Nirmika features in black & white videos performing her bold poems in a unique style that combines spoken word and solo theatre
by Suman Gupta
Mumbai,August 2019: After wooing audiences with candid Instagram videos of her poetry recitations, popular lyricist and songwriter Nirmika Singh has launched her highly anticipated Hindi poetry video series #AurSuno across digital platforms. As part of the series, Nirmika will feature in a range of black & white videos, performing her poetry in a unique style that combines spoken word and solo theatre.
High on emotion and passion, Nirmika’s poems in the #AurSuno series cover the themes of feminism, love, relationships and society. The noir treatment to the videos only adds to the overall sentiment of the poems, which reflect Nirmika’s versatility as a millennial poet. She is known for her effortless yet sharp writing style that marries the colloquial with the profound. The videos will be released bi-weekly on Nirmika’s social media handles: @nirmika.
Says Nirmika of #AurSuno series, “I will always feel shy to admit I am a ‘poet’ – it is such a loaded word! I feel with #AurSuno, I am simply articulating some of my deepest, most intimate feelings about causes that matter to me – whether it’s a failing society, a broken relationship or my own body issues. It is perhaps because my words are bare, honest and vulnerable that people can relate to them.”
On why she chose to recite her poetry in a unique noir style, Nirmika says, “I didn’t start with the premise that I must perform my pieces in a different format – I just did what felt right. My poems demand a high emotional quotient, and in the #AurSuno videos I have merely presented my poems with the way I recite them in my head. I am an extremely passionate person and for me, these poems are the purest form of my artistic self-expression. ”
MORE ABOUT NIRMIKA SINGH: Nirmika Singh is a multi-faceted creative leader whose array of work includes songwriting, poetry and performance. As a lyricist, Nirmika’s most recent project was the much-talked about collaboration with the celebrated composer
AR Rahman for penning the Marvel Anthem for Avengers: Endgame. Says Rahman of his young collaborator: “Nirmika is a lyricist who understands modern sensibilities and is also well-versed in the world of poetry and songwriting without letting go of the old soul of Hindi and Urdu poetry – she does all this with ease!”
Apart from being a poet and lyricist, Nirmika is also a respected music critic who currently holds the position of Executive Editor at Rolling Stone India, the Indian edition of the cult international magazine.
Nirmika is fluent in both Hindi and English but it is perhaps no surprise that it is in Hindi that Nirmika has left a mark, and made space for herself as a bold, feminist voice. Both her parents are accomplished Hindi poets who were active in the Delhi literary circles in the ’70s and ’80s, writing and performing protest poetry during the socialist wave.
As a millennial writer, Nirmika is articulating the thoughts of young India, one word at a time in Hindi, English and Hinglish. She has to her name an album, Jhoothe (2016) and multiple music projects for brands like Horlicks, Cadbury, Apollo, Hyundai among others.
Watch the first poem “Kuch Aise Badle Duniya”: https://www.instagram.com/tv/B05LnaNHUwK/?igshid=jvw8oz08p9yk
Watch her performing her poetry during her talk at #TEDxVersova earlier in 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwrb7JWwhEI
