ARTIST | POOJA PREMA
Have you ever met a person that when you meet them, you just get down to it? No shyness, no pretense. You just know that it was no accident that led you to them? And that you needed to meet because you’re supposed to do something together that’s for the greater good? Pooja Prema, is such a person for me.
We were introduced a couple of years ago by a dear and long-time friend of hers, that I had only just met a few months before. She said, ‘I’ve got a friend I really want you to meet'.So we drove out to a favorite spot of theirs and the three of us swam and sat naked by a stream in Massachusetts, for hours, talking about everything. Meaningful stuff. Paradigm-changing stuff. That may sound lofty for a first meeting, but that’s how it felt as we were leaving that beautiful spot at sunset. You have an opportunity to get a peek at how that felt. She’s an artist and musician, who didn’t set out to perform, but who honed her gifts doing just that in Kerala, India where she was raised. Pooja specializes in engaging people in ritual theater that helps connect them to where they live and through this connection reach an understanding of who they are and why they are here.
We sat down together through the now ubiquitous platform of Zoom, to have an about an hour long interview about a few of the projects with which she is currently involved. What transpired was so much more than that, though. It’s long, so you might want to get a snack, some tea, and find a comfy place to chill and tune in. Or you could crank it up and clean your house while you listen. Any way you take in our conversation, I know you’ll be as engaged as I was, hearing the extraordinary story of the experiences that shaped who she is, and led her to do this work.