Dr. Eric Miller – the man behind the Chennai Storytelling Festival

The Chennai Storytelling Festival 2024, held in February this year, was an enormous success! It attracted more than 100 storytellers, and hundreds more storytelling aficionados, from around the globe. The event, which occurred fully via videoconferencing, was masterminded by an American settled in Chennai. Yes, I am talking about Dr. Eric Miller who is a big name in the world of storytelling. A man who is responsible for training hundreds of storytellers in India.

Dr. Eric Miller is a native New Yorker and earned a Ph.D. in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). He has taught college courses in Folklore, Expository Writing, Creative Writing, Analysing Literature, Public Speaking, and Storytelling at St. John’s University, Fordham University, and New York University (all in NYC). In Chennai, he has taught at IIT-Madras; the Image College of Animation, Arts, and Technology; and the University of Madras (Dept of Communication and Journalism). In 2007 Eric co-founded the World Storytelling Institute, which he directs. He also directs the annual Chennai Storytelling Festival, which began in 2013.

When I asked Dr. Eric what made him choose storytelling as a profession, he replied,

“Since my father was a playwright and a theatre critic, I used to visit the theatre often. I naturally became fascinated with drama and as a teenager wrote several plays. Then at the age of 17 years, I met Laura Simms, who was a Professional Storyteller. I learned about Professional Storytelling from her. Storytelling appeared easier than theatre! Storytelling seemed to me to be a kind of theatre in which one could be all-in-one – playwright, director, and actor – and there was no need for a stage, sets, a full cast of actors, costumes, and makeup. I also liked the crystalline structure of fairytales, as I learned about them from Laura Simms.”

Why India and why Chennai?

“Both my parents were in the fields of the Arts, and Arts Journalism (my mother was the editor-in-chief of a national magazine about dance when I was growing up). As a result, in my late teens, I decided to study story and the performing arts in an ancient culture. My options came down to Ireland or India. I chose India as it was further away and not as modernized. I also chose India as I was interested in Goddess Culture, not as religion, but as culture and as models for behavior. A Professor of religion at the College I was attending handed me an English translation of the Silappathikaram (the Epic of the Ankle Bracelet), written by Prince Ilango Adigal. This version of the story is linguistically dated to have been written in Tamil 1500 years ago. I read the story and liked it very much. The content of the story – one woman who would go to a King and present her case and the King would listen to her – amazed me!

I first came to India in 1988, to do research for my Master’s degree. At that time I went to Poompuhar, the place Kannagi grew up, and walked the same path as Kannagi, from Poompuhar to Madurai, around 200km, and then later from Madurai to the mountains, another 200km. I authored a book about the walk and gave the first copy to M. Karunanidhi, the 5-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. I came back to India in 2002 to do research with Tribal people in the Anaimalai mountains for my Ph.D. in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. After that, I decided to settle in Chennai.”

Dr. Eric was lucky to find his spouse Magdalene in Chennai. Magdalene is a Therapist specialising in using Drama and the other Arts for Therapy. Eric and Magdalene were married in 2006 and have a daughter Kamala, who is now 17 years old. Along with Magdalene and Storyteller Jeeva Raghunath, he started the World Storytelling Institute in 2007. He started offering Storytelling Workshops from then on.  Today there are 58 registered Professional Storytellers in Chennai, many of whom have studied with Dr. Eric.

Apart from Chennai, Dr. Eric has helped to start Storytelling Associations in Trichy, Madurai, Coimbatore, Salem, and Ahmedabad. 

In 2011, he and Geeta Ramanujam (the senior leader of the Storytelling Revival in India) started the Indian Storytelling Network. Dr. Eric assists the 130 members of the ISN in editing and updating their ISN listings (which include their bio-data and descriptions of storytelling-related services they offer to the public).

Dr. Eric says, “Storytelling is not just a performance. It is also a secular ritual in which people get in touch with themselves, others, and the Universe. I conduct workshops in telling stories such as folktales, fairytales (one kind of folktale), epics, legends, and myths – as well as personal-experience stories, and stories that I help people create.  As I see it, role play is an important part of storytelling. By speaking and moving as a character would, and addressing listeners as if they were other characters in the story, the storyteller enlists the audience to participate in the story. I believe storytellers should not overact.  They should be gentle, invite the listeners in, and activate their imaginations. The style I work with is conversational. We don’t memorize, we make eye contact at times, and we tell from our imagination.  It is a visual experience – the teller and the listener can visualise a story as it is being told. This way a storyteller can bring a story to life”.

Based on a suggestion from a Chennai-based storyteller Sandhya Ruben, who had attended a storytelling festival in Singapore, he started the Chennai Storytelling Festival in 2013. He was familiar with Storytelling Festivals, having assisted Laura Simms organize them in NYC.  From the start, the Chennai Storytelling Festival was positioned as a Teaching and Learning Storytelling Festival. For the first 8 years, the CSF occurred almost in person.

Dr. Eric has been fascinated with and has been an enthusiastic user of, videoconferencing since the mid-1990s. Since around that time, his website has been www.storytellingandvideoconferencing.com. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, he was ready to shift all his storytelling activities into videoconferencing mode. Post the pandemic, CSF sessions have included a few hybrid sessions, with a mix of live and online participants.

Videoconferencing has allowed storytellers from around the globe, along with storytellers throughout India, to participate in the CSF. There are participants from Russia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and beyond who are interested in sharing and learning storytelling best practices. All sessions in the editions of CSF from 2021 to 2024 have been free of charge!

The theme for Chennai Storytelling Festival 2024 was Growing and Maturing through Storytelling and will include Transforming in CSF 2025. On the recommendation of several members of the Chennai Storytellers group (of which Dr. Eric is also a member), CSF 2024 had a few sessions of storytelling by and for children. Dr. Eric says this was a new and wonderful experience! CSF 2024 also included a discussion session on ways the Dravidian Movement has used stories to communicate its messages, especially through drama, modified folk art forms, movies, novels, and short stories.

Sudha Umashanker, a journalist, author, storytelling student of Dr. Eric, and an active participant in all of the editions of the Chennai Storytelling Festival, curates a Tamil storytelling event as one of the regional language storytelling events that occurs in the CSF. On Sunday 11th February 2024 her storytelling outfit, Storycorner at Bookmine, hosted the eighth edition of "Tamizhil Kathaigal Ketpom" ("Let's Listen to Stories in Tamizh"), via Zoom. This popular event has a faithful following of young and old. Eleven Storytellers presented a wide range of stories in a variety of styles in "Tamizhil Kathaigal Ketpom" in CSF 2024.

Commenting on CSF 2024 Sudha says, “Big names such as Laura Simms, mentor of Dr. Eric Miller, delighted participants with workshops and performances. Chennai Storytellers Pretigaya Haran of Story Sack, and Sheetal Rayathatha of Square Heads, doubled as hosts of the Festival's 12 two-hour Storytelling Sessions. Hundreds of man-hours spent on emails, short-listing workshop leaders, curating events, and drawing up schedules for 4 different time zones –a facet that was well-appreciated – culminated in a memorable Festival. Takeaways included great networking from right where you are, lots of new ideas and new stories to discover, and exposure to a variety of narrative styles ­– this and much more was what Chennai Storytelling Festival 2024 was all about”.

 When I asked Dr. Eric about his future plans apart from curating the CSF, he mentioned several things. He said he will continue to give training in Storytelling, Creative Writing, and Storytelling Therapy, a field he has helped to pioneer (he earned a Master's degree in Psychology from the University of Madras in 2018). He will also continue to host the "First Monday of the Month" sessions of storytelling by and for adults (May to January) which are also free to participate in and observe (via Zoom). There are more than 200 video recordings of storytelling in this series uploaded on YouTube. He is also the Dean of Rojavanam International School in Nagercoil and visits there for some days each month.

Dr. Eric has scripted a fictional movie with singing and dancing entitled “Words From the Forest”, which is about a group of high school students from New York City who come to visit some Tribal people in Tamil Nadu's Anaimalai Mountains. He says this story takes up where the story of Kannagi leaves off, and he hopes “Words From the Forest” will soon be brought to the silver screen.

Let us wish Dr. Eric success in this ambitious project. He can be contacted at eric@storytellinginstitute.org

This story has appeared in the Madras musings issue dated March 15-31 March 24

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An update on my life at Nana Nani

It has been a month since I moved into Nana Nani (Phase -4) a senior citizen's home in Coimbatore. Many of my friends want to know if I have settled down and if the place meets my expectations. I am more than satisfied with the place and the various services that the Home offers. I am staying in a two-bedroom apartment in one of the six blocks of apartments on the second floor. I was lucky to get a furnished flat including a fridge and washing machine. Even the curtains, bed covers and a few things required for the kitchen like the Induction stove, some utensils, and other essential items were provided by my daughter Sowmya, who is settled in Coimbatore. I must thank her and my son-in-law Sathya, for their help in setting up my new home.

Within a week I got close to a few residents some of whom I knew earlier. A good Samaritan among the new friends gave me his spare Smart T-V at a concessional rate. Another friend not only gave me his set-top box free but offered his car, which was lying idle most of the time, for my use when required. I am overwhelmed by the love and affection shown by many friends here. I don`t feel like a stranger at all. The weather in Coimbatore is so far good. I am comfortable under the fan. Though it is hot in the afternoons, one does not sweat like a pig as you do in Chennai.

My daily routine starts at 4.30 am. After the morning ablutions, I am at my workstation at 5.00 am. pounding on my laptop whatever I have planned for the day. I do my Chair Yoga between 6.30 & 7.15 am. It is followed by a 30-minute walk within the beautiful campus during which I exchange greetings with other walkers. There is no post-walk group meetings like in Chennai. That happens only after each meal session outside the dining hall. Though I am enjoying the walk here, I do miss the walk on the Bessy in Chennai, seeing the sunrise every morning. Needless to say, I also miss the fun time I used to have with friends in the Elliot group or the Elite group , having customized degree coffee served by Velu which would charge my battery for the day!

After the walk I spend 10 minutes reading the morning newspaper in the lobby of the dining hall and then proceed for the breakfast in the first batch starting at 8.00am. I return to my room and have my bath followed by Pooja rituals. I then relax with a book or try to get back to my laptop to continue with whatever I was writing in the morning.

It is now time for lunch. I attend the second batch at 1.00pm. The menu is typically Tam-Brahm fare. I like it. Post lunch I have a siesta for an hour followed by some more reading. Once or twice a week there is a programme arranged at the meditation hall starting at 5.00pm. Every Saturday at 4.30pm there is a Hindi, Tamil or Malayalam movie shown at the state of the art air conditioned film theatre in the complex. I have seen five films so far. I have also been visiting the Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Saibaba colony, every Thursday evening .On days when there are no preplanned activities in the evening, I join a group of residents who assemble in the basement of the adjacent block for a gossip session which lasts till dinner time at 7.30pm. My group, consists of a retired Air Vice Marshal, who is in his nineties, ex bureaucrats and corporate honchos who are in their seventies and eighties. The discussions are more serious than fun. Post dinner I watch the TV for an hour. It is 9.00pm and time for me to call it a day, as I am a strong believer in the `early to bed and early to rise` policy.

I now know the meaning of a life without any responsibilities in a Home away from Home! Am I enjoying it? Well, I am getting used to the idea but apart from reading & writing I am yet to find activities to keep me busy during the day. Is going spiritual an answer? I must find out.

More details about the facilities available in Phase IV in my next posting.

Yoga at 82

 I have always envied people who have been practicing yoga from a young age to keep themselves fit as a fiddle. Though I had attempted practicing yoga many times before, I had to give up unable to withstand the rigorous training. I found my protruding Madhya Pradesh (generous tummy), considered a sign of prosperity by many, was coming in the way of performing many difficult Asanas.  I remember, as a young boy, when I was thin as a stick, I used to perform Sirasasana inspired by the photo of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru performing this difficult Asana even in his old age. Of course, I was doing it more as a fun activity then, than as a part of any regular Yoga programme.

After coming to CBE I started attending Chair Yoga sessions arranged by the management of Nana Nani Senior Citizens Home where I am staying now.  It is meant for people like me who need a helping hand to get up if they sit or lie  on the floor or after prostrating before their favourite deities in the temples.

Why yoga at this age?

I was influenced by the experiences of some friends. I recently attended a get-together organized by a good friend in CBE, where he demonstrated his proficiency in performing yogic Asanas.  He had learned it in the last three years from a yogic trainer, five days a week at his home. He is only two weeks older than me. I was amazed at the way he was twisting and turning, performing difficult Asanas with ease. A guy who was suffering from acute depression a  few years ago is now bubbling with energy and enthusiasm. What the deadly medicines he was taking for depression could not do, yoga has done it for him.

A couple of other inmates at the Senior Citizen Home who have been attending the Chair Yoga sessions for a few months told me they were never able to sit or lie down on the floor earlier. Now they can do the same with ease. Some of them have even switched over to regular mat (floor)yoga classes for young and old conducted by the Home, free of charge.

This time I am serious as I have plenty of time and inclination. I find the Chair Yoga not difficult to perform as it is specially designed for seniors. There are about 25 seniors who are in their 70s and 80s attending the session for three days a week. Rest of the week I practice yoga looking at the video of the 45-minute programme available to all the participants.  The young trainer demonstrates each asana in such a way that anyone can follow easily.

 It is three weeks since I started attending the programme. Has it had any effect? Yes indeed! For the last 20 years when I go for my morning walks, the pain in the hip & thigh joints on both sides would make me stop for about 30 seconds before I continue with the walk. I would stop at least four or five times during my 30-minute walk.  Now I find that I can complete my walk with just one or two stops. The yoga teacher told me that this is because yoga has helped to relax my muscles.  I am excited. I am determined to continue the classes with the hope that someday I will be able to walk long distances without breaks, also be able to prostrate before my favourite deities in the temples or sit cross-legged on the floor while performing some rituals which necessitate sitting on the floor. It is better late than never. Om Sairam!

Age is only in the mind...Is It?

 Age is only in the mind; Age is only a number; You are as old as or as young as you think. I hear these words whenever I complain that I have become old and can`t handle certain activities. Like I can`t walk distances, I can`t stand in the same place for long. Climbing stairs has become stressful. Without my hearing aids, I am as good as deaf. I cannot bend and pick up any object lying on the floor. The number of discarded items lying around the waste paper baskets in my home is proof of the problem. The quantity of food I consume has come down drastically. In my younger days, I would order at least three items on the menu in restaurants. Today I found a pair of idlis that make me feel full. I can go on. But I am told that if I think I am young I can get over many of these problems.

Many people don`t like to accept that they have become old. And try to behave like youngsters and get into problems. A Septuagenarian friend who wanted to change a fused bulb in his bedroom, instead of calling his son to do the job, got onto a stool, lost his balance, and fell, resulting in a hairline fracture in his hand. Another friend tried to take a brisk walk down from the third floor of a building using the staircase instead of the lift without holding on to handrails, tripped & fell. Fortunately, he survived with minimum collateral damage. I always say, that while walking up the stairs for an old man is stressful, climbing up or down without holding on to handrails is risky. I find it difficult to climb even a few steps in a shop where there are no hand railings for support. I need the helping hand of some other shopper to climb up.

To all those who say that age is only in mind, I would like to reply that it may be true if restricted only to thoughts. Like you can be a very spirited person oozing positivity even when you are in your nineties, it is different when it comes to your body. Nobody can stop the aging process and the natural wear and tear of the body resulting in restricted movements. There may be exceptions. People who have led a disciplined life from a young age practicing yoga and other such practices may be more fit than others in their old age. But the masses have to accept the reality of old age and behave keeping in mind the restrictions it imposes on their movements.

However, there is no restriction for old people to dream & indulge in fantasies. They can imagine climbing Mount Everest, cavorting around pretty damsels, devouring all the delicious sweets they are banned from eating, or doing whatever they cannot do physically. All only in the mind. Like I do whenever I am down in spirits and need something to pep me up. Because age is only in the mind

Moving into Nana Nani with Shirdi Sai Baba`s blessings

 It was Sivasankari, the award-winning writer in Tamil, who told me that Baba decides to enter people`s lives and bless them, whenever he chose. It seems Baba entered her life fifteen years ago. Since then she has become an ardent devotee of Baba. Shirdi Sai Baba entered my life four years ago and has become one of my `Ishta deivams` along with my all-time favourites; Venkachalapathy and Vinayaka. I visit his temple every Thursday, wherever I am. I read one or two chapters from his ``Satcharithra` every day as a part of my daily prayers. These days I can feel his presence whenever I am facing a problem or I am in a dilemma about which way to proceed on issues I face in my life.

When I decided to move to a Senior Citizen Home, I was particular that I rent out an apartment in Phase 4 of Nana Nani in Coimbatore. I found phase 4 was the best of the lot of homes I visited when I was writing an article on Senior Citizen Homes. I was told by some friends who are residents of Phase 4 that the vacancies for rented apartments would be known only in February,24 when some of the tenants get possession of the accommodation they had booked in Phase 6 which was expected to be inaugurated in February. They also told me that there was a big waiting list for rented apartments in Phase 4. I was worried.

In December,23 I decided to attend the Navjyoth ceremony of the grandchildren of my good friend and ex-partner Sam Balsara in Mumbai which was scheduled on 20th December,23. When I rang up my schoolmate Sundaresan about my proposed visit, he not only invited me to stay with him but also informed me about the introduction of the Vandhe Bharath train from Mumbai to Shirdi and back on the same day. I jumped with joy and told him that a visit to Shirdi was very much on my cards. Based on his advice I reached Mumbai on 17th December as the train ticket was booked for the following day. Chatting with him on the 17th evening at his home I casually told him about my desire to get an apartment in Phase 4 and how I will have to wait till February to try to get one. He responded immediately with a call to a close friend who was living in Phase 4. That friend informed me that a tenant in his neighbouring flat was moving to another building in the same complex and that the tenant was authorised to recommend a candidate of his choice to the owner of the flat who was living in Bangalore. The next day while I was in Shirdi there was a constant dialogue between me and the friend, who wanted me to rush to Coimbatore immediately to firm up the deal with the tenant. Because of my prefixed programme in Mumbai I could visit Coimbatore only the following week end.

The tenant looked a pious man. He connected me to the owner of the flat who confirmed that it is okay to deal with the tenant in the matter. I gave a month`s deposit out of the five months deposit required to the tenant and returned with the understanding that I would have to go back to Coimbatore in the middle of February to go through the formalities required by the management of Nana Nani and take possession of the flat. The next month was spent in suspense as I was not sure if I had done the right thing by dealing only with the tenant. Adding fuel to the fire a good friend who had visited Nana Nani the previous month told me that without the permission of the management of Nana Nani, it is not possible to get a rented apartment. I was confused and worried. However, I did not contact the Nana Nani management or the owner again, but surrendered to Sai Ram and prayed for the success of my efforts. He did not let me down. After going through some ups and downs and all the formalities including a medical check up I am now well settled in Room No G 206 in Phase 4 of Nana Nani. I believe that the fast-tracking of the whole process of getting the apartment was made possible by my trust in Sai Ram. Om Sai Ram!

More about my experience in Nana Nani in due course!

The beginning of a new chapter

A new chapter in my life has begun. While I am excited about the prospects I am also a little nervous about how things will shape up. My mind goes

back to the time when as a 26-year-old man I took the first bold decision in my life. Within just three years in my dream job with Clarion Mc Cann advertising, based on the advice given by my well-wishers I decided to move to a one-bedroom, two toilets attached flat in Santacruz, Mumbai. The rent was Rs. 400 per month. My salary then was only Rs 1000 per month. The 250 sq.ft room in a chawl in Matunga, where my family of six was staying, sharing two toilets with 56 others every morning, was costing my father only Rs 20 per month. A very cautious man that he was, my father refused to move to the flat with the family. His argument was if for any reason I lost my job the whole family would be in the streets. However, due to unexpected circumstances, the family moved with me within a year, justifying my decision. With divine grace and elders' blessings, I moved up very fast in my career ultimately landing in Chennai, where for the next 50 years I had a glorious inning realising many of my dreams and also leaving behind my footprints on the sands of time in several professional and service organizations that I was associated with. It was a period of many achievements and new experiences which made my life meaningful. During this period many out-of-the-box solutions I found to many of the problems I faced, proved to be right. Including what I did with an explosive letter my wife wrote to me which became a turning point in her life and our relationship. I am sure that my well-considered decision to move to Nana Nani, the senior citizen home in Coimbatore would also turn out right. After all it was Shirdi Saibaba who fast-tracked the whole process. Look for my next posting to know more details.

 

A recognition after 30 years

 

Amid many farewell get-togethers, I attended a meeting with a difference. It was organised by the First batch of students of the Post Graduate Diploma Course in Advertising conducted by the Advertising Club Madras that was launched during my year as the President of the club in 19994. Vijay Vasudeven the ever enthusiastic member of the group had managed to get 10 out of 19 participants in the course to attend the event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the course and also to honour me for initiating the course which changed their lives for the better. While I feel delighted to get the recognition after 30 years, I think it would be appropriate for me to reproduce an extract from my autobiography which talks about my involvement with the Advertising club Madras and how the idea for the course was mooted and implemented .

"When K.A. Srinivasan, a veteran committee member became the President in 1992-93, he invited me to take over as the Convenor of the Club’s own building project. As a first step, I prepared a project report, clearly spelled out the objectives, outlined a structure and also worked out a budget. Armed with this document, I approached some of the leading lights in the agency business in Madras for their support.

Encouraged by the positive response I got, we started looking out for a suitable office space. Over the years, the club had saved about Rs. 5 lakhs. However, most of the premises on offer required more than Rs.10 lakhs. It was then that I came to know that my friend, Tabler Indu Chandhok had some office space available in Carex Centre, the building owned by his group company. Though the total value of the property was Rs. 9 lakhs and we were Rs.4 lakhs short, Indu, because of my personal relationship with him, agreed to sell the property to the Club, on condition that we pay the balance within a specific time. He was kind enough to allow us to take possession of the property and start work on the interiors. The property was registered towards the end of Srinivasan’s term as President. It was a proud moment for all of us when we performed the Pooja at our own premises on the second floor of Carex Centre, centrally located off Anna Salai.

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When I took over as President from Srinivasan in 1993, not only did I have to raise Rs. 4 lakhs to pay Indu Chandhok for the premises, but I also had to find the money for the interiors. R. Krishnamurthy of Eenadu, one of the pillars of Ad Club those days and I called on R.K. Swamy, N. Murali from the Hindu and others for help. Swamy straightaway committed Rs. 3 lakhs, N. Murali Rs. 2 lakhs and another Rs. 60,000/- came from Shanth Kumar of Deccan Herald. An appeal to the members to contribute to the Building Fund helped in donations coming in from several small and big agencies and also individual members.

Once sufficient funds were collected, Srini helped with the interiors which not only served as a classroom for 20 students and a library, but also had a corner where the administrative secretary and his assistant could be seated. I managed to bring in Janardhanan, who helped me run the Round Table India Secretariat, to help set up the Secretariat of the Ad Club Madras. It was a dream come true for all of us when on 24th February 1994, we inaugurated the ’Centre for Advertising’ at our own premises with Arun Nanda, the then President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) as the Chief Guest. In his speech, Mr. Nanda acknowledged that it was the first time ever that such a centre was established by any Ad club in India. He was also delighted to learn about the proposed PG diploma course in advertising that the club was planning and wished it all success!

The PG Diploma course was my solution to the perennial problem of man power shortage in the booming advertising industry at that time. A jewel in the crown of Ad Club Madras, as it was called those days, the project was planned as an integral part of the permanent secretariat, to ensure continuous activity in the club and also to provide a regular income. The course initially trained 20 students, the number limited by the capacity of the classroom.”

Though I started it, the credit for running the course successfully for more than 20years should go to Past President Jagannath Ramaswamy,as the Course Director. It is not often that a Past President of any club can sustain his interest in any activity for such a long time. I am happy that Vijay and his team also honoured Jagannath at the function.

It was appropriate that the current office bearers of the club under the dynamic leadership of Bala also participated in the event. It is heartening to note that the course, after a gap due to the pandemcic, has been relaunched, with new syllabi. While I congratulate Vijay for conceiving the idea of the alumni get together of the First batch I hope he will help in forming an alumni Association of all past students of the course. I wish him and the office bearers of the Adclub Madras all the best in their endeavours to take the club to greater heights