House of Stories lets you to speak your heart in front of a bunch of strangers

A House of Stories session in progress

It was when she got fired from her job that Kopal Khanna decided that her dream of starting a story-sharing platform had to be realised. She had been working with a non-profit, which fulfilled her ambition of doing good work, but her creative side was suffering. "I had had this idea for a long time, but you know, we all think of things like'will it earn me enough money?' or'will it even work?' Though I pursued history in college and then worked in the non-profit sector, I had always been a writer, so storytelling was important to me," says the 26-year-old.

Last year, Khanna along with her friends, Ali Husen and Utkarsh Mehrotra, started Tape A Tale, which began as an online platform, where people submitted videos of themselves telling tales from their lives. "It could be an event or story from your life that you want to talk about. They are all personal narratives," says Khanna.

Kopal Khanna

After the success of their formal tale-telling sessions, which were held in venues like antiSOCIAL and The Habitat, Khanna and the team have now introduced House of Stories, which held its first event last month. Around 100 people registered, out of which only 30 could be fit into the house. "This is more informal," Khanna explains, "We hold it at someone's home and people tell their stories in a much more intimate setting. When people come in for bigger events, it feels rehearsed. But this was very natural." The stories ranged from love stories, to people talking about dealing with a parent's death, to someone describing a conversation that they had with a stranger in the local train. "The next event will be one where we ask a duo to tell a story together. We are also having a special event for grandparents."

Jidnya Sujata, 21, content writer, who will be performing at the Tape A Tale event for the fourth time soon, says that since the people who come for the sessions know what they are coming for, they appreciate your story better. "They relate and care about what you say. I feel as if I belong. It's a different kind of high - you feel like you have zoned out, but with everyone around you."

When: September 8
Where: At a secret location in Thane, which will be revealed to the people who sign up
Entry: Rs 200
Log on to: www.facebook.com/TapeAtale

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