Not all storytellers narrate their tales to a group of people under the stars, around a fire or to infants. Story telling has evolved and is now considered a performance art, enjoyed by people of all ages. One such session took me to Atta Galatta on a late Saturday evening. Having reached early gave me ample time to have a hot cuppa and explore the vast collection of books stacked neatly and nearly reaching the ceiling.
The story telling event for adults, called “Tales around the lantern - An evening of Storytelling”, was conducted on the second floor of the premises. A large, tiled roof hall, with hanging lanterns, and carpets placed on the floor forming a close intimate circle. As the clock struck 7, people began to trickle in, in twos and threes were treated to tea and hot bajjis.
Vikram Sridhar, a performance storyteller, passionate conservationist and zealous ethologist, from Chennai, began the session by asking everyone which part of the country they were from. Answers included Siliguri, Raebareli, Palakkad and several other places from across the country, prompting Vikram to call Bengaluru- “the united states of India”.
He encouraged us to put away our phones, and “engage in human-to-human interaction”.
His first story, set in rural Uttar Pradesh, was about a potter and his donkey, and a series of interesting and shocking events in their life. Vikram had the audience’s attention from the very start, beautifully emoting the characters of the story, be it princess Ambika, or the baby donkey.
Through his next story, set far away in Namibia, Vikram narrates how the zebra got its stripes, and the baboon its pink bottom. Impromptu questions, and some improvisations from the audience, ensured that the session was lively, and had the audience in splits.
The third story was about a man from Godhra district in Gujarat, who changed his jobs several times from being a printer, to a photographer, and finally a film maker. We listened in rapt attention, eager to know what happened next. In the end, Vikram revealed that his protagonist Govind, was none other than Dadasaheb Phalke, director and producer of India’s first full length feature film – Raja Harishchandra .
The final story of the evening was about a girl called Maya, who lived in a small village in Nepal, and how a natural calamity changed her life forever. Vikram, through his carefully chosen words, hums, and gestures, held the audiences in rapt attention throughout the one-and-a-half-hour long event.
Vikram explained how each of his stories were rooted in reality – whether it was the hard-working potter, forest fires, occupational uncertainty or natural calamities. In conclusion, he asked us to explain what our names meant, and something that interests us. He encouraged everyone to learn a little more about ourselves and where we came from.
Grandmothers are in great contention from performance storytellers. What was once upon a time a grandmother’s domain, has now become a career option for many. I left the venue with a smile on my face, sure to go back to listening to stories again.
