When I fall sick with a cold or flu these days, I feel like something is missing. After some thought I realized exactly what it is. I miss my mom pampering me with hot soups and stews and ‘anything else I can make for you to eat?’ questions. But more than that I miss my grandmoms on my bedside, telling me stories, I would listen to in wide eyed awe.
Sometimes the stories were fairy-tales, sometimes they were parts of the Ramayan or Mahabharata or Puranas, and at other times they were the embellished experiences of her colorful childhood shared with many brothers, sisters and cousins.
I can still read in bed and that is great. But there is something extra special about storytelling. Especially if the storyteller, like my grandmom, has a talent for it. The storyteller adds a whole new dimension of creativity to the story. The story teller makes exaggerated gestures, gives different voices to the characters, uses great intonation and integrates humor and personal connection with the listeners. Storytelling is an interactive art-form where the storyteller takes cues from the expressions and interest of the listener to dynamically adapt the story and make it more engaging.
I used these ideas in creating the Tania Series. When I write the Tania stories, I try to picture myself telling them to my daughter and choose the wording accordingly. But that is not enough. So I read the stories to my daughter with all the exaggerated gestures and voices and take cues from her expressions and interest to edit them. We do this at least 3 times before I consider a story to be more or less ready. Then I proof read them and make them available free.
Why free? Just like any good storyteller, I want to tell my story to as many kids as possible. I believe children should have easy access to stories, because stories go a long way towards making childhood special. And because I believe that listening to stories is enjoyable in a way different from reading them, I have made audiobooks of some of the Tania stories. These too are free.
As a kid I felt my grandma’s stories made me feel better and put me on a speedy road to recovery from any illness. I don’t know if storytelling is therapeutic, but it certainly was comforting. The child in me still hopes someone will tell me stories when I am sick in bed. May be a fairy godmother will appear from nowhere and tell me stories the next time I am sick. One can always hope, right?
Kudos to Tell-A-Tale for their efforts on reviving a worthy but possibly dying practice.
Lessons passed down down the generations in the form of stories are difficult to forget. This article is a survey of books for children that provide essential moral lessons. Thank you!