Funnily enough, I think that nature has given me two ears and one mouth to use them in due proportions. Hence I listen more, than I talk. The journey of less talking and more listening has been quite lonely in a garrulous world that barely pays any heed to good listeners. Despite that, I have always felt strongly about this unusual trait in me. For the longest, I was alone in this pursuit of listening, until Kaan Pete Roi (KPR) happened to me.
KPR was a fitting platform. It not only gave me the chance to nurture my listening skills but also to provide selfless support to people in crisis. The ride has been emotionally intense. After certain calls, it did feel like I had transcended my limit of absorption and I must quit. However, the other side of the coin was humbling. What can be more rewarding than someone leaning on me with their deepest and darkest stories? I could not have traded it for anything else.
So the journey of listening went on. Throwing away my own filters of right or wrong, I sat in the shoes of the callers. It was an adventurous ride of dissolving myself and facing reality from the callers’ shoes. Every call was a journey where I was unaware of the destination the caller was taking me to. Along the line, my listening suddenly became tangible; and I collected it.
In no time, I was deeply attached to listening to callers. Rain or shine I was in the helpline until I chose a nomadic life. Despite not being in the KPR helpline anymore, with my organic KPR approach have listened in Barcelona and now I am listening in Kigali and I do not know where I’ll be listening next. I am a nomadic listener. Because who can forgo the thrill of listening in a world that can’t stop talking?
Samiha Chowdhury
Currently based in Kigali, Rwanda
Working as an Economic Advisor (Overseas Development Institute Fellow)
