It felt like cricket versus poetry, but we still had a full house, says poet Nayab Midha

While Bengalureans were tuned into the ongoing cricket sea son’s opening match recently, over 800 people gathered for poet Nayab Midha’s India tour, sitting through a two-hour evening of storytelling and poetry. Nayab, who began writing after a school competition, says the turnout didn’t surprise her. “It felt like cricket versus poetry, and we still had a packed auditorium. That, to me, only proves that poetry has always had its audience,” she says.

‘Poetry never went out of trend, we just weren’t telling good stories’
At a time when attention spans are believed to be shrinking, Nayab feels the issue lies not with audiences but with the content itself. “Poetry never went out of trend. We just weren’t telling good stories,” she explains. “We are all made up of stories — the ones we’ve heard and the ones we’ve lived. Poetry speaks to human emotions, and those are universal. That connection keeps listeners engaged without them reaching for their phones," she says. As poetry increasingly finds space in the digital world, Nayab believes recognition for poets still lags behind. "Poetry is still seen as niche, and there’s hardly any recognition for poets. Anyone can be a storyteller, but being a poet requires a different space," she says.

‘On stage, there is no pressure — only joy’
Despite her strong social media presence, Nayab admits she feels more pressure online than on stage. “On stage, I just need to be the best version of myself — and I truly believe I was born for it,” she says. “Nothing compares to the thrill of performing a piece for the first time. Over time, the stage has become home — a space I understand, where I feel pure joy,” she says. However, she adds that while poetry is widely used for its emotional pull in campaigns and films, dedicated platforms remain limited. “People relate to poetry — it works everywhere. But when it comes to giving it a meaningful stage, it’s still missing," she says.
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