Geeta Ramanujam has reached a stage in life, where she no longer has to hunt for stories. They just come to her, changing form and flavour, depending on her audience. Her life experiences and perceptions would colour the story, making it sound and look different. They have begun to mirror her state of mind, now.
“I am in a contemplative and meditative mood,” says Geeta, who has just returned from Brazil, where she attended the Bo ca deu Festival, where she was awarded the International award for storytelling. So, it was not surprising that the story of Mountain and the Bird, which she shared with the participants of the three-day long intensive story-telling course, held at Book Mark Library and Activity Centre, had acquired a philosophical twist.
The mountain is a very reflective one. He misses his best friend the bird who has flown away. As he waits for him, he looks at his reflections on the river, cast by the moonlight. The story plays with the pun on ‘reflections’.
After telling the story, Geeta gave the participants 20 minutes to dwell on the emotions, colours, sounds and other attributes. They were also asked to draw a picture of the tale. Some of the images were quite endearing, like the one where the solemn mountain is looking up towards the sky with big, sad eyes. Geeta told the participants that a good story-teller should not draw attention to himself. “That’s where this is different from theatre, where an actor is lauded for his performance. When we hear a good story, we never think about the person who told it. That’s why in the early days, we never kept track of the wandering minstrels, who interpreted the stories. But, the interpretations always stayed in our minds.” Authorship for a story is a very oriental concept, she says. “We don’t know who wrote the Vedas. We even have oral chants for the cure of scorpion bites. The sense of authorship is very British, because they started documenting these traditions.”
The participants enjoyed the session. They lost all their inhibitions and listened to Geeta, with full attention and child-like curiosity. For Giulia Santosh, who runs a school in Udumalpet for village children, this was almost a meditative experience. “It was good to connect with other participants. Geeta’s expressions give life to the characters.” Geeta says that any story-teller has to listen to the audience and let the story evolve. And, one can see the magic it works on them ! Geeta once did a session for children who refused to listen to the story of a crow because it was black. So, she started the story by describing a swan, who happened to be the crow’s best friend! The swan admires the black body of his best friend sleeping on a tree. He was jealous of how free his friend was. He could fly anywhere he wanted, while the swan was water-bound. By then, the children were all ears. “The children are intelligent. They will learn a million different things from the story; values of friendship, prejudices, science, birds, geography. You really don’t have to give moral lessons.”
A storyteller has to deal with some very difficult audience. “A group of students from an elite school were so indifferent that I was determined I will never return to that school again. I had done a session with a bunch of corporates, who were hooked to their laptops while I was telling the story. I finally had to tell the organisers that they cannot bring the gadgets into the session. Technology has its place.”
In the last two decades of story-telling, Geeta, the story-teller has changed a lot. “I am no longer insecure or perturbed; I have learnt to accept things as they are.” Again, the stories have brought about this change in perspective. “Some of my stories do not have a plot line. Some do not end. Even good characters suffer in some. So why should I be exempted?” She does not see it merely as a profession, but an alternative way of life. “Storytelling is that pause you need. It adds meaning and sense to this fast-paced life we lead. It is all about retention, reaching out, and re-telling.”
