Does it sound inspiring, creative or rather unusual to write poems at a stretch, like for a thousand days? This is what Angshuman Sarma, a 25-year-old poet, and educator at My Captain Official from Bengaluru, is currently doing. He has been writing and posting a poem every single day for the past seven months and has completed over 260 poems which have been posted on his poetry account on Instagram @ipoemmythoughts. This sounds amusing and makes us think about his motive in starting the #1000daysofpoetry. “I used to tell my mentees at My Captain that when they write every single day, they can become a writer but I wasn’t doing it myself. So, this was taken from a teacher's stance that I wanted to show them this can be done. In case it cannot be done, I wanted to focus on finding solutions for my mentees and that's where it started from,” says Angshuman. He also adds how the motive has taken a shift to something more personal now, “When I started it, it was all about creating a poem at the end of the day but now, it’s all about enjoying the process of writing every single day.”
Writing poetry regularly means running out of ideas to write about. Angshuman says how he invokes inspiration to write every day, “In terms of inspiration, it is something that happens to me on that particular day or something that I’ve observed or get reminded of from the past or a dedication post to someone.” He also adds how documenting his everyday experiences in the form of poetry has been worthwhile as he is doing it for self-improvement.
His experience in writing poems for the past six months have been an equal share of highs and lows. He says, “Some days I don’t have the mental energy to write. There’s respecting my body’s thresholds and so I write a very small piece. It has always been fun to write on the good days where I’m full of energy, will and enthusiasm. This whole project has been such a great learning process as it’s about learning to write and writing to learn.”
Angshuman no longer looks at #1000daysofpoetry as a challenge to write every day. “Initially, I looked at it as a challenge but now, I look forward to this. I look at this as an opportunity to write every single day. I follow a system that needs a lot of work on myself and this led me to this place where I can post my art every single day. And writing every single day has helped me a lot especially in the lockdown because it has been an anchor that’s holding me together,” adds Angshuman.
Writer’s block is the biggest fear for every writer. Speaking on how he handles it, he adds, “I had a phase in my life where I couldn’t write for one whole year. I thought I couldn’t write anymore. It was my largest writer’s block and then I worked on it and created a system for myself. It’s just the more you know about yourself, the more you are at peace with yourself. It essentially is doing something you love every single day. It’s a kind of realisation as I apply this learning to everything I love.”
When asked about the roles of a poet in our society, he explains, “It is, to tell the truth, and to write about ourselves, our emotions. We live in a society where we do not talk about our emotions, and it’s almost taboo if men talk about emotions. So, this is a radical stance taken by poets to talk about emotions, in a way it has to facilitate the discussion.”
Angshuman's dissent poetry includes ongoing issues. He says, “Poetry has always been a tool for dissent, to shed light on topics that aren’t talked about and poets are here, to tell the truth.”
He also has something to say for his fellow poets and artists, “If you’re a growing artist, you have a long journey. When you read a poem written by your best friend, you always choose kind words but not with yourself. It takes a lot of practice to do that. I've been doing this and now I choose the kind words for myself and a lot of self-love.”
