Storytelling event in Chennai explores folklores from Tamil land
The ‘Stories from the Soil’ is happening at the Backyard today from 6 pm.
L to R: Vikram Sridhar, From one of his previous events
CHENNAI: 'Oru oorla oru Raja irundhanga… (Once upon a time, there lived a king)' This is how most of our bedtime stories have been. But with time, we have forgotten the art of telling as well as listening to stories. Now, Vikram Sridhar is going to take the participants on a journey back to the Tamil land, sharing stories from the soil.
“Storytelling is a culmination of multiple interests and passion. I belong to an urban landscape and I am discovering the country as a storyteller now. The stories I tell are lived experiences,” begins Vikram. Breaking the misconception about the word ‘folk’, he says, “Many think folk means old. But it means the wisdom of the people today. In simple words, it is taking the old and giving it a new touch.”
For ‘Stories from the Soil’, the participants will be invited to immerse themselves in five tales covering five different regions of the Tamil land (Kurinji, Mullai, Marutham, Neithal, and Paalai). “There will be a story behind everything around us but we fail to notice. Instead, we are drowning in the digital world,” adds the storyteller.
Sharing one of the tales from the session, he says, “Once, Lord Shiva came down to the Tamil land and asked each tree whether they were happy. When most of them were complaining about their living, Magizham Poo tree shared its happiness of what it had, which made Shiva also delightful.”
Open mic has evolved in the past few years. “It originated for the urban audience. As people migrate to different cities to live, they look out for spaces to hang out and get together. Open mic paved the way for that,” Vikram shares. “Singing and storytelling have been a part of our life since the very beginning. It's just that we got a new platform for storytelling as a performance medium,” he adds.
To break the ice and make them keep away their mobile phones, Vikram starts his storytelling session by asking the participants where they are from and what meal they had. “People are curious to know about London Bridge and not our own heritage. With my storytelling, I try to bring in the stories from the past with a beautiful touch. Storytelling has navarasa to it and it is a medium that brings humans closer to fellow beings,” he says.
The ‘Stories from the Soil’ is happening at the Backyard today from 6 pm.