TW: This episode contains mentions of suicide, violence, and self-harm. Please take care while listening, and step away at any point if you need to.In this episode of The Sanskaari Girls Podcast, poet and artist ⁠Megha Rao⁠ joins ⁠Vandita Morarka⁠ to explore the role of art as a lifeline—something we need not just to express ourselves, but to survive.

They discuss “heroic vulnerability,” the courage of revealing one’s wounds through art, and the responsibilities that come with being an artist whose work resonates deeply with others. Megha reflects on healing as a non-linear journey, the power of revisiting childhood through writing, and how storytelling can help us reclaim joy and aliveness.

The conversation also examines her use of magical realism to engage with larger questions of power, greed, and social justice—offering art as a space for both intimacy and collective reflection.

Check out Megha's books Our Bones in Your Throat, and Teething, and poetry podcast Poems to Calm Down To. Megha's spoken word performances can be found on YouTube. Megha also often posts poetry on her Instagram page.

🎙️ The Sanskaari Girls Podcast is a podcast by the Sanskaari Girls Book Club (SGBC), a South Asian feminist reading community fostering critical engagement with literature, amplifying marginal voices, and building reflective, politically conscious conversations.

Follow SGBC on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the SGBC Membership!

—CHAPTERS

00:00 Introducing Megha

01:18 Heroic vulnerability

04:59 The responsibility that comes with changing lives

07:56 Art for survival

11:38 The journey of healing through self-discovery

20:30 Magical realism as a tool for political commentary

28:03 Ethical responsibilities of artists

33:09 The power of female friendships

38:44 Writing rooted in Kerala

48:37 The body as a site of artistic expression

52:50 For the listeners

56:02 Megha's reccs

58:56 Outro