People who can write are gifted, and then there is this man who writes so he can gift them to random strangers! Stationed outside Blossoms in Bangalore, meet this street-writer- a busking artist who will write a story about you without knowing you. He will then read your facial expressions to check if you liked it or not! Introducing to you all, this unique and talented writer who gives you his time and a story in exchange for a momentary peak into your life – Krishna Ravi Shankar.
Gifting Special Stories to People
I began writing in middle school to impress an English teacher. I wrote a lot of poems about teenage angst and misplaced rebellion against the world. Over the last couple of years I got interested in conveying emotions in subtlety. I try to create an image of a heartbreaking scene without directly pointing at the sadness or portray happiness without the obvious smiles.
I like the idea of an instant, momentary connection between me and someone who asks for a story. I try to write specifically for that person, even if I have known them only for a few seconds, which is why I give the story away and don’t keep copies. I would like people to think of that story as a gift especially created for them that no one else in the world has.
Sixty Days in Europe
After I quit my job in the US last year, I backpacked across Europe for two months. This journey was a personal experiment to see if I could withstand my own self for two months. It was a great way to step out of my comfort zone and meet incredible people along the way, many of whom have an inspiring effect on me everyday.
In every city that I visited, I wrote a fictional story inspired by the city and published the collection on a Facebook page called Sixty Days in Europe. The response was positive and made me believe that I could continue to write short stories.
My experience in Europe also convinced me that life could be exactly like you want it to be if you were a little fortunate and you had a solid direction.
Busking on the Streets of India
The practice of performing art on the street is called Busking. This is fairly popular in America and Europe. Most usually it is in the form of a single musician performing with a guitar or violin. In America you can see buskers in metro stations, and in Europe they occupy crowded tourist squares. Sometimes large crowds will gather around the performer and drop some coins into his jar, and at other times they perform to a lonely audience. I think writing as a form of street performance is harder because it requires more time, assuming you are writing spontaneously and not recalling past work. I haven’t seen any street writers or poets myself, but I know of a few through the internet.
A number of people who approach me on the streets here in India haven’t heard of the term busking. It’s a wonderful experience to be sitting out on the street and creating stories while simultaneously meeting new people and listening to their own experiences. I find that it’s easier to make stories on my typewriter while I sit and observe the world on the street rather than being holed away in my room.
More Stories to Write before I Sleep
Rest of the year, I plan to travel across Asia. I would like to continue my work of creating fictional stories in each city, but I also wonder if some stories can be collected and inspired from interviewing local people. I would also like to busk in the tourist pockets of some cities, but many countries need written consent from the local police in order to perform on the street.
Meanwhile in India, some friends and I have discussed forming a collective for street artists. We would like to go out as a group and perform on the street, getting artists, photographers, musicians involved on the same platform.
I do want to mention Anand Vijayasimha, a singer-songwriter, who was one of the first people to busk in Bangalore – incidentally he used to occupy the same space outside Blossoms that I occupy now, and Yatish VT – an architect, photographer and my partner-in-crime, who busks with me and writes letters on the back of his photographs.
Support System
Friends offer support on social media, and some people for whom I write stories also point me towards other writing opportunities. People who put money in my jar often say that the money isn’t only for the story, but also for the effort of doing this in public. I find support from strangers in the form of kind words to help me continue writing the next story and I’ll continue to do so until people get eventually bored and chase me away.
Quicky Bytes-
Writing and Giving? A healthy relationship is a two-way street.
Busy Church Street- A lovely street lined with graffiti, bookstores, pubs, and most importantly, cheerful curious people.
A Line for Our Readers from Your Typewriter- Be curious, always.
Street Art- The most ideal way to spontaneously express yourself to the world.
Team KYS wishes Krishna the best of luck for his future endeavors. You can find Krishna’s masterpieces here- Facebook and Instagram.