What The World Needs Now Is More LOVE

SEEMS TO BE WHAT AUTHOR, ACTIVIST AND ANIMAL LOVER RHEEA MUKHERJEE BELIEVES IN AS RŌMAL LĀISRAM TALKS TO HER ABOUT LIFE UNDER LOCKDOWN.

- RŌMAL LĀISRAM

AS A WRITER, YOU’VE BEEN VERY ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND INTERACTING WITH YOUR FOLLOWERS, ESPECIALLY AROUND DEALING WITH ISOLATION DURING THIS LOCKDOWN. HOW HELPFUL DO YOU THINK WRITING IS DURING A PANDEMIC LIKE THIS?

I think we all have our ways of trying to communicate with the world. For writers, words are the obvious things we go to. That said, during this extraordinary time I am seeing clarity in its power to connect with people in revolutionary ways. In these moments, the act of writing, reading, and connecting over experiences allow us to heal together collectively. We’re all shifting our hearts and minds now, and art, as usual, will serve as the connect-the-dots to our learning curve this year. So much has happened in India in the last one year, if you ask me, there are very obvious issues and themes it brings up that need to be acknowledged as a priority. It’s allowing people to be vulnerable, and in this uncertainty, I think it’s a healthy thing to express through any art form. For me, it’s always been writing and trying to bounce my emotional consciousness around to my friends on social media, hoping that in the process, I learn something new.

AS AN ACTIVIST, WE’VE SEEN YOU GO FROM BEING ACTIVE ON THE ANTI-CAA PROTEST-SCENE TO NOW BEING ACTIVE ON THE COVID-19 RELIEF WORK SCENE – HOW CAN OTHER PEOPLE JOIN IN AND CONTRIBUTE?