Bringing folklore and mythological stories to children through the art of storytelling
By Kavyaa Rajesh Rajan
Unnati Library and Activity Centre, in collaboration with Aparna Jaishankar, brought regional stories of India to young children on Jan. 20.
On that bright Sunday morning, Jaishankar walked into the library to entertain and transport the children to the land of mythology.
In the allotted hour, Jaishankar narrated three stories of different kinds. Keeping the theme of mythology, she began her storytelling with a folktale from Tamil Nadu which was about Lord Shiva and Bhoomi Devi (Goddess of the Earth). Through her story, she also spoke about the harvest festival called Pongal.
Jaishankar began the narration of her second story by showing the children a picture of Navagunjara, a creature composed of nine different animals from the Mahabharata. This folktale was from Orissa and is a popular symbol in the Pattachitra form of painting.
By asking them to name every animal the creature was composed off, she also urged them to explain what these animals were known for, after which she dove right into the story. Each animal stood for a certain moral value. By narrating the story, Jaishankar was not only engaging the children with the story and the method of storytelling which involved using an instrument called the Rainstick, but she was also imparting them with the important values and morals.
The last and final story took a turn away from the mythological theme.
She entertained the young audience by making them stand up and made them hop and jump in their spots in accordance with the story. With this, she ended her narration. All the young boys and girls looked happy and played among themselves as their parents interacted with Jaishankar.
Having taken the corporate route initially, Aparna Jaishankar took a break and found herself fascinated with art and theatre. After much training and having performed in theatre plays, she then decided to step into the world of storytelling. Other then for being storyteller and a theatre artist, she is also a co-member of the Bangalore Storytelling Society which hosts various events and workshops for those interested in the art storytelling.
“There’s been a tradition of storytelling in our country and that has been happening in every household for generations to come,” she said. “This oral tradition is slowly dying, for the simple reason that, the only way you can tell stories is if you listen to them.”
She said the way one narrates makes a difference in the way the story is understood and perceived.
“This is one art-form where personal style matters,” she said. “There are no specific ways to do it. The framework of the story is very simple but the narration differs from person to person.”
Jaishankar elaborated that for someone to get into this field, it is important to just start and take every opportunities that comes their way. With platforms such as open mic events and storytelling classes and workshops, it helps hone one’s skills.
She said research is an extremely important part of storytelling as there are numerous variations to a particular story and finding the right one could be a task.
“It is the personal integrity that one needs to maintain generally for any art form to flourish,” she said.
Akanksha Narang, owner of Unnati Library and Activity Centre, Sarjapur, felt that there was a lack of fun spaces for children to get together and have fun. Having started it mainly as a library and toy renting centre, it soon become an area for workshops and fun activities for kids.
“In the Sarjapur belt, there was hardly anything for kids,” she said. “This is the reason I started something like this so that children could be exposed to many more fun things.”
Narang said it’s a centre that is extremely safe and works towards making it very family oriented.
“We try and do as many events as we can but limiting them to families as it is a family community centre,” she said.
The children seemed to enjoy the show as they all immersed themselves into the world of the story. Their impressed smiles and collective yelling of “I really liked it” at the end of the show said it all.
