Storytelling festival curates stories rooted in traditional oracle practices for all ages

Shilpa Mudbi (right) A Bhoota Kola performer. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons

Growing up, this writer's post-school afternoon naps were preceded by a grand storytime, anchored by her mother. Often, the reluctant storyteller would resort to the same tales over and over again. Despite the same plot, it was never the same story. Sometimes, the princess' name was tweaked; at times, the demon sounded more humane; if we were lucky, there was even a song thrown in. That's the magic of storytelling - the same stories can take you on new adventures every time. And to celebrate this mutual love for oral traditions, The Bengaluru Storytelling Festival is back with online sessions this weekend.

The festival is an initiative of the Bangalore Storytelling Society, founded by Aparna Athreya, Aparna Jaishankar, Lavanya Prasad, Meera Venkatesan, Ramya Srinidhi, Sowmya Srinivasan, Shylaja Sampath and Vikram Sridhar. The team shared that with this edition, they are delving into the various storytelling traditions rooted in the Indian context. The idea, they added, is to explore the relevance of traditional oracle practices in the contemporary world. In tune with this vision, the festival is offering a medley of performances led by Janani Murali, Shilpa Mudbi, Deepa Kiran, Rohit Bhasi and KP Bhat. Mudbi, a vocalist, researcher and founder, Urban Folk Project, is inviting listeners to join her in humming songs in Bidari - a hybrid language with influences of Kannada, Telugu, Dakhani and Marathi from north Karnataka. Titled The Songs of my Ancestors, the performance will feature pieces that Mudbi learnt from her ajji, while playing the shruti. "These are songs sung by women, to women; they comprise work songs, lullabies, domestic songs, songs of birth and death, and more. The idea is for people to sing along with me so they can visualise the landscape where ajji lived, or the kind of back-breaking work a Dalit woman in the village endures," shares Mudbi.

The festival will also prompt five-to-12-year-olds to harness their imagination for a story-led treasure hunt called Private Eye. Meanwhile, One Story, Many Ways, will witness a popular folktale being interpreted through dance and movement by bharatanatyam exponent Murali, narrative poetry by Kiran, and visual imagery by artist Bhasi. And for all those who lapped up the Kannada hit Kantara, Bhat, who hails from the coastal region of Karnataka, will delve into Mysteries of Bhoota Kola - a ritual dance, performed as a tribute to local deities by the Tulu community - and the social impact of Daiva worship.

On: January 7 and 8
Log on to: @bss_tales
Cost: Rs 200 onwards