Very often, poetry is associated with melancholy and heartbreak. Very rarely does it get a joyful pat on the back! For spoken word artiste Nayab Midha, however, poetry goes beyond mere sorrow. It becomes a space for honesty, laughter, mainly to show the world both the weight of unspoken feelings and the lightness of being truly heard. Through her show The Unspoken Rule, set to happen on March 28, Midha will spotlight these deep emotions people carry and struggle to express. “The people who come to hear you are mostly those who feel unheard – they are the ones who hold on to words they have never said out loud. Hence the name – The Unspoken Rule. Because artistes are speaking on behalf of people,” she explains. Accompanied by music, her Hindi-Urdu set aims to immerse audiences fully, encouraging them to disconnect from distractions and be present.
Midha began writing long before as scribbles and recitations among friends and slowly found her way to the stage during her school farewell. “I wrote my first poem when I was in Class 9 in 2009, and I’ve been writing ever since. I was not aware that it’s called spoken word – I just liked to write and recite to my friends,” she reminisces.
Despite this early connection, she initially followed a conventional path of pursuing engineering and eventually stepping into a full-time job. But poetry lingered, growing louder with time in her. “Every day I just didn’t want to do my job. I wanted to do poetry. Every day of not doing it was like dying,” she explains. In 2020, she finally took the leap – the timing although coinciding with the pandemic, brought its own challenges as live performances came to a halt.
Even though spoken word poetry has existed for years, Midha credits social media for expanding its reach. According to her, unlike traditional poetry, spoken word carries a special layer when performed by the writer, something that text alone cannot fully capture. Platforms like Instagram have allowed artistes to present their work in its intended form, helping it resonate with a wider audience. Her writing process, or the lack of it per say, is another aspect that defines her unique style. Midha does not follow a structured approach or formula. “I don’t alter what I’m feeling. There’s no process, I’m like a river, I like to flow,” she says. There have even been instances where she has altered her script just minutes before a performance, guided entirely by what she feels in that moment. This spontaneity gives her work a raw, unfiltered quality that resonates with her audience.
She also addresses the misconception that poetry has to be sad, feel heavy and connects to only a certain age group, whereas her audience is not limited to the youth, calling herself a favourite among mums. “Spoken word poetry has its own layer – it’s understood better when it’s recited, and social media has enabled it. With increasing dependence on technology, I feel youngsters are becoming less emotionally aware,” she shares. And in a fast-paced world, Midha sees poetry as more relevant than ever. “There is a saying that art makes the comfortable uncomfortable and uncomfortable comfortable. But poetry only makes the uncomfortable, comfortable. In this context, it acts as a bridge helping individuals process feelings they might otherwise ignore,” she points out.
Her personal life, including her recent marriage, has also brought subtle emotional shifts rather than dramatic changes to her writing, she notes. Having known her partner for years, she describes the transition as comforting and grounding, which has added layers of warmth to her experiences which further show in her poetry.
At her upcoming show which brings together humour, music, and emotion and creating an experience that moves between laughter and introspection, Midha hopes the room become the viewers’ universe.
(Catch the show live on March 28, 7pm, at Dr Babu Jagjivanram Bhavana, Summanahalli)