Girls tweet the world

Shreyasi Sarkar, Ria Mukherjee, Animisha Singh, Parul Kapoor

Shreyasi Sarkar. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Shreyasi Sarkar
24, marketing associate
@NautankiNinja
Tweeting seriously since: 2014
What she tweets: Onion Rings are Kanda Bhajiya which went to study abroad after engineering
Tackling trolls: I keep away from groupism. I don't troll, and I just block trolls

Twitter groups are scary. They gang up and troll. There is no way I'd want to do that. I got popular because I tagged onto Bollywood fame. I'd take part in every Bollywood competition there was. When a film releases, the social media team creates a handle for it, and they run contests through it. I kept winning them, one after another. Perhaps because no one else took those as seriously as me. Through these I met Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, Sonam Kapoor, Fawad Khan and scores more. That got me more followers. I tend to discuss what's already going viral, and he-and-she jokes. I hope this helps me quit my marketing job for a career in stand-up comedy. I was the intelligent one, so my parents are not going to particularly like it. But they can't avoid it. My dad's friends have been telling him, 'Do you know how popular your daughter is?'

Ria Mukherjee. Pic/Rane Ashish

Ria Mukherjee
34, Mumbai-based PR executive
@Tweetria
Tweeting seriously since: 2015
What she tweets: Client: So we want front pages. Can you ensure that?
Me: 'please check aukad' Sure, it's doable
Tackling trolls: It's easy. Just mute and block

People are surprised that women can be funny on Twitter! Actually, funny in general. It's where I voice my angst and cynicism. I am a big cynic and can find fault in anything. I was surprised when people found my sarcastic rants funny. Twitter turned out to be fresh after Facebook, where everyone pretends to be happy. No one knew me, and I could say anything. It was the comfort of anonymity [I was enjoying]. This comes handy especially when I am tweeting about boredom at client meetings, boss trouble and general family drama. But it's really all about having fun. I am not an armchair activist who tweets about 'issues'. I am not claiming to be a feminist. Often, outrage results in little, so I don't do it.

Animisha Singh

Animisha Singh
24, Mumbai-based student of medicine
@anymysha
Tweeting seriously since: 2015
What she tweets: Comedy TV shows have sad parts in them too and that's why I have trust issues
Tackling trolls: I never, ever react

I wish that my followers see the hypocrisy of society through my humour. Instead of ranting about it, I want them to smile at what I say. They respond better to the thought that way. My other favourite condition is being self-deprecatory. It's easy to relate to it because who doesn't experience self-doubt? This way, they know they are not alone.

Parul Kapoor

Parul Kapoor
27, runs content writing start-up in Delhi
@lovehandle
Seriously tweeting since: 2015
What she tweets: People who voluntarily spend money at Starbucks, you will never be free of your sins
Tackling trolls: Never get bothered. They just want a reaction

Some women on twitter have 'feminist' on their CV. I think it's unnatural to discuss it 24/7. I'd swim through subjects, like being a tech cripple, to facing start-up problems and handling womanly woes. I get the funny gene from my Punjabi family where everyone's cracking a joke. It's all in your delivery, really. How you say something.

No. I'm not part of Twitter groups. Once you enter, you must cater to their whims and fancies. I want to be a free agent.