Rupi Kaur is considered as the OG and most-loved poet on Instagram. She is the one who kick-started the trend of publishing short poems on Instagram and opened the gates for so many young poets worldwide. Apart from her deep poetry and the jaw-dropping illustrations she uses in her IG posts, Rupi Kaur deserves all the credit for starting a writing movement on Instagram. Currently, Rupi Kaur has a strong fanbase of 4.4 million followers on her IG handle; even today, her poetry goes viral occasionally.
People often ask how Rupi Kaur became so famous on Instagram, and the answer to that question is quite simple, 'she started early'. At the time, when people were posting their happy pictures on Instagram, Rupi decided to pen down all her pain, insecurities, struggles, and past experiences in short poetic pieces. Unfortunately, people found Rupi's poems quite relatable as almost everyone had gone through a similar crisis more than once in their lives
As a result, fanpages and communities started developing on Instagram, who used to post poems of other writers on their page and give them credit. Due to this, Rupi Kaur became a recognised name on the internet and as of now she has more than 7.8 lakh posts on her hashtag, #RupiKaur. For the uninitiated, she is also the 'number one' New York Times bestselling author, who published her first poetry collection, Milk and Honey (2014).
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In the following years, she published five more books, including The Sun and Her Flowers (2017), Home Body (2020), Corpse Refuge (2020), Healing Through Words (2022), and Milk And Honey: 10th Edition (2024). In 2021, Rupi Kaur took her journey as a poet to another level when Amazon Prime Video joined hands with her for a poetry special titled, Rupi Kaur Live in 2021.
For the uninitiated, Rupi Kaur was born on October 4, 1992, in Punjab, India, to her Sikh parents. According to multiple reports, Rupi's father left India to settle in Canada even before she was born. The doting father immigrated to Canada for better work opportunities and also reportedly due to violence against Sikh men in India. As a result, Rupi lived with her mother and relatives from her maternal side. At the age of three, Rupi and her mother shifted to Canada after her father had figured out something. The family lived in Toronto's Brampton neighbourhood.
Once, in an interview with Young Poets Network, Indian-origin poet, Rupi Kaur talked about her troubled childhood due to financial constraints and revealed that she was even in an abusive relationship. The author revealed that she was in grade 12 when she was in an abusive relationship with a guy, and it felt like the sink was overflowing. She gathered a lot of courage and finally came out of that toxic relationship and started pouring her heart into her poetry.
Rupi Kaur also added that due to being in that relationship, she wasn't allowed to participate in poetry slams and live her life the way she wanted. Thus, once she came out of it, Rupi decided to do everything that she wanted to do in her life. Rupi further added that she participated in a poetry slam and received a lot of praise that boosted her confidence, and she never looked back.
In the same interview, Rupi Kaur revealed that her abusive boyfriend cheated on her, and she created an account on Instagram just to get back at him. She dropped her first post on Instagram back in 2013, and it was about domestic violence and alcoholism that instantly clicked many people's hearts. At that time, Rupi had over 100 followers on Instagram, but her poetry went viral and started gaining followers. With time, people started connecting with Rupi, as they also went through almost everything she was writing about.
Recently, in 2023, Rupi Kaur broke the headlines when the Indian-origin poet turned down an invitation from the United States of America to celebrate Diwali at the White House. The poet took to her Instagram handle and revealed the reason behind turning down such an esteemed opportunity to dinner at the White House hosted by US President, Joe Biden and Vice President, Kamala Harris.
Rupi Kaur revealed that she would not attend the dinner because Biden's administration has been continuously supporting Israel and its bombardment of Gaza.
Rupi Kaur is extremely private about her personal life, and it is unknown whether she is married or not. A few years back, there was a buzz that the famous poet would soon open up about her marriage and personal life in public. However, as time passed, it turned out to be nothing less than a hoax created by the massive fanbase. As of now, Rupi Kaur's relationship status is unknown to the world. We hope she continues to melt our hearts, address our insecurities, and empower us with her writings.
What are your thoughts on Rupi Kaur's poetry? Do you consider her the OG of Instapoetry? Let us know.
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