Nidhi Narwal: I Never Knew How to Love Myself, Poetry Taught Me That (Poet, Storyteller, 1.3M Followers)

Nidhi Narwal Interview

 

“Nidhi Narwal, is an Indian poet, storyteller, and digital creator whose Hindi poetry captures the subtleties of human emotion with simplicity and depth.”

Q. How did growing up in a fauji family and starting young shape your poetry?

I am a fauji kid, and growing up, emotions were rarely expressed openly at home. I think that silence played a big role in pushing me towards writing, because pages became the only place where I could freely express what I felt.

I was 14 when I started writing my first novel. It was about vampires and guardian angels. I dreamed of finishing it before my 9th-grade exams because I wanted to become the youngest author, but I never could. Later, when I was in 11th-12th, I lived in a hostel. My friends often told me that I wrote really well and that I should become a writer. I used to smile shyly and brush it off whenever they said something like that, but deep inside, I believed them.

Whenever life felt heavy or confusing, words gave me comfort. Every time I wrote, my heart whispered to me that this is what I am meant to do.

Q. When writing, what comes first: experience, feeling, or a line? How do you know a thought should become a poem?

First comes confusion! Pure chaos! Then, in the process of untangling that confusion, emotions begin to surface. You slowly understand what is causing the restlessness in your mind. Is it love? Is it painful? Is it confusing? 

It feels like searching for a thorn that has pierced deep into your finger. First, there is only pain. Then you look for the thorn. When you finally pull it out, you realize how big it actually was. And after that comes the time and process of healing, and that healing stage is when words appear.

I believe that I don’t decide which thought should turn into a poem. The thought decides. It knows whether I am the one who can turn it into poetry. And if I am not, it simply passes on to someone else, floating in the air. For a long time, I believed that I was writing poems. Much later, I understood that poems write themselves, and I am only a medium.

Q. Your performances feel personal, not theatrical. How do you maintain that honesty on stage?

When I first started performing poems and stories on stage, I learned something very beautiful. Most people who step onto a stage want to “say” something. They feel nervous and keep thinking, “I hope I don’t forget my lines. I just want to say everything correctly and finish quickly.”

When I go on stage, I’m nervous too, but I’m never in a hurry to leave. I know that the same stage that makes me nervous will also give me comfort. I just need to be patient for a couple of minutes.

I don’t go on stage to “say” my words. I go there to “tell” them, to “share” them. The way we tell a story to a friend, and sometimes ask them when we feel they’re not listening, “listen...attention please...” just to make sure they are really listening.

“Tell, don’t Say” That’s my mantra.

Q. Millions connect with your words. How do you protect your emotional space?

I believe that when you are vocal in front of so many people, you need someone in your life who understands your silence. When you stand before a crowd and share your poems and stories, when you offer your words so openly, you also need at least one person in your life who understands you without needing any words at all.

Such people help protect your emotional space. They give you safety & security when the outside world feels loud and overwhelming. They are like insulation, shielding you from all that noise.

I feel truly blessed and deeply grateful to have such people in my life. Because it’s they (and not me) who protect my emotional space while I stay open & available to my audiences.

Q. How have you changed over the years, and how has that affected your poetry?

I feel that now I carry more understanding and a little more courage within me. That does reflect in my work. This journey has taught me how to talk to myself, how to understand myself, and most importantly, how to accept myself. I believe all of this is visible in my poems. For a long time, I can hardly recall writing anything purely for myself. But in the past few years, I have written a lot just for me.

About a year ago, for the first time, I wrote a poem on self-love and performed it at a live show. The poem is called “Acchi Lagne Lagi.” I remember crying that day, because it was the first time I had loved myself so openly and so loudly.
 

I never knew how to love myself; poetry taught me that.

Bio

Nidhi Narwal is an Indian poet, storyteller, and digital creator known for her evocative Hindi spoken word performances. Based in Delhi, she blends vulnerability and confidence on stage, creating intimate, relatable experiences that explore love, friendship, longing, and self-worth.

Nidhi has built a significant digital presence, with 1.3 million Instagram followers, 568,000+ YouTube subscribers across 227 videos, and a secondary Instagram account @lifeof.nidhi with over 80,900 followers averaging 7.27% engagement. Her influence extends to X (formerly Twitter) with 39,200+ followers and her vlog channel, NIDHI NARWAL VLOGS, with 12,600+ subscribers.

Through her poetry, live shows, and digital content, Nidhi fosters emotional sincerity, accessibility, and connection. She has cultivated a loyal audience who engages deeply with her work, making her a leading voice in India’s contemporary spoken word scene.

Instagram: Nidhi Narwal

Interviewed by Monika Bhardwaj