If the internet is to be believed, Socrates has reincarnated as a lanky Indian man to save our collapsing society. This new-age philosopher makes Instagram Reels where he stares directly into his camera and serves conversational poetry. From love to music to god to hunger—you name it, he has talked about it.
High on swagger (and whatever else he smokes in his videos), Alankar Mishra is the desi philosopher we need—and maybe don’t deserve.
In the Viral Spiral of this gyani rural influencer, some things are permanent fixtures: a blue or brown banyan, a half-smoked joint or beedi, and the aura of a man who has cracked the code. Whether of the universe or just the algorithm, I can’t be certain.
In his most popular video, nearing 2 million views, Mishra walks amid trees in his vest, shirt carelessly thrown on his shoulder.
“Janta ka kya hai,” he begins, staring into your soul, “janta toh Sita hai, janta toh Draupadi hai…” (What about the people? The people are Sita, the people are Draupadi…)
The poem, written by Surendra Sharma, compares people to the tragic heroines of Indian epics. Whether it is the heroes or villains who rule, Sharma says, the people will always suffer.
“The philosophical, political and psychological weight of this statement is quite high,” wrote a user under the video. While the janta may not know Mishra is only reciting Sharma’s poem, it understands the feeling in the words. And it agrees.
This is not to say that Mishra’s own words fall short. His audience frequently compares his style to Shakespeare—putting him on a higher pedestal than the playwright.
“Bro is what Shakespeare used to think he was,” read a comment.
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Is he real?
The poet-philosopher often engages with literature. In a recent reel, he compared the protagonist of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist to a deer in search of the kasturi (musk) that lies in its own belly. He then quotes a couplet from Hindi poet Dharamveer Bharati.
“Paulo Coelho ft. Dharamveer Bharati wasn’t on my 2026 bingo card,” read a comment.
Some are not convinced he’s a real human being. They say he doesn’t blink (he does), and must be AI-generated. After all, how can a man from rural India talk like this—commenting on the Kardashians, FIFA, F1, Wimbledon, and Western literature?
This is not a new script. Pujarini Pradhan, the sari-clad Bengali creator behind ‘Life of Puja’ was put through the same scrutiny earlier this year. She reviews films, talks about feminism and religion from her village in West Bengal, and has racked up hundreds of thousands of followers doing it.
Pradhan was labelled an “industry plant” because her daily posting schedule appeared too polished and consistent to be the work of one person. The internet refused to believe a rural woman was better read than half of urban India on X. Pradhan’s answer, when it came, was a video where she laid out that she shoots, edits, scripts, and colour-grades everything herself, closing with a line echoing Elle Woods’ nonchalance: “What, like it’s hard?”
Unlike Pradhan’s content, though, Mishra’s words are unparalleled. His profound Hindi sermons stand out in a feed littered with low-effort brainrot.
He’s a better iteration of that one guy at every party—the one with questionable style, wisps of smoke curling about, who goes “broooo” before telling you his latest half-baked hot take. Either he is insufferable or the coolest guy you’ve ever met.
The full-time poet-philosopher is also a part-time aashiq. In his latest reel, Mishra muses that we often mistake performance for genuine feeling. He dismisses Valentine’s Day and roses, arguing that Indian poets have already explored eternal love.
“Aj Duggal sahab Aashiq bane hain (The man is a loverboy today),” read the top comment.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)