Deepika Padukone hosted the first-ever festival full of conversations prioritising ‘care’ on Clubhouse today i.e. 20th July, 2021. Care largely means selfcare and mental wellbeing in this aspect. It features the co-founder of Clubhouse, Paul Davison, the head of International, Aarthi Ramamurthy, influencers namely Jay Shetty, Radhi Devlukia, multidisciplinary artist and entrepreneur, Raghava KK, general partner, Sriram Krishnan, The Artidote, Jovanny Varela and singer, songwriter, Prateek Kuhad. These set of people voiced their opinions on the importance of mental and emotional wellbeing, selfcare, and shared some personal experiences. So, without further ado, let’s jump in and talk about it at large, shall we?
Deepika Padukone announced this event on her Instagram page this morning and briefed us about the event through her caption. She wrote, “I’m super excited to launch ‘Care Package’ – An Audio-First Festival that Cares! This package, curated by me, is a box full of conversations and performances from thought leaders around the world that prioritise ’Care’. Join me Today, 20th July, from 7PM-8.30PM IST on Clubhouse! Link in Bio!” The excitement filled my veins almost immediately and I knew I had to share this with you.
I couldn’t contain my enthusiasm and kept looking at the clock over and over again, waiting for it to strike 7 o’clock. And when it was, I couldn’t believe how quickly the space filled up, with Clubhouse crashing in only a few minutes after the festival began. Being booted out and back into the room created a cyclical pattern that had to be maintained. It was far too important a festival to miss! Paul Davison, the co-founder of the app, began the introduction by welcoming Deepika and introducing her to everyone who was patiently listening to the conversation. The featival was subsequently passed over to Aarthi Ramamurthy and Sriram Krishnan to lead.
Deepika emphasised the significance of being by herself especially in the mornings, trying very hard not to check her phone first thing in the morning, and attempting to tune out the professionalism by spending time with family in her personal time after work. She went on to say how much she enjoys taking time off to eat in a quiet location where she can sit with herself and enjoy meals in solitude, particularly morning, because she is a South Indian and breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day for her.
Raghava went on to say that he strives to be a mixture of chaos on the outside and peace on the inside. Given that he is a storyteller, he also revealed a personal experience in which his father continually questioned him, “Who are you?” until he realised the answer, which was that he is a storyteller. His father then asked whether he could live the story worth telling, which gave his life a new meaning and value.
The conversation then moved on to the Artidote, Jovanny, who led a workshop with everyone in the room, encouraging them to simply focus on their breathing and accept themselves entirely, including the imperfections and weaknesses. Accepting the shortcomings ironically resulted in a strengthening sensation, and the entire breath exercise was “rejuvenating,” as Deepika described it.
Soon after, Radhi and Jay arrived as speakers and discussed the ‘Love and Care – How is it Different?’ by specifying the necessity of focusing on someone’s practises rather than the results mentioned by Jay. He went on to say how much more an internal process contributes to the end result than an external one. And, if one were to follow someone inspirational, they should focus on the practises and hard work that went into the journey rather than the outcome.
Radhi stressed the significance of being grateful for the meal in front of you, which was provided by everyone from nature to the person who prepared it. She went on to say how important it is to intentionally focus on the food since it nourishes both the mind and the spirit. Deepika also added how important being mindful is and living in the moment along with taking every step with mindfulness.
Finally, Prateek Kuhad added a light-hearted tone to the sombre discourse by closing the session with serene, beautiful songs. Sriram and Aarthi brought the discussion to a close, and Deepika thanked everyone who took part in the conversation, as well as the people in the listeners’ panels. It was a one-of-a-kind festival that actually taught us to focus on ourselves, and as Radhi pointed out during a conversation, “Date the person we are by getting to know ourselves.”. I hope it added value to you, too. And until my pen writes more for you, here’s another article featuring Jay Shetty that you can read by tapping HERE! Happy self care and mental wellbeing, y’all!
