Priya Malik performs ‘Ishq Hai’ at Delhi’s Lok Kala Manch

Mogra, a stage-side radio and songs from the 1990s greeted the audience at Lok Kala Manch, where poet Priya Malik performed ‘Ishq Hai’ with singer-songwriter Tanmay Maheshwari on a rain-soaked Saturday evening.

The 90-minute programme opened with lines by Mirza Ghalib and moved through poetry and stories about home, chai, relationships and love. Malik arranged the show in three parts — starters, main course and desserts — with what she called “choti, badi aur meethi kavitayen”. The music ranged from Jagjit Singh and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to Asha Bhosle and Mohit Chauhan.

Malik, who spoke about growing up in Dehradun, coming to Delhi, spending a decade in Australia and later settling in Mumbai, called Delhi an anchor in her journey. She recalled visits to Sarojini Nagar for chaat and Lajpat Nagar for momos with red chutney and ginger beer.

After the performance, Malik said shifting from English-only writing to everyday Hindi, while bringing in Hindustani, expanded her audience. “If anything is making people connect with poetry in any way, that’s a win for the art form,” she said, describing spoken word as a more democratic form of poetry.