course. And the pandemic has left artistes weakened mentally, emotionally and financially. But I love that every day is an adventure. I write on some days, I perform on others, I work on my podcast, collaborate with collectives, and there are always new projects to keep my life on its toes. Everything is in technicolour now. It's uncertain, unconventional and chaotic, but I'm trying to be brave through it all."
What: Poems to calm down to
Where: Spotify India
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