SOULspace

Telling stories from mythology to small children is a bit tricky. Do we need to discuss the gore and brutality that is sometimes included in these stories? Do we need to actually speak about the heavy romantic sentiments which gets included in these stories? Or do we really need to tell children about cheating and deception, betrayal and loss of faith? Now Myths are a part of every society...we have Nordic Myths, Celtic Tales, Indian Folklore, and Greek Heroes. Where strange fantastical beasts, half human/ half God, perform crazy feats with such elaborate story lines, that even I get lost. I do tell a lot of mythological stories to my children and of course Amar chitra katha is a great educator. Whichever stories I have not told, they get from Dr.Pai's innovative idea, which has raised generations of avid readers like me ( and my kids). In our country Hindu mythology is engrained in every child's learning process. Somewhere they come to hear of the story of Ganesha,...

We are born with some traits and then we acquire some through interactions, experiences and habits. I can't say I have a brilliant analytical mind, I wish I did,because that is the skill required in today's world. Analytics runs Google System analysts run the systems that run Google and...brilliant Analytical minds run the system in the analysts.... Just having some fun with words!! Anyway... What I have is logical thinking, some creativity, patience and high tolerance for anything that doesn't function. In terms of how the world is moving I would say I am the turtle in the Hare story! I'll get there but I have to put in effort and I take my time!

   A Pot-Pouri of distorted images. Sorry that's all my Nokia cell camera could do.But the main players of the second day are all here. Geeta, Ola and Ulaf ( I hope I got that right). Geeta needs no introduction, she is a master storyteller, and barely uses props. Her voice is her greatest prop! She modulates and mimics with no inhibition and carries us all through one and half hours of stories. The ease with which she moves from story to story, stands for her deep involvement in the field and I can say she lives and breathes the stories. Each one narrated differently; each one with a quirk of its own! Ola Henrikson is a story educator at Sweden and uses stories to work with immigrant children in 10 schools, in and around his district.He uses folktales and traditional stories for team building and to integrate kids into their groups. He says that language is not much of a barrier, if you try and connect to the child's imagination! I liked the way he narrates, ...

A festival is a time to celebrate! And when we have a festival of stories, hosted by Kathalaya (the place where my journey in Storytelling began), it is really an experience I do not want to miss. In the mundane, humdrum of routine and schedules, chores to be met, a space was created for people like me to rejuvenate and refresh our committment to this art of Storytelling. A two day event on August 1st and 2nd/ 2011. The first day had Dr.Mirella from Sweden; she is an educator, puppeteer and puppet maker. She uses and teaches children to make puppets with easy materials such as sponge and cloth.Here you can see the pretty little Butterfly Puppet we all got to make with material especially imported from Sweden.  Yet what I loved about the session was her coaching us on how to use the puppets! Simple easy techniques of puppet behaviour behind the screen and in front. Awesome. It was a glimpse only but it left me thirsting for more!! The purpose of a puppet is to engag...