Archika Dogra: From Forbes 30 Under 30 to Spirit of Princeton Award

ia campaign #WeTheChangeNow. "If there's public awareness first, then we can improve the environment. It will happen if people are aware of climate-friendly behaviours and actions. This is why I want to work in the space of public awareness and mobilization," she said in an interview.

It was lack of environmental and climate awareness in her village coupled with pollution that prompted Hina to take action, and work on the lines of climate change. "I was also the first girl from my village to travel to Lucknow and be part of the Climate Agenda initiative in 2018. I learned about air pollution, the air quality index, and understood that fighting climate change is our collective responsibility and not just of the government," she said in an interview.

At a young age Hina understood that lack of education can lead to other issues, including pollution, improper disposal and drainage system. She saw the ponds in her village filled with garbage and drains overflowing. She knew education was the only route to make people aware of the issues. But her biggest challenge was convincing elders to send their children to school. With most children employed in stone quarries and football factory, parents were happy that they were lending a helping hand financially, and weren't too keen to send their kids to school.

That's when she joined hands with her teacher and visited people in the village, convincing children to not drop out. Moreover, she became an active member of a local NGO, N Block, and started attending workshops and sessions on climate change. Hina didn't leave any stone unturned to convince the villagers to send their kids to school and told them education was the only way to understand the importance of climate change and cleanliness. She believes that change happens at the grassroot level. "I work hard to bring about public awareness and to mobilise positive action through activities like pamphlet distribution, public meetings, door-to-door visits, and surveys. I firmly believe that when individuals change micro-behaviours, they can bring about massive transformational change," added the climate activist.

Her hardwork and persistence helped create a difference as more children have enrolled in the schools now. The Global Indian has become a role model for many children in her village and now many parents want their kids to be like Hina. Moreover, she had led the plantation drive in her village, and often discusses new projects with the village Pradhan.

"Dear human don't become elements of destruction @Climate is changing
Protect your possession pic.twitter.com/rWzZ8LGEIz

— Hina Saifi (@HinaSai03267365) September 16, 2021

Hina, who is currently pursuing an MBA from the Bharti Institute of Technology, Meerut, is among 16 women champions who have been given a platform to address the climate crisis by the Women Climate Collective (WCC). "The Women Climate Collective has given us a platform to raise our voice on environment-related issues. These powerful voices of women will go far in achieving the objective of fighting change and bringing in socio-economic development."

• Follow Hina Saifi on X

and podcaster Megha Rao[/caption]

Teething’s lasting impact can be judged from the high praise from acclaimed writer and politician Dr Shashi Tharoor, film actor Naseeruddin Shah, author Manu S Pillai and poet Jerry Pinto.

While Shashi Tharoor wrote, “Both fluent and complex, searing and plangent, the poems in Megha Rao’s Teething reveal a remarkable sensibility allied to a rare talent for the language. This is a stunning, moving collection. I look forward to many more!,” actor Naseeruddin Shah was also awed by her verse, “If poetry is a metaphorical description of the mundane then Megha Rao is certainly not short of metaphors. These deeply-felt personal poems sometimes have the touch of a butterfly’s wings and sometimes hit the reader like a sledgehammer.”

A verse to mull over

Author of three books, the Indian poetess' fiery stage performances often leave the audience wanting more. “Teething started with its last poem, Spoonerism - a conversation a family has while having dinner, and something about the characters made me realise there was more to tell, more individual stories to share - hidden moments and secrets, emotions that begged to come tumbling out,” informs Megha, a postgraduate in English Literature from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. She did BA English from Madras Christian College (Chennai).

[caption id="attachment_10039" align="alignnone" width="1080"] Megha Rao performs at an event[/caption]

Elaborating on Teething, the Indian poetess says she began by working backwards. “I know it sounds strange, but the first poem and the prologue of Teething were the last two pieces I wrote, but I trusted the process,” says Megha, who was lauded for her brew of metaphors and surrealism.

Born in Trivandrum in December 1995,  Megha started writing as a six-year-old. “It was a comic book I wrote for the first time. It was about a toy I had - a little fluffy dog,” says the 26-year-old Indian poetess, who as a child was always creative. “My mind was always up to something strange and ridiculous,” she quips. While creative writing came to her early, Megha loved painting, and one of her hobbies was to collect stamps. She first entered the public eye when her poem I’m in Love With This World gained traction online.

The Indian poetess'  works have been featured on Rollingstone India, UnErase, Terribly Tiny Tales, Why Indian Men Rape, Homegrown, Feminism in India, Kommune, etc. The confessional poet and surrealist artist has already written three books - It Will Always Be You (2015), A Crazy Kind of Love (2016) — both light-hearted romantic fiction, and Music to Flame Lilies (2019), best known for magic realism. She is currently working on a storytelling module focussed on girl’s education in Kenya, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Gautemala and some other countries alongside a non-profit.

[caption id="attachment_10046" align="alignnone" width="1080"] Megha Rao[/caption]

A poetry podcast that reached #1

Her poetry podcast trended # 1 on Spotify India, and earned her many admirers. “Poems To Calm Down To (podcast) was a bit of an anomaly from my usual writing style. It’s themes were beauty, hope, tenderness, simplicity, and all the lovely, light-bearing things in life,” informs the poet. It was a series of slow, steady and patient poems, unlike her other works. “It was a real joy creating it, and I’ll always have a soft spot for it. Although, I have to admit, I was so surprised when it rose to #1 on trending podcasts Spotify, and was among the top 10 podcasts in India,” says the Indian poetess, whose followers find the podcast calming, and relatable. She is now working on a book about grief.

“I always write under the impression that every experience I talk about is completely mine alone, but it’s things like these that show me I’m not alone. It’s a paradox, an individual yet collective experience,” explains the Indian poetess, who currently shuttles between Mumbai and Kerala. Her podcast explores the personal growth journey of a young poet who tries to understand life on her own terms and discovers the beauty of forgiveness, maturity and acceptance. Her poems, quite unabashed in nature, derive inspiration from Sylvia Plath and Frida Kahlo.

Taking refuge in words

“Looking back, there was no other way. It (poetry) was my natural habitat, my safe space,” smiles Megha, who spent her childhood in Singapore before returning to Kerala when she was 10. Her father is the vice principal of an engineering college. The family is originally from Mangalore but her ancestors moved to Kerala in search of work long ago.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Megha Rao (@_megharao)

The first time she performed on a big stage was mesmerising. The fiery poet on stage is a soft-spoken person, surprisingly. “There were all these lights, faces and smiles and it was twilight, and I had eight minutes of magic - standing there screaming my poem,” recalls the Indian poetess, of her first performance. “It was overwhelming - such a whirlwind. I just remember finding my way to the end and there were all these tents - I lay on the grass, staring at the stars and wondering if this is what it meant to be so gloriously alive,” says Megha, rather poetically.

Finding courage amidst brickbats

Citing Arundhati Roy, Kamila Shamsie, Arthur Rimbaud and Joan Didion as her influences, Megha believes her successes are not hers alone. “I overcame the odds by leaning on loved ones. My successes belong to all the people who carried me,” says the Indian poetess, admitting that she is a very private person. “I just didn’t indulge or encourage anything that threatened my safe space. When times got tough, I scaled back. I kept my family and friends close,” says the poet who admits to being a very private person.

Next, the Indian poetess hopes, “To do things that make me happy!” When not writing poetry, Megha she is deep into fiction - Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. Very active on Instagram, Megha has been teaching young girls to love themselves, and helping people heal, especially during the pandemic.

Her favourite Global Indian is KR Meera. The voracious reader rarely watches TV, but says. “I watched Karnan loosely based on the 1995 Kodiyankulam violence,” says Megha who likes to indulge in body painting, calling it therapeutic.

• Follow Megha Rao on LinkedIn and Instagram