Falak Randerian is the master mind behind ‘My Little Chatterbox’, an initiative which believes in creating lifelong association with reading and stories. She was previously a Communication Trainer in a corporate company, which she left to fulfil her dream of becoming a Storyteller. She is also a part of the core team of Bangalore Storytelling Society. She has conducted several storytelling programs for children and adults in Bangalore.
We spoke to Falak about My Little Chatterbox and her love for storytelling.
Tell us a little about Falak Randerian
This is the toughest thing to answer. I guess I’m someone who loves doing things my way. I try to keep that part of me intact. So be it my work, my personal life or my social life, I do put a bit of ‘myself’ into it.
What influenced you to become a storyteller?
My style of telling a story is pretty ‘me’ again. I read–aloud a lot and a big credit for that goes to my parents who exposed me to the right kind of books when I was younger.
Though my style is mine, I take inspiration from a whole bunch of people around me.
You left your corporate job to become a storyteller. How difficult/easy was that decision for you?
When I decided I wanted to get into book reading and storytelling with kids, I took it up as an experiment which might not work. Though I loved doing what I wanted to, I was not sure. When I actually started doing a lot of sessions, I became confident and that helped a lot. So the decision was difficult, the journey has been tough but I have never regretted any moment of it.
Tell us more about ‘My Little Chatterbox’ and how it uses the art of storytelling.
My Little Chatterbox started in August 2012 as a venture to promote love for books and reading. As we say, we aim at ‘Creating a lifelong association with reading and stories!’ We have book reading clubs and phonic classes for kids between 3-10 years. We also have a Reading Room which has handpicked books for kids and teens. We aim at converting this into a book lounge/renting library by mid-2015. I’m also a part of the Bangalore Storytelling Society (Bangalore Storytelling Society), which consists of a group of people who aim at learning, nurturing, reviving, training and popularizing the art of oral Storytelling.
How is telling stories to early stage learners/toddlers different from telling stories to adults?
The stories you pick and the nature of telling depends a lot on your audience. The duration, the content, the way you narrate is pretty different. Yet, there are things which are similar. For instance, the way I connect with the audience and how I let my listeners lead my telling is similar. And irrespective of age, the experience of narrating is equally therapeutic for me as a teller.
Is there any particular incident/anecdote from your sessions that you would like to share with readers?
Ah! There have been a lot of them and they always bring a smile on my face and keep me on track. I remember one such incident which happened recently when I was narrating a story to a bunch of kids between 4-10 years. After the story, some of them came and gave me a hug. Actually when the others saw these 3-4 kids hugging me, they all came up and it became a big group hug.
One more incident is, after another event organized by the Bangalore Storytelling Society, an old lady came up and kept her hand on my head (as if she was blessing me).
These small gestures always remain with you.
Any words of wisdom for aspiring storytellers?
If you feel you have it in you, go ahead and try storytelling. We definitely have a dearth of good storytellers. Try and develop your own style, since by just imitating someone would never help.
Don’t Miss: We love storytellers as much as we love storytelling. On Tell-a-Tale, we’ve featured a lot of talented storytellers, in the past.
Are you a Storyteller? If you’re a storyteller who is actively pursuing storytelling and would like to be featured in this column, drop us a mail at contact AT tell-a-tale.com or reach out to us via Facebook.