Priya Malik during her Delhi show
Priya Malik, along with singer-songwriter Tanmay Maheshwari, brought a show filled with nostalgia, humour and love, leaning into ’90s nostalgia Speaking to us after the 90-minute show, Priya talks about how a blend of languages helps her reach today’s audience which may not know much about poetry.
My next aim is to write a Punjabi poem, which I haven’t written yet,” she said. On a drenched Saturday evening, the smell of mogra and tunes of iconic retro songs enveloped an audience gathered for an evening of spoken-word poetry. Beginning with the words of Mirza Ghalib, ‘Duniya ek jism hai, aur Dilli uski jaan,’ an evening of poetry and storytelling unfolded at Lok Kala Manch. Poet Priya Malik, along with singer-songwriter Tanmay Maheshwari, brought a show filled with nostalgia, humour and love, leaning into ’90s nostalgia, with a radio on stage and gajre adorning her hair. “Language definitely helps bridge the gap. Initially, when I started spoken word poetry, all my poems were English only. The moment I switched to Hindi, and very colloquial Hindi that we use everyday, I immediately widened my audience. I knew a little bit of Urdu but my expertise on the language wasn’t that much. I tried to teach myself a little bit here and there, and then I infused that Hindustani language. If I infuse all the languages that I love together, then I’m definitely being my more authentic self and also appealing to a much larger demographic of audience. People love the fluidity of switching between languages. I love that I can write and express myself in all these languages. It also makes you want to learn more. Priya’s show touched upon emotions, chai, relationships and anecdotes that made the audience reach for their loved ones’ hands. Poetry has long been associated with lovers or an older generation. But as spoken word finds new audiences online and offline, Priya believes poetry is becoming more accessible rather than losing its relevance. “The beauty of our spoken-word circuit is that we’re all different from each other. There are no two similar poets – each of us has our own voice, distinct style and our own kind of poems that we enjoy writing and performing. As long as a spoken-word artist has their own audience, that’s cool. I think it’s lovely that art has become this accessible. Yes, it will bring the riff-raff and more noise. We can be highbrow and elitist about it, but at the end of the day, if anything is making people connect with poetry in any way, that’s a win for the art form. It’s making poetry more democratic. Priya Malik’s show Ishq Hai was divided into three parts, like a meal – starters, main course and desserts. Choti, badi aur meethi kavitayen, as she put it. I want you to feel like you’re sitting in your living room and listening to a friend talking to you about love, life and everything in between. Coupled with songs, the evening included tracks from Jagjit Singh and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to Asha Bhosle and Mohit Chauhan.
Kickstarting the meal, she said, “There is only one condition for today’s show, I want you to have fun.
