Lucknow– The session titled Untamed at the Metaphor Lucknow Litfest featured an insightful conversation between renowned actress and poet Sandhya Mridul and author Surabhi Modi. The session offered a deep dive into Sandhya’s journey from acting to poetry, her personal evolution, and her new book, Untamed, which delves into themes of vulnerability, love, and self-acceptance.
The discussion kicked off with a free-flowing exchange of ideas and reflections. Sandhya spoke candidly about her love for cinema, which had been a passion since her childhood. However, despite her early focus on acting, she revealed that writing was not always on her radar. It wasn’t until she was deeply influenced by her late brother, a passionate poet, that she began to develop an interest in writing. This shift, as she shared, allowed her to discover a new part of herself, one that embraced vulnerability through poetry.
Themes of Vulnerability and Emotions
Sandhya went on to speak about her admiration for poets and their unique ability to weave vulnerability into words. “Poets have the incredible ability to take brokenness and vulnerability and turn them into something beautiful,” she said. She explored the emotional depth in her work, sharing that poetry allows her to express feelings that, at times, go beyond the boundaries of ordinary life.
She highlighted the rawness of emotions—love, brokenness, lost love, self-revelations, and the longing for completeness. She touched upon the ways in which individuals often strive to rationalize and cope with these emotions, emphasizing that it’s important to embrace the contradictions that emotions carry.
Surabhi Modi, who moderated the conversation, shared her thoughts on one of the last poems in Sandhya’s book, praising how Sandhya has successfully accepted her real, true, and authentic self. The poem exemplifies themes of self-acceptance and the acceptance of one’s emotional journey.
The Retrospective Approach to Pain and Fulfillment
The session also delved into Sandhya’s relationship with pain and how she has learned to look back at her life retrospectively. She emphasized that everyone must adopt this approach to truly understand their experiences and grow from them. Reflecting on her career in acting, Sandhya admitted that while she was blessed with success and glamour, it never truly gave her fulfillment. Acting was a path that brought external validation, but writing poetry became her true outlet for self-expression and connection.
“Poetry made me feel like my real, authentic self,” Sandhya remarked, explaining how it gave her the space to be vulnerable and true to her emotions. Despite her deep passion for writing, she also mentioned that she plans to return to acting alongside her writing career, reinforcing the idea of embracing all parts of oneself.
Call to Embrace Authenticity
The session concluded with a powerful message to the audience: to take a stand and embrace their true selves without the pressure of societal expectations. Sandhya encouraged everyone to allow their inner child to experience every emotion fully, without feeling the need to act overly mature. “It’s okay to feel deeply. Let yourself be vulnerable, let yourself be real,” she said, urging the audience to connect with their authentic selves.
The conversation ended with an interactive Q&A session, where Sandhya answered questions from the audience with spontaneity and grace, sharing more personal insights into her creative process and her journey of self-discovery.
Legacy of the Session
The session was not just an exploration of Sandhya Mridul’s poetic journey, but also a celebration of the courage it takes to embrace one’s vulnerabilities and contradictions. Untamed served as both a literary piece and a reminder to the audience that personal authenticity and emotional honesty are essential components of a fulfilled life. By the end of the session, Sandhya’s words had resonated deeply, leaving the audience inspired to nurture their emotional expressions and live unapologetically true to themselves.
