Gunjan Saini
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
What would you do if you knew there were no hurdles in your way? Spoken word poet Gunjan Saini who has never shied from addressing issues of self worth at her shows, says her confidence on stage and off, was not always a constant.“Though I grew up in a household where there was gender disparity, we would compare ourselves to the ladies we saw on television who were fair-skinned, beautiful and well-turned-out. I believe our issues over our self worth stemmed from there.”Hailing from Bhopal, Gunjan says she always knew she belonged in the creative field but was unsure of pursuing the role of an actor or dancer. The artiste, who brings Heroine - A Storytelling Special to Bengaluru on August 2, says though she completed her course at AIIMS Bhopal, graduating with a degree in nursing, she “wanted something different” and undertook a master’s in Mass Communication in Mumbai.“Then, I came across a few videos of spoken word artistes online and I realised their messages were not bound by metre or verse in the way poetry is traditionally structured.”“It offered a freedom to write unhindered,” says Gunjan, adding though she initially thought of it as a hobby while performing for friends and small circles, the response she received encouraged her to stick with it and she began doing open mics while still a student. "That was in 2018, and at the time, not many people had a career in this line of work.”
