Shaun D’souza, founder of Open Sky Slam interacted with Pratiksha Acharya and Umang Sampat of Spectralhues regarding his newly found group, which is expanding rapidly, the concept of Open Sky Slam, the challenges he faced while starting, his interest in poetry and a lot more. Below are the transcripts of the interview:
- What exactly is Open Sky Slam? Brief us about it.
Open Sky is a stage for all forms of performers, no matter what skill or level of experience they possess. The idea here is to create a worldwide community of talented folk and create a world that is united on the bonds of creativity and art.
- What made you think of this unique concept?
When we initially started organizing Open Sky Slams, we didn’t expect it to become as big as it has now. In fact, it simply started out as creating a space for me and my friends to share and express. The concept has now grown and spread to different cities in the country (and Karachi, Pakistan, next week). But the most amusing part of this concept is that it always morphs and changes in its own little ways after each slam, depending on where slams are being organized and the sort of individuals who are performing.
- How hard was it to set up a Slam? You must have faced a lot of difficulties, right?
The hardest part is to find a venue and other resources to organize a slam. Open Sky is a people-driven movement and hence there is always someone who volunteers to let us use their space like cafes, roof-tops and academic premises (like college spaces, etc.) besides sound systems, chairs, etc. But there have been times when it has been difficult to find such people.
- What made you take interest in poetry?
I am passionate about story-telling and have been writing novels for almost four years now, besides short stories, blogs and essays. So Performance Poetry was a new arena of story-telling that thrilled me, since it includes the ‘live audience’ element that I needed to face. I find grace and spirituality in poetry and would forever look at it as an obstacle to overcome.
- How popular are poetry slams in India?
Performance Poetry isn’t very popular in India yet. Even in major cities, it remains to be a niche form of performing art. Organizations like Airplane Poetry Moment are doing a great job spreading this art in various parts of the country. But it still remains largely underrated.
- Any message for our readers?
If you ever need to raise a voice or find your way of expression, there is nothing in the world that can stop you. I used to be a shy kid and the biggest mistake I made was to remain that way for three long years. Anybody on earth can fake it until you become it.
Tags: Founder Open Sky Slam Open Sky Slam Banglore Open Sky Slam Mumbai Open Sky Slam Pune Shaun D'souza
