Fables. Folktales. Fairytales. Stories are a magical part of our childhood, and a nostalgic part of our adulthood. Making it easier for kids to access stories that spur their imagination, Spotify, in partnership with Tulika Publishers has launched ‘Talking Tales From Tulika’, produced by Asiaville.
The series features 90 stories and 120 songs, as well as the work of up to 12 storytellers/narrators and around 7 musicians.
The podcast has storytelling at its heart, and spans across a variety of themes, including friendship, acceptance, and more. Each episode of the podcast will feature a variety of stories with popular, colourful characters from the world of Tulika Publishers.
Excited with the new project reaching more ears, Radhika Menon, Publisher at Tulika Books says, “Picture books are close to oral story-telling to which kids are naturally drawn. A podcast meant exploring a new medium and adapting our stories to that, adding interactive dimensions of music, lyrics and sound effects. A lot of the narration has been done by story-tellers and authors. Having worked on the books as editors, it was great to hear the finished products in each language which each have their own special appeal.”
The biggest challenge, she says, was working on this project remotely with team members in different cities — Mumbai, Kanpur, Chennai, and more — especially coordinating audio recordings to make sure pronunciations, scripts, and translations were perfected and brought out the best in the stories.
It was not as difficult as they thought to narrow down the discussed themes, with Radhika saying it felt natural and fell in place, though she says it was a huge task. “It will be interesting to see people who don’t know our books to come to our written published works from the podcast, opening us up to a new audience.”
Radhika laughs, recalling some of the special feedback they have received from their loyal readers-turned-listeners. “This podcast can, interestingly, be used in the e-classroom as a very valuable learning resource, too, for its interactive nature.”
A lot to enjoy
Subjects covered in the podcast include ‘The Gajapati Kulapati Series’ for those aged two and up. After all, one of Tulika’s most popular characters is the very relatable Gajapati Kulapati, an elephant who has very relatable problems, whether it’s catching a cold or tummy troubles. Written by Ashok Rajagopalan, each story in the four part series is told in simple words with repeatable sounds and rhythms.
Then there is ‘Food Fun’ for kids aged five and up. This comprises stories that help convince even the most fussy five-year-old that food is fun. In these times of physical distancing, ‘Helping Friends!’ comes at an apt time. A trio of stories that highlights the importance of sticking up for friends and developing social and emotional skills together, geared for listeners aged 4 and up.
‘Talking Tales From Tulika’ is available in three languages — English, Hindi, and Tamil — and new episodes release every Friday