Once upon a time, a long, long ago… these familiar words bring about a stab of nostalgia. Bringing these words alive are the Storywallahs, a group of people who tell stories for all age groups. Last weekend Atta Galata saw the Storywallahs holding forth to their captive young audience on the theme of the victory of good over evil.
The hour-long session kicked off with Trupti Srikanth introducing the kids to the world of Puttanis in a faraway land. Trupti’s performance with elaborate imagery and sound effects transported the kids to another world.
Next on stage was Nupur Aggarwal who enthralled the children with an involved story accompanied by gestures. Talking about her passion, Nupur said, “On TV, we see the same shows and there is no scope for creativity. We believe in letting the child imagine because nothing can beat that. That is the difference between storytelling and television.”
The Storywallahs use their extensive collection of props only when needed. “The beauty of the craft is that it allows each one’s imagination to mould the story in a unique way,” Nupur added. “However, pre-primary kids whose imagination is still developing need some cues. After the age of four, we avoid using props and let creativity take its course.”
As a storyteller, you cannot come with a set of ideas and rehearsed lines,” Nupur said. “It doesn’t work like that with children. You have to be one of them. You have to see the world from their eyes.” Trupti adds: “When your characters are such that children can relate to them, that is when they are hooked to the stories. To hold the attention of little kids, it has to be two-way so the children know they will get a chance to talk. Only then do they listen.”
“When you see children enjoying themselves, you automatically let the child inside of you lose,” Nupur said. “It is a happy feeling when kids hug you and recognize you in restaurants or malls,” Trupti said.
Nupur, a nutritionist by profession, joined the Storywallahs in June last year. It was telling stories to her child that inspired her to take up the form. Trupti says: “I used to be one of those boring IT people before motherhood happened,” she laughs.
Storywallahs, the creation of Ameen Haque, was always about connecting with people. Having worked in an advertising firm, Ameen was telling stories to his clients in the form of advertisements. It dawned on him three years ago to spread joy in the form of stories. That led to Storywallahs which is into teachers’ training, corporate workshops and also offer help to start-ups. They have people from various backgrounds and, on an average, have 12 to 13 sessions a month.
