Everybody loves a good yarn

And everybody always did. Only, the mediums have been changing. Curiously though, the demand for traditional oral storytellers is growing in this age of AI, VR and OTTs.

On a recent visit to San Francisco, I spent hours in the San Francisco Public Library, reading and exploring its rich content. The library held storytelling sessions for toddlers, children, and adults alike. These were hugely popular. Storytellers brought props and music to their sessions and wildlife enthusiasts brought animals for a ‘show-and-tell’ event. Kids got to hear some amazing animal tales, interact with other kids, and maybe, pet a baby alligator under supervision.

My own rendezvous with storytelling began when one of the children’s book publishers invited me to tell stories in some Bengaluru schools. I was not sure how children, raised on iPads, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and play stations would respond to live storytelling. Organised as special events by the school libraries, it was an effort to wean children away from technology and bring them back to books and reading.

I was pleasantly surprised to see crowded auditoriums, and heightened interest among middle graders — they not only knew their superheroes but also knew their fairytales and their epics. Here was school after school, and hundreds and hundreds of children listening in rapture to the tales being told.

And it is not just public libraries and school libraries which are behind the revival of oral storytelling, but a renewed interest from informed audiences and corporates is also fuelling the trend. From Shillong to Surat, Chandigarh to Chennai, Mumbai to Bengaluru, and from Delhi to Hyderabad, storytellers are telling stories to packed audiences. They bring grandmothers’ tales, folk tales from the Panchatantra, Jataka, stories from Ramayana and regional stories from all over the world into the public space, to create a shared joy of narration for children and adults alike. All they need is to modernise the experience for the listener and bring context and topicality to them, with props, costumes, and songs. Many storytellers are experienced theatre artistes; they use their acting skills, linguistic abilities, and personal charisma to captivate the audience with their tales.

Says Vikram Sridhar, a performance storyteller and theatre practitioner, “You look at the demand and perfect it, there is always a particular space in which storytelling happens. There must be adaptability to the demand and the purpose — either to the business, the family, children, or educator — it can’t be the same everywhere.”

Says Sowmya Rajan Srinivasan, storyteller, psychologist, and story therapist: “As early as 2015, I started using stories as a tool for reflection and self-development, taking inspiration from Jungian psychology and other storytellers from the West like Laura Simms.”

For instance, one Harikatha exponent I heard recently brought in traffic references to a Bengaluru audience, in his Varanane of Bhatathiri Bhatt’s Narayaneeyam. Another artiste I watched, was able to bring to life the beautiful ancient language of Maithili in her story of a new bride missing her maternal home. At yet another storytelling event, where the theme was food, the tellers told regional folktales about food. On the stage, was a table with an array of spices and herbs that added flavour to these dishes. It was a sensory, aural, and visual journey.

New buzzword

“Storytelling is the buzzword now. When I started storytelling in 2008, it happened only in schools. Stories are being used and applied extensively in almost every field now. Everyone either wants to learn to tell stories or use stories to drive a point across in a direct or subtle way. My repertoire has to cater to many diverse fields and audiences — my research and storytelling skills are being challenged with every kind of audience!” says Sowmya.

Adds Vikram: “There is a lot of responsibility because stories are not just stories, they are the carriers of information, emotions, data — there is a lot more research, sensitivity questioning and conversation between the storyteller and receiver that is happening, which is healthy. Unlike any other form, where there is distance between the performer and the audience, the storyteller is closer to the audience, and the audience is also better informed.”

Says Neelam Dixit, a creative educator, coach and avid listener of stories, “Storytelling impacts me on an everyday basis. My dad used to tell us a new story with morals every night. As a child, I got an understanding of the intricacies of life through such tales. Oral storytelling is very personal, you can feel the heart and essence of the story.”

Amruta Charudatt Pradhan, writer, and story explorer agrees, “Storytelling is a personal experience for me, my grandmother and mom would tell me stories and whenever there are storytelling sessions, I tend to associate it with childhood nostalgia. It immediately reaches out to the heart and there is a direct and instant connection between the storyteller and me. I indulge the inner child in me, and I am always there for a good story. It is a magical experience — acts as both therapy and entertainment.”

What’s the secret sauce?

India is not new to live storytelling — the ancient art forms of Katha from the different regions of the country — be it Harikatha, Harikeerthan, Purana-Pravachana, Kathakalakshepa, Villupattu, Burra Katha, Yakshagana, Kathakali, Kaawad and Dastangoi — were performed in temples, religious forums or at homes. Traditional storytellers were adept in theatrics, song and dance and were able to hold their audience’s attention. An entire village got together to listen to these stories. It was an interactive social experience, where the artiste engaged with the listeners, often throwing questions at them.

However, in this era of instant gratification and so many choices and mediums for entertainment, what makes listeners come back to live oral storytelling?

Amruta has an answer to this question. “There are all sorts of stories available on TV and OTT, and we are spoilt for choice, but it’s an overdose and frankly overwhelming. The consumption of stories is instant and there is no time to process them. Oral storytelling bridges that gap.”

Storytelling in training rooms

Oral storytellers are being drafted in by corporates to use their art to explain abstract corporate terms in the training room and even help craft the company’s mission-vision statement.

Says Sowmya, “Storytelling for corporates comes in many forms, such as Effective Communication through Storytelling, Vision, Mission, and Strategic Storytelling, Branding and Marketing, Understanding Consumers, Storytelling for Team Building, Leadership Training, etc. My work resonates with using storytelling for well-being and offering healing circles for reflection and growth so that we can develop better teams, improve self-worth and self-leadership.”

Adds Vikram, “The world of business storytelling is extremely broad. Storytelling is looked at from multiple perspectives, from delivering a story to an audience, to leaders giving motivational speeches, managing teams, representing data or analytical information to clients or stakeholders, and even delivering communication-based information. So, it’s diverse, it’s large, the word used maybe storytelling, but it has got multiple dimensions in the corporate world.”

So, we can be rest assured that storytelling as an art form will never die, for whether it is writers, moviemakers, or hi-tech innovators, all of them consciously and subconsciously borrow from the ancient art of oral storytelling, from the elements of live theatre; from lived reality and public spaces, to make their stories picturesque, enchanting and entertaining.

The medium may change, but storytelling will last forever, for the child in us will always crave a good story.

A VR touch to storytelling

The quiet invasion of new technologies into the area of storytelling was waiting to happen. Remember Netflix’s Black Mirror and Bandersnatch, the 2018 interactive film that was released between seasons, where we were coaxed to make decisions for the young programmer, Stefan Butler, via our remote or touchscreens? Then there was another Netflix production, Ranveer Vs Wild with Bear Grylls, where viewers were persuaded to save Ranveer Singh by choosing either a grappling gun or a flare. In both these instances the viewer became the storyteller and the original storyteller’s role was that of a guide.

Several technological advances like Visual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) or Mixed Reality (MR) — all of which come under the broad umbrella term of Extended Reality or XR — add jaw-dropping illusions to storytelling. VR creates an artificial computer-generated immersive environment, which the viewer experiences via a helmet or goggles, giving him/her a sense of presence in the digital space. Then there is AR which adds new information to the real world. Pokémon Go, had people walking around their neighbourhood with their phones, looking for Pokémon in bushes, streets, and parks. MR, meanwhile, also referred to as Hybrid Reality, adds AR digital information to the real world and integrates into it. Virtual objects can be found at actual locations as the camera moves. Will all these new-age technology advances change storytelling as we know it?

Says Vikram, “We still communicate to a human being with technology. That can never be taken away. Technology is only trying to shorten the lead time and enhance the experience. We will use and embrace technology, but we will also need oral storytelling, as the direct connect is so powerful.”

Adds Sowmya, “Yes, the impact of technology is high. however, live and in-person storytelling is highly beneficial. Storytellers must find interesting ways to keep the audience engaged in a way technology cannot — they must get more creative.”

The author is a senior journalist and storyteller.