7 Sisters in the library: Interpersonal conversations and catharsis found

With the turn of the season and a slight chill in the air, comes a period of time made for reminiscing. The year, no doubt, has been unrelenting—and while things don't seem to be calming down much, half the month of November and the entire December still remain as the perfect time to sit down and have conversations about life and art and the many roads that have led us here. Sister Library, on November 16, hosted "7 Sisters In The Library" at Shala Gallery in Aloki. The event lasted for a total of four hours, with the final hour being reserved for a rather surprising, yet somehow still very appropriate, rave party.

The management and organisation throughout the event were stellar, and while the conversations themselves were a major highlight, what really surprised me was the structure of the overall experience. 

The entire experience for the first part of the event was designed to move in a rotation, where one group consisting of 7 people would enter together and spend about five to six minutes having a one-to-one conversation with each of the guests. As such, the overall experience for a single participant lasted for about an hour filled with discussions and conversations regarding art and life that, though short-lived, served as vivid reminders for us to pursue a passion, or a group of passions, that felt right—and not just walk down whatever path that's been laid down for us. 

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Frankly, the design of the experience itself was rather surprising. It evoked a feeling of playing a game, and the fact that the organisers trusted the participants to actively engage in conversation with each of the guests was a little bold—and it seemed to have worked wonders. 

When asked about the inspiration behind the event, Katerina Don, the curator of HerStory Foundation, shared: "The event is inspired by the Human Library, an international non-for-profit organisation whose slogan is 'Unjudge Someone'. They host one-on-one conversational events to dispel bias. In 2017 the Dhaka chapter organised a Human Library and I had a chance to experience it." She added, "Another important inspiration for the orchestrated intimacy is the work of Tino Sehgal, a German-Indian artist who stages performances that harness the power of revelation and confession. We wanted to apply these ideas to the Sister Library and to have seven women share their personal stories, and the choices they made to make them who they are, in a series of one-on-one conversations."

Intimate is perhaps the best way to explain every facet of the experience. Every corner of Shala Gallery seemed to erupt in colours and laughter, as participants found themselves in a safe space to discuss art and life, or even just chat about the everyday. The one-on-one structure of every single conversation allowed it to feel far more intimate than a panel discussion ever could. 

What aided this was the fact that the speakers chosen for the event were some of the brightest minds and warmest souls to sit down with, and the conversations were equal parts eye-opening and comforting. Five minutes was not a lot of time for a conversation, especially not when seated with the likes of Amina, Adrita, Badhon, Alia, Rubaiya, and Katerina (as the event itself respectfully refers to them by their preferred names, so do I). But despite that, each of the women here offered a catharsis found in the depths of the fleeting moments where words were exchanged. Somehow, it felt enough. Mental health struggles and the pursuit of art and literature were threads that tied many of their stories together, and yet, they all had backgrounds that are wholly unique. 

When asked about what went into curating the list of sisters to speak, Katerina said, "In the selection of the Sisters, we looked for women who made a pivotal choice to live life following their inner moral compass, and were true to themselves. We also wanted to have women who had made different personal life choices, to show that there is no one right way to live life. Some had married but not had children, some had done both, some had never done either."

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The event switched gears soon enough, and the final hour saw Shala Gallery turned into a rave. With rish0 at the helm, the disco ball that loomed overhead for the duration of the quieter part of the event finally had more reason to be as loud and bold as it wanted. The catharsis of intimacy was followed by catharsis in dance to close out what was perhaps the biggest experiment Sister Library had attempted in a while. Breaking away from solely being tied to literature and exploring different ideas was, in every way, the right decision—and I look forward to whatever else they have in store. 

Raian Abedin is a poet, a student of Biochemistry, and a contributor to The Daily Star.