The latest issue of
Mangayar Malar, a leading Tamil monthly for women has carried an article on my daughter Sowmya,
tracing her journey as a professional story teller. Since many of our friends
can`t read Tamil ( that includes my own children & grand children), I have
attempted a translation in English to give you the essence of the story
by G.Meenakshi, the editor of
Mangayar Malar. This is my first attempt at translation from Tamil to English-
opening up an opportunity for me try another genre of writing which is growing
popular in recent years. Read on and give me your feedback.
Sowmya Srinivasan ,is a storyteller at Soul Space Story tell and
chief storyteller at Muktha Foundation in Bangalore. She is also one of the founding members of the
Bangalore Story Telling society who has been planting good thoughts in the
minds of the children through her stories.
It is surprising that the stories that she narrates
for children are equally appreciated by
adults who are in the audience. Sowmya has the natural ability to captivate her audiences with her facial expressions and a lovely voice with necessary fluctuations.
Using toys, face masks, and other props made of cloth she acts out the
stories accompanied by appropriate music
effects so well that Children love her
performances.
Born
and brought up in Chennai, Sowmya, after
graduating in Zoology from S I E T college, did a Diploma course in Special
Education from Vidya Sagar, a school for the Differently Abled children. She
has also got a M A and M.Phil degrees in Psychology from Annamalai University. After
completing the course in Vidya Sagar she worked there for two years. Sowmya got her first experience of storytelling
at Vidya sagar, which had a period devoted to `Story telling` for the children.
“It is
not easy to tell stories to Special Children” says Sowmya. “ I had to tell the
stories in such a way that I had to give
them the feeling that they are literally watching the scenes being described.
It had to be told in a simple language.The story telling experience at Vidya
Sagar was to help me later when I became active as a story teller.
“After my
marriage in 1998 I went to Bangalore where my husband was working. I worked in
a special school as a teacher for a short while. After parenting two kids, I
decided to take a break. In 2008 when I heard about Kathalaya which was
providing training in storytelling, I promptly enrolled myself as a student.
After finishing the course I approached a few Play Schools looking for
opportunities to tell stories to children. A few schools obliged as I was
charging only a nominal fee.”
“While telling
stories I sing and use mimicry. I also use props of birds, animals made as toys
or masks. Story telling becomes more interesting when you use crafts and other
supporting techniques. Children listen to such stories with rapt attention and easily absorb the message being conveyed.
“Since my husband worked in the Indian Airforce with
frequent transfers, I have lived in Chennai, Jorhat in Assam and Kanpur. An assignment to train teachers in storytelling in Kanpur helped me hone my skills in storytelling.
How
did you get interested in storytelling?
.”In my student days I had learnt
both Carnatic music and Bharat Natyam. Besides I was also a book worm. I used
to read a lot of books. I remember in my younger days, I used to perform mono
acting shows to entertain relatives at family functions. This helped in my
evolution as a professional story teller. I started hunting for interesting
books to learn about more stories from different genres and from different
countries. Besides I am also good at creating my own stories.
“How to control anger? How to be honest? Why share
food with others? Benefits of doing regular exercises, respecting elders and
many other good practices that children should follow are conveyed through my stories. I feel I have been able to reach such messages
effectively to children through my
technique of story telling.
Sowmya adds, “ It is important to know the ages of the
targeted children and tell stories to
suit the audience. This helps in
creating the right impact on them”
Sowmya also attempts to provide answers to mental health problems faced by children through her
stories. Besides Folk Tales and ones
based on Mythology, she tries to create
awareness among children about the
importance of good habits and other socially
relevant issues of today. Children listen to such stories with total
involvement.
What
techniques do you use to tell stories to adults
Children usually
do not forget the characters in
the stories while they might forget the full stories. Where as for adults the
story is more important than the
characters. It is important to tell the stories from different angles to ensure that message reaches the adult
audience effectively.
“I also partner with two or three other story tellers
to tell stories to adults. Dividing the narration among other story tellers
depending on the story line is a technique we often use in telling stories. Also having inter
active and Q & A sessions with audience while making them join in singing sessions, helps
in active participation of the audience in the process and drives home the
intended messages with greater force”
`We story tellers help adults by providing soothing balms to get over their disturbed
minds. Very often we share Personal Stories. Such stories help adults to overcome the guilt
feelings they might be harbouring because of mistakes they have made in life,
knowingly or unknowingly. Telling stories creatively keeping in mind the
characteristics of the targeted audience definitely helps bring about a change
in them` says Sowmya, who has helped transform the lives of many adults through
her story telling sessions.
A few years ago Sowmya had an opportunity to tell
stories in Tamil to children of
Kodaganallur village in Tirunelveli.
When she visited the village a year later she was pleasantly surprised
to find one of the children come running
to her and repeating her story verbatim. Sowmya was delighted that her story
had made such an impact on the child that it remembered every line of the
story.
“I consider this the biggest reward for my efforts as
a story teller. I am also happy to know
that many children had learnt the art of creating their own stories after
listening to me.”
Sowmya has been a full time professional story teller
since from 2010. Apart from schools and public engagements, she has
been telling stories to adults and staff in corporates. Her stories also have
been a part of summer camps held by
schools for their students.
“To
help reduce the work related stress among their staff, Corporates seek the help
of story tellers like me. Corporates have found that not only our stories reduce
the stress on the staff but also improve their productivity. It also helps reduce the tension
between the staff and management motivating the staff to work with total
dedication to their job”
Sowmya has a message for parents. “ Parents must find
time to tell stories to their children and also encourage them to tell stories that they have read in books.
They must also listen patiently to such stories narrated by children. Children must be persuaded to share their experiences
in the form of stories. If possible, provide opportunities for children to tell
stories at family functions. It is not
necessary that only books can provide you good stories. We can create stories
from the pictures that we see, songs we listen to and from our own varied experiences. Children
must be constantly encouraged to tell or write
their own stories”
Parents will do well to pay heed to this important
advice from Sowmya.
’
No comments:
Post a Comment