On weekend mornings, small circles are forming across Bengaluru, where strangers gather to say the things that are usually left unsaid: the weight of family expectations, the ache of feeling left behind, the fear of ageing and the vulnerability of intimacy. Some truths are easier to share with someone who doesn’t already know your story.Sharing circles offer a space for such conversations: where people speak from lived experience and are heard, without anyone rushing to fix, advise, or resolve. What do they get in return? The rare gift of being understood without having to explain.‘There is no expert in this experience’Unlike a panel discussion, where a subject is often approached through research, professional knowledge or clinical practice, these conversations place lived experience at the centre. “We had panels happening on stage, with panellists talking about a topic from a place of research or clinical practice. But a sharing circle is something that is entirely lived experience. There is no expert in a sharing circle. It is people who share that experience coming together,” says Natasha Joshi, strategy officer of an organising committee.Participation is voluntary, and listeners are discouraged from interrupting, judging or offering unsolicited solutions. Facilitators help ensure that the discussion remains balanced, while participants may recognise their own experiences in someone else’s account. “They also have a space to share how they have experienced something similar,” facilitator Shashanka Lakshmipati says, adding, “When facilitators show vulnerability themselves, it can help participants feel more comfortable opening up.”‘The space is not solution-oriented’The purpose of such conversations is not necessarily to arrive at an answer. “Unlike a workshop, which usually works towards a defined outcome, a sharing circle is an exploration around a theme,” says Shashanka. “One of the things that sets a sharing circle apart is that it isn’t solution-oriented. There isn’t really one problem that we’re trying to solve. The idea is to offer a space where emotions and feelings can be explored in a community, and not necessarily to solve the problem,” he adds.‘These are conversations that are difficult to hold’The subjects are often familiar, but can be difficult to articulate in everyday settings. “These are conversations that may be experienced by a large number of people, but are difficult to talk about or not very easy to hold,” says Yashasvi Murli, a mental health and gender officer. The discussions cover different stages of life, including young adults dealing with family expectations, people who feel they are falling behind, midlife, ageing, childfree choices, male friendships, intimacy and adoption.‘We are better together as a community’This openness to sharing one’s inner life with a group isn’t new at all. It may simply be a return to how people in India have always lived, bound together in community rather than apart. “We are group-based cultures. We exist in groups. We don’t have a highly individuated kind of existence,” says Natasha.For Shashanka, listening to another person’s experience can offer a sense of recognition without requiring a direct solution. “When people share their experiences, perspectives and thoughts, others can relate and feel, ‘I am not alone’, and that itself can be a powerful experience,” he says.Yashasvi adds that participants often support one another. “When emotions get unlocked, and people cry or talk about things they have never spoken about out loud, it is often the others with similar experiences who hold that space. They bring in empathy and know what to say in ways that only somebody with that kind of experience can.”
