“As a kid, growing up, we all fascinate about something which we want to do for the rest of our lives. As my dad was in the army, by default there would be some or the other news channels running on television, all the time. I tried imitating how the news readers, read whatever were the headlines. Of course, I wanted to study journalism but my dad scammed me into becoming an engineer. At college, the crowd was either boring or extremely out of my league to mingle. That is when I heard about Open Sky Slam. I wanted a place where I could meet like minded people and also a stage to perform. I went to the 2nd Sky Slam that happened here. We are going to turn 3, in a few days.”

What is Open Sky Slam to you?

“In India, as small artists, we have never been taught to express ourselves with our creativity nor have been taught to listen. I think, these 2 are most important or else we are just running around to win medals or competitions. What we do is give the artists, seamless boundaries to explore and learn art. Doesn’t matter if they have performed at a national level or never performed at all but as long as you understand what you want to do, we are there to give you a platform to perform.”

How difficult is it to make friends when you’ve lived in 8+ cities?

“I can never go back and think of a best friend that I have. I have a lot of friends that way. Whenever I got close to someone, we had to relocate. That is why I don’t have a best friend, you know. Somebody who knows all your secrets, someone who you grew up with, someone who has been there all the time. That is very crucial, I feel as we grow up as kids. Also, I had to grow up without my dad around me to teach me to ride a bicycle, to put me to sleep in the night, to complaint about the neighborhood boy and to not be able to attend my parents-teachers meeting. Every time, I would ask for him, my mom would pacify me saying that my dad is taking care of a bigger problem, than me.”

“I am very restless, as a person. Probably it is because of my upbringing. There is so much that I want to learn, I want to invest myself in something worthwhile. I also teach on Sundays at a rescue home. I would rather spend my time with those kids who are full of life than chilling at home, watching a tv show. I am Shruthi M Acharya”