Kamal Ghorui
Imagine a huge stage in an auditorium with an audience of five hundred people. The performer arrives, performs to his best abilities. As he ends his performance, the audience reaction is mixed. Some clap wholeheartedly, some join hands without much energy, while some just smile in appreciation without any applause.
Now, let me take you to another stage which functions remarkably like a live auditorium. It is called digital stage.
This digital stage divides itself into three kinds of participants…performers, engagers and watchers.
First the performers.
Performers are the creators..the ones who step onto this invisible stage and offer a part of themselves to the world. A thought, a poem, a reflection, a song. For them, expression is not merely an act…it is almost a necessity. It is how they process life, how they unburden themselves, how they bring clarity to their own chaos.
I have always felt this personally. My own social space feels less like a profile and more like a living stage…where I am constantly experimenting with expression. Whether it is through writing, speaking, or even unpolished singing, it becomes less about the audience and more about the act itself.
Because the truth is…being a performer is not easy. It demands immense effort.
To think deeply, to feel honestly, to articulate meaningfully and to present it with vulnerability. And often, the confidence with which you express is followed by complete indifference of the viewers. A few likes. A handful of words. Sometimes, just silence.
And yet, performers continue.
Not because they are seeking appreciation, but because they are driven by something deeper…an inner force that refuses to let them stop. It is a strange kind of restlessness, a confusion that lingers within and only finds relief in creation.
And this brings me to engagers who quietly play a powerful role in cheering up performers. Engagers may not stand on the stage, but they are the ones who ensure the stage never feels empty. A thoughtful comment, a genuine appreciation, even a simple like…these small gestures often become the invisible fuel that keeps performers going. In moments of doubt, when effort feels disproportionate to response, it is the engagers who gently remind the performer that their voice is being heard. They create connection. They convert silence into acknowledgment.
And then, there are the watchers.
Watchers experience everything, yet carry none of the burden of expression. They read without the urge to respond. They watch without the pressure to react. They smile, they feel, they reflect but in isolation without any public acknowledgement to the creation.
Their silence is not indifference…it is a different kind of participation. In a world that constantly nudges us to react, to comment, to be visible, watchers feel that it is perfectly okay to just witness.
This is how beautifully this digital stage operates.
On one side, the performer—putting in relentless effort, driven by an urge that cannot be silenced.
In between, the engager—quietly holding the thread of connection, making sure expression does not dissolve into emptiness.
And on the other side, the watcher—calm, receptive, at ease, finding meaning without needing to express it outwardly.
Performer is restless.
Engager reassures.
Watcher simply observes.
And the digital stage continues its endless show.
Performers are sometimes misunderstood as attention seekers. Performers are not seeking attention as much as they are seeking resonance. Maya Angelou once said…There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story within you.
Perhaps that is why performers continue to write, speak and express. Expression is rarely just about attention. It is about releasing the deepest call within. The applause may be brief and rewards minimal but the relief that comes by converting that momentary deepest call into an expression keeps performers returning to the stage again and again.
END OF ARTICLE
