Laksh Maheshwari presents an evening of music, poetry and storytelling

There is something very soothing about storytellers and spoken word artistes. Be it the stories they say or their voice and rendition, it relaxes your muscles and automatically brings a smile to your face. “Because what are we if not an amalgamation of stories,” says Laksh Maheshwari, a story teller and spoken word artiste. He comes to Hyderabad with his show Ishq Sufiyana, a performance about all forms of unconditional, divine love. “I talk about the love Kabir had for Ram, Amir Khusrau and Bulleh Shah had for their gurus, Mirabai had for Krishna, and Majnu had for Laila. I present the essence of all these forms of love with their stories, qawwalis and songs. I also share my interpretation of these qawwalis,” he says.

Unlike a lot of other spoken word performers who create stories and narratives based on their personal experiences, Laksh presents lesser known existing stories of artistes. He believes that there are so many stories already out there which will get lost if no one continues its legacy. These stories, he draws from literature and books. “The problem is people these days don’t spend too much time in books. If they actually indulge in books, they can expand their horizon exponentially.”

While talking about his horizon expanded to spoken word, Laksh tells us that this is his 12th career. He began his journey as an investment banker, and finally after about 12-13 years of experimenting, found his calling. He reiterates a popular saying, ‘you only need three things to be happy—something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to’, and he found the last one in storytelling. Now, he wakes up everyday with excitement and curiosity. He began with making videos explaining the meaning and stories behind songs on social media, and has now come to performing complete curated shows.

Laksh concludes with a few words for budding storytellers, “The stage is open for all kinds of artistes, you just need to have courage and take the plunge.”

Tickets at ₹