World Storytelling Day: Storytellers in Thiruvananthapuram weigh in on their journey

In the good old The Hare and The Tortoise story, we all know that the overconfident hare who challenged the tortoise for a race lost because he stopped to rest and fell asleep. But what if the hare stopped to play games on his mobile and lost track of time and therefore the race? This is a new-age take on the popular Aesop’s Fable by Anjali Rajan Dileep on her storytelling podcast, Apple Story Club (Malayalam Stories for Children).

Anjali is among the handful of storytellers in Thiruvananthapuram who have been captivating and igniting young minds with their treasure house of tales. On World Storytelling Day (March 20), they talk about their journey and adapting to the changing times.

Anjali Rajan Dileep at one of her storytelling sessions
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The pandemic forced Anjali, who founded Apple Story Club, an offline venture at her home in 2015, to go online. “That was when we introduced a 20-day reading programme with stories in English, Malayalam and Hindi, which got wide reception. We had 26 batches, with children from across India and even abroad joining.  Later I started the podcast, uploading stories that I recorded on my phone at my home,” says Anjali, adding that the podcast was in the Top 100 chart of Spotify for over six months.

Archana Gopinath has completed a 10-year journey with her venture The Reading Room. “It started as a small space [at Jawahar Nagar] where I held sessions on weekends to introduce children to the world of books. The inspiration was my son, who was hooked to books and stories,” says Archana. It has grown to a much bigger space, now located at Cheruvaikkal, hosting a wide range of activities.

In the case of Janaki Hari, storytelling was part of her profession as a speech and language therapist, especially while handling children with special needs. Three years ago she started pursuing it seriously, conducting sessions at her space on Golf Links Road, Kowdiar. “Since my daughter is being home-schooled, I wanted her to be among a group of children. So I began storytelling events and ended up becoming a certified storyteller,” says Janaki.

Janaki Hari at her storytelling session
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Seema Richard, meanwhile, started Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library at Vellayambalam in 2013. With Seema getting busy with her job at Technopark, the storytelling sessions are now handled by the mother-daughter duo, Priya and Nandini, the latter, now 16, a regular at Schoolkutti since she was five. “Nandini must have read all books at our library,” Seema says.

They all agree on one point that most parents consider these sessions as a means to keep their wards away from gadgets and screens. “Several parents have told me that they are relieved that the children will stay away from screens for at least a few hours. It makes me happy that children love coming here,” says Archana.

Seema adds, “We used to have plenty of kids at the storytelling sessions. The numbers dropped eventually. Parents have approached us asking, ‘Can you get them to read’? It takes immense patience to keep them engaged and there is more to these storytelling sessions than just reading out a tale.”

Archana says that she uses stories as a tool to improve language, creativity, and critical thinking. “I tell a story and ask their opinions. Or I give dialogues and encourage them to come up with a storyline,” she adds. She holds that stories are the best means to develop communication skills. “I have developed modules and came up with activities based around stories thus encouraging children to play with language, whether for writing or public speaking.”

Mother-daughter duo Priya and Nandini who conduct storytelling sessions at Schoolkutti.com
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At Schoolkutti, Priya says, storytelling is blended with art sessions and games. It is called The F.U.N. Project @Schoolkutti, which covers summer camps, art and craft sessions, book clubs, games etc. “We have seen that those who are not into books often get drawn to them once they are in the company of bookworms,” she adds.

Janaki Hari dressed up as a character from a story at one of the sessions
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However, Janaki’s sessions do not involve books or reading. “It is oral storytelling, with music, activities, games, acting, interaction etc, everything depending on the children attending the session,” she says. Sometimes she even dresses up as characters or use props.

The selection of stories is also important. “I don’t tell stories about ghosts or goblins or anything that might hurt them. I go for stories that make me happy and I ensure that the language is simple. It can be a new story or an old one like A Chair For My Mother or Peter Rabbit. In one episode I took up the real-life story of javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, covering his journey from childhood to his win at the Olympics,” Anjali explains. The total plays on the podcast till date is 32 lakhs. The most popular one is Kuttikurangante Sankadam, the Malayalam version of Julia Donaldson’s The Monkey Puzzle, with 93,000 plays, followed by Anjali’s own work, Echimi.

At The Reading Room’s Story Hour sessions for children aged four to eight, Archana uses picture books and flash cards. “I am very particular about not taking stories that preach moral values; it should organically come in our conversations. We introduce them to new books as well, like Hannah Gold’s The Last Bear. Julia Donaldson’s rhyming stories is another favourite,” says Archana.

Summer Tales

Contact the storytellers to know more of their summer vacation schedule. Apple Story Club: 8547325505; The Reading Room: 9497850325; Schoolkutti.com: 7510529712; Janaki Hari : @epicmomster

While Priya opts for small stories rather than fairytales since “children won’t sit through longer stories”, Janaki chooses stories that she can connect with. “I select the ones that I am confident of narrating; I do not restrict myself to any genre, but stay away from horror stuff. Even if I talk about witchcraft, I will present it in a fun way.”

Archana Gopinath
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It is the feedback from the children and parents that drives these storytellers. “It feels nice that when a three-year-old listener connects with the 40-year-old me through stories. She even calls me by my full name! At the end of each episode I read out the names of children who get in touch with me and that apparently makes them so happy,” Anjali says.

They unanimously point out that it is important to listen to the children and their ideas. “We encourage them to talk and it is interesting to listen to the stories they cook up,” says Anjali. Archana adds, “When we give them a space to ask questions or give their opinions, their confidence level just goes up.”

Priya with daughter Nandini at the Halloween Party at Schoolkutti.com
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Priya feels that the sessions have been a “learning curve for me. I am not an expert and started doing it out of interest. It is fun to be doing it with my homeschooled teenager, who is my documentation specialist, creative head and fun-in-charge.”