Storytelling, an ancient art used to entertain and educate humanity since the advent of time, has declined over the centuries but Bengalureans have started an initiative known as Tell-A-Thon to revive the art.It is a part of the Bangalore Storytelling Society and the first event will be hosted at Urban Solace on November 24.
“The idea for this event sprang up in a casual conversation between Sowmya Srinivasan, the co-organiser and me. Sowmya is a professional storyteller and that conversation led to one thing after another. So, we started off by organising a meet every month where professional as well as amateur storytellers would come and tell their stories. We have finished six months since then and we thought of taking this to the next level," says Deeptha Vivekanand, co-organiser of Tell-A-Thon.
The event will feature 15 storytellers who will tell original as well as stories from established authors in a time limit of five minutes. “I will be telling an African folktale, which epitomises women called 'The Leper Woman'. It was originally a legend in Africa which has diverged into multiple stories. The basic idea behind the story is to show women that they belong as high up in the society as men," says Aparna Atreya, a professional writer and storyteller.
Telling a story also depends on how the storyteller portrays it. Some tell a story with music, some enact it out while some tell it in a verse to make it an interesting experience for the audience. “The story that I am going to tell is an original written in Hindi and in verse format. So, I am going to recite the verse and enact it if possible. It’s an age old topic but I have tried experimenting with it through verse,” says Ameen Haque, a skilled storyteller.
For the people associated with Bangalore Storytelling Society, Tell-A-Thon will provide the first step towards making oral storytelling a way in which people can earn a living. “We plan to host festivals, public workshops and outreach programs. Professional storytelling is very common in the west but not in India. So, we plan to make our storytellers visible to the world and promote storytelling as an art which can be pursued as a profession,” says Deeptha.
