In December 2017, 21-year-old KP Vishwas from Bangalore and 23-year-old Anshu Sharda started a content company called, You Own The Words, which basically worked with a community of writers who shared their love of literature. As Sharda puts it, "Soon we realised that there were tons of budding artistes who needed a platform to perform. These were people who had the right voice and a flair for writing but could never experience the right audience." With this in mind, the duo started an events vertical, Speaking Souls, which hosts open mics.

So far, Speaking Souls has travelled across various cities in India and also hosted an event in Dubai recently. In June, they will be hosting their fifth open mic in Mumbai. Sharda says, "The last couple of times when we hosted Speaking Souls in Mumbai, we designed the evening around a theme such as mental health, Mothers Day, etc. This time around, we have kept it an open platform for a topic of your choice." Venue partners Haiku Jam will also host a workshop about the Japanese style of poetry writing.