Remember the times when our grandparents or parents would put us to sleep by telling stories? The imagination and creativity it helped build, the connect we felt?
If you thought this was a dying tradition, take a look.
Nupur is a storyteller working with Storywallahs, a Bangalore based organization that uses stories to motivate, teach and inspire in professional as well as personal lives. With a vast range of clients including educators, corporates, cultural spaces and more, Nupur’s storytelling is making a difference and how!
How did you decide to move from being a nutritionist to start storytelling as a profession?
Well it wasn’t a conscious decision to move to an alternate career after having practiced nutrition for 12 long years! The year was 2012. We as a family had moved our base from Kolkata to Bangalore. At that time I was pregnant with my second child and thought of taking a short break. Bangalore was a hub of storytellers and every now and then story sessions would happen in one or the other bookstore/ library. It was a new concept for me. It got me excited and I started taking my daughter to these sessions.
Listening to the storyteller would transport me to a magical land, would soothe my mind, it was joyous , pure fun! I was awestruck. I felt a connect with stories, and since I always connected well with children, I enrolled myself for an intensive course in storytelling at Kathalaya. After the completion of this course, I started telling stories to children in my community and then at Crosswords, the bookstore chain, and here and there and soon everywhere! Then on, there was no looking back. So it just happened and I am glad it did.
Have u always been comfortable with public speaking?
Never. I grew up in a joint family and was very shy, introvert, hardly ever opened up. It was frightful for me to speak in public. I was around 12 when I started shedding my inhibitions. Whatever I’ve been doing for the past 5 years is a self-discovery. I feel at peace on stage and get completely transformed during my performance. I’m able to throw my voice and modulate it to suit the story. I think it’s all about doing what you love doing, and the voice and everything else follows!
Do you love reading out stories or create your own too on the spot?
Image Credit: Facebook
Both actually. Reading generally happens to a very small group of children and mostly to my own kids. Usually I narrate from memory with actions, gestures, voice modulation etc. Most stories that I perform are rehearsed well, but I don’t memorize it, so an addition of a line here and there happens often, or at times, I improvise on the spot if needed. Also, there are times when children might demand, say a ghost story! If I don’t know one I have to create it on the spot!
How did you get your first storytelling gig?
After the storytelling course from Kathalaya they offered me a session in Crossword bookstore. That was my first.
Was the response as you expected or was it difficult to get a gathering initially?
Initially it was at Crossword bookstore and they regularly had such sessions, so children were already coming in. But the crowd can disperse if you’re unable to hold their attention – that’s where the challenge lies. Since I connected well with kids, I wouldn’t just tell stories but engage them in games and songs to ensure they keep coming back.
For how long have you been doing this?
Ever since I started telling stories professionally, I’ve been associated with Storywallahs – it’s been 5 years.
How do you make people aware of these sessions?
We announce our sessions on our FB page, website and of course social media helps to spread the word.
What age group do you prefer for storytelling?
3-12years. But I tell stories to teens, young adults, adults and senior citizens too.
How do you hold the audience interest?
The sessions are a mix of stories, games, songs, energizers. Every session starts with a warm-up song or game and then a story or two followed by an energizer and more stories. Energizers make the audience active and alert, games add to the fun. Children are naturally inclined to music, so songs help. When I work on a story I add a lot of repetition in terms of phrases, chants, actions. This makes the session interactive and participative and holds audience interest.
There are not many storytellers around. How do you get your inspiration?
I beg to differ – there are many storytellers around these days. I look up to Ameen Haque, Geeta Ramanujam, Jeeva Raghunath amongst the Indian tellers. Also, international storytellers like Dianne Farlatte, Craig Jenkins, Kiran Shah keep visiting and a lot of learning happens there as well.
What helps you connect with the audience in case you’re not very comfortable initially with speaking to a particular group?
That hasn’t happened ever but if it were to happen I guess I would first make myself comfortable. Establish a rapport with them. Just have a casual chat and get a sense of their expectations.
If stories and you have a connect, maybe this could be something you could take up too.
