Poet, artist, freelancer, facilitator, writer and outbound trainer, are just the few caps 24-year-old Janet Orlene dons. Going by her pseudonym — Inkweaver, this youngster from the city has made waves and managed to impact, as well as improve people’s lives in so many different ways, and all for the better! Her Blindfold Conversation Under The Trees and Poetry Jams, which takes place every other Sunday, are some of the most looked-forward to events among youngsters in the city today!
The whole idea of blindfolded conversations, sprouted out of a conversation Janet had with her friend — she reveals. “As humans, we tend to judge people by what they are wearing, doing or even look like — all without having a conversation and getting to know that person!” she exclaims.
“That made me wonder what it would be like to have a conversation with somebody, without knowing who they were or what they look like and get to know somebody on a deeper, more personal level,” explains the Inkweaver who managed to organise the event with a few of her friends, which received an overwhelming response and multiple participants.
“I’ve realised that people do want to talk about the tough times they have been through without being judged, but have no outlet. There have been men who didn’t realise they were raped, until they head someone else talk about it — all because society says nothing can happen to men!” says Janet who is currently taking giant strides towards helping people open up as well as explore themselves.
For somebody who is so involved in helping people express what they go through, is there something that overwhelms the 24-year-old? “It is quite challenging for me as well, because I need to monitor around 300 people at once, and am a little claustrophobic,” says Orlene who recalls a bizarre instance, when people mistook the event for a way to meet people to date!
“They were basically 16-year-olds who thought this was an offline version of Tinder. Boy, were they in for a surprise when they were made to talk about their feelings to a random person,” she laughs.
But the concept seems to be hitting off well! “I find conversations about daily affairs meaningless and like to get to know people on a deeper level — what keeps them up at night, experiences and everything else in between. And getting to know all of this even without knowing what the person on the other side looks like, is a whole other difference all together!” says Pavithra V, a participant of the blindfold conversations at the park.
