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Thoughts and opinions are as unique as fingerprints. Although people may agree on some things, there are always varying opinions that go much beyond dissent. People often choose to keep it to themselves so as not to ruffle any feathers. It might be because they want to remain diplomatic in their social circles, or perhaps because it might change the way people see them. But if we have learned anything from the rise of internet, it is the fact that there is more willingness to open up when anonymity is promised. While the internet often becomes a dark place in such scenarios, it also gives freedom and strength to be unapologetic about who they are. This shield of anonymity to share controversial opinions is how many modern day revolutions began.
Maitreyi Bhatiya, a graphic designer and illustrator had the habit of asking people about their most controversial opinions, when they met for the first time. Her aim was to expand her knowledge and perhaps to have her mind blown by a new idea, form new beliefs or even strengthen the ones she already had. This was the spark that started her on the path of creating a zine for controversial opinions. She had also noticed the lack of scenarios where people have civil discussions in real life rather than arguments whether it was in private circles or through media platforms and she went on to say, “I feel like in our society we definitely need to have lesser arguments and more civil discussions, but I also understand that this belief I hold might be too idealistic because it’s hard to stay 100% calm during a conversation that you feel strongly about emotionally and have had an anecdotal experience with.”
This thought led her to put up a questionnaire sticker on her Instagram page asking people if they would share their most controversial opinions, if she would pass no judgement from her side. This became the turning point as many people did write in with such opinions and this lead her to the idea of creating a zine that featured controversial opinions.
Growing up as the daughter of a graphic artist, Bhatiya learnt the basics of art from her mother who would encourage her to draw and told her to go easy on herself if a drawing didn’t work out. While she has been illustrating for a long time, her introduction to zines was just a few years ago at the Bombay Undergrounds Stall at the Spoken Fest. This led her to do further research into them, as she was fascinated by the idea. “I think art in general is an amazing way to spread a message, and having a self published handmade book makes the entire experience a lot more personal and impactful because you know the topic probably really meant a lot to the artist and that’s why they were willing to put in so much effort for almost no profit at all. I think it’s also really nice that people can have a piece of artwork made by their favorite artists in the form of a zine which is usually very affordable.” But she could never come up with a topic that moved her enough to make a zine, until now.
By putting the idea out through her Instagram page and subsequently through her zine, Bhatia believes that she has achieved what she set out to do in a way. In her own words, “I feel like every individual has their own unique experience of life and everyone has been raised with different values which shapes their beliefs and shaming someone into believing what you believe is incorrect in my opinion and rather we should converse with each other and not shame each other and someone is more likely to listen to you if you don’t attack them verbally.”
Her idea was much better received than she had ever anticipated. She had people telling her that they gained the strength to voice their varying opinion after contributing to her zine. In contrast, she also had people confessing that they would previously attack people for their opinions, but now they make the effort to have more civil conversations and respect differing opinions. In a way, even before her zine has become accessible to everyone, she has met the goal she wanted to achieve. While the first edition of the magazine was called Controversial Opinions, it has been changed to Controversial Beliefs as she thinks that it fits the message better. She is hoping to develop it is a monthly service where she can collect anonymous beliefs of people and compile it into a zine and mail it out to whomsoever wishes to read and in turn build a supportive non-judgmental community.
So the next time you have a thought that is not well received among your circle of friends, or you are even afraid of voicing them, you could always head to Monki Business and share them!
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