Teaching language in Australia while participating in slam poetry competitions, Priya Malik could never have imagined that a decade later she would find herself at the heart of India’s Gen Z student protests—a full-circle moment that brought together her passion for language, performance, and public expression. As one of India’s rising and most prominent spoken-word poets, Priya’s presence at the Mumbai Gen Z protests, with a giant placard that read “I like my Chai strong, but my Democracy stronger’, was a moment she would never forget.“It was life coming full circle, of course. I wanted to be a part of the movement not just as an artist, but a former teacher. I understood that there would be repercussion, enough people around me told me that, but it meant something for everyone present. I wanted to be there for my son,” said Priya. As a spoken word artist, Priya also felt proud that the Gen Z protests showed the world that ‘casual, conversational form of literature’ can become powerful political and artistic expression. “I once was invited to perform at Rekhta and faced a lot of criticism against spoken word artists. Look at things now. Gen Z, I feel, is old school yet they do things their own way. They are compassionate yet aware of the politics and optics involved in the world. They seek honest discourse rather than just symbolic gestures. Memes became the new language of protest and social media a part of public discourse. Art has a way to reach people,” she says.In Amritsar, post the protests, on the last leg of a two year-long tour for her show Ishq Hai, she curated the show like a carefully crafted food menu, drawing inspiration from the rich flavours and culinary traditions of Amritsar. “I love to see how Amritsar does food, with so much passion, dedication and love. It translates into every bite,” she shared as she took a mouthful of crunchy Amritsari Kulcha.Priya does poetry the same way. It had bite- size servings of her memories about her home, her mother and moving away from the family. The main course had servings of some heavy doses of love, Ishq and nostalgia with her popular poems like Mujhe Pyar Nahi Ishq Chahiye, Ishq Hai and Jaise Tum Pyaar Krte Ho. The ending came with classic, bittersweet inspiration from Amrita Pritam’s timeless farewell ode, Main Tenu Pher Milangi.“I believe I share my love for chaa (tea) and conversations with Pritam. I love my tea with bit of ginger and she, elaichi (cardamom). Since childhood, I have always had a mic in my hand, performing other people’s poetry. It took me 30 years to take my poems out in the world. Most of my poems come from a personal space, my learnings, experiences, stories of my home and my life, in general. But a lot of creative influences comes from reading greats like Suryakant Tripathi Nirala, Amrita Pritam (someone she greatly admires).”She started with writing in English but now confesses to have fallen for Urdu and Hindi. “I am trying to write something in Punjabi. That’s the goal I set for myself next,” she shares.