Aksheeya Weaves Stories through slices of fantasies
The writer has since then grown up, embarking on her journey as a storyteller for both children and adults, performing her fantasised stories across stages in Auroville
Aksheeya, Storyteller
CHENNAI: For Aksheeya, a 27-year-old writer and storyteller, weaving stories from her chilling imaginations and dreams started even as she was just five.
“‘Snakes in the airport’ was my first ever story, and I remember scribbling it on a pink chart paper, which I folded to make it look like a small book. It’s amazing how I wanted people to buy what I had written, and I sold my first copy to my neighbour for 20 bucks. My neighbours indeed liked my story, or rather that is what they said,” laughs Aksheeya.
The writer has since then grown up, embarking on her journey as a storyteller for both children and adults, performing her fantasised stories across stages in Auroville, Oxford, London, Bengaluru and now Chennai, where she belongs.
‘Slice of fantasy’ is how Aksheeya’s parents term her stories that are born out of her imagination.
Aksheeya during one of her storytelling sessions
"My father being a software professional, and my mother an English teacher, both of their backgrounds don’t involve creativity. My parents have been disregarding my stories all my life, because most of my stories come from the uncanny and intense dreams of mine,” says the writer.
Storytelling for Aksheeya is rather important as she has always been obsessed with collecting stories like an old witch horde’s crystals, stating, “There are so many stories screaming to be told. I always ask myself the impact a story will create, and once I have my answer, that is how I go ahead narrating those stories out in open mics and other stages that have given me the opportunity to showcase my world of fantasy.”
Dreaming of monsters and mythical creatures, the storyteller has found interest in writing fantasy and scientific fictions.
“Some people do point out the dark, gritty and gory aspect of my story. But I try to connect it with the human element of emotion. The characters in my stories may be from a different planet, they may not feel like us, but they also feel the way we do,” explains the writer.
Death By Audience Vol 1, will be an interactive storytelling experience by Aksheeya, which will take place at The Backyard at Adyar on September 24, from 6 pm to 7 pm.
“The story named Giant Slimy Tentacles, is an adventure to a post-apocalyptic Chennai that has been seized by a gargantuan monster who needs to be vanquished by the audience, who are the protagonists of this story. They get to decide how the adventure goes,” adds Aksheeya.