Let's clown around at a storytelling festival in Mumbai

Monica Santos

Having engaged with children for over a decade through her storytelling workshops, educator Shreedevi Sunil says that the one thing she has realised is that kids today, tend to get "very defensive about criticism". "It could be a small issue, but they react aggressively," says Sunil, who along with Deepa Panchal started Talking Turtles' Storytellers in 2010. "A lot of this has to do with how we are bringing up our children and what we are exposing them to. It is affecting how they deal with their problems."

In order to equip children with the right kind of tools to handle criticism, Talking Turtles' Storytellers has organised a workshop, The Chhota Clown in You!, with professional Spanish clown Monica Santos. The event is part of the second edition of the Tale Train Storytelling Festival. "I thought that we should create content where children are exposed to clowning. It would be an interesting way to cope with difficult issues. They need to learn how to laugh at themselves," says Sunil.

Apart from leading the workshop, Santos will also be performing at the finale of the day-long festival, which will see a puppet show by Nishil Kamalan and team; a narration of African stories by Sherin Mathews, and a performance of Persian and Native American tales by Sunil. "The idea is to bring stories back to community, and encourage children and their parents to explore the art of oral storytelling," says Sunil, adding "By using different forms of storytelling [puppetry, mythology, folktales and clowning], we are hoping to make the experience more varied."

The Chhota Clown in You!
When: September 15, 10.30 AM
Where: MCubed Library, Bandra West
Entry: Rs 900
Call: 9820457661

Tale Train Children's Festival
When: September 15, 11 AM - 8 PM
Where: Harkat Studios, Bungalow 94, Andheri West
Entry: Rs 250 - Rs 1,000
To book: insider.in

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