“There are different kinds of stories in different parts of the world that reflect society and how people lived centuries ago as well as in modern times,” begins Sushmita Singha, co-founder of Udaipur Tales International Storytelling Festival ahead of the three-day festival held on crisp wintry january days in Udaipur, entirely devoted to storytelling.
The festival’s sixth edition lineup included as many as 35 storytellers performing through mornings at Jamghat primarily tailored for children, and evening sessions at Kahaniganj catering for the adults. With the city of lakes backdrop, the stories kept arriving in tangerines and ochre yellows and of all shades as the evening lineup kicked off with storyteller Ajay Kumar’s poignant critique of human nature. Chennai-based storyteller Debjani made the audience rethink with her reinterpretation of Surpanakha. “Whenever you are telling a story in mother tongue to an audience of the same language, an entirely familiar bond unfolds,” says Debjani, adding that while her stories have taken her to countries across the world, performing in the language her tongue knows since birth felt like home.
Adding to the mix, Ahmad Faraz created suspense with horror stories, following the day’s conclusion with the famous Qutbi Brothers’ Qawwali. Remarkably, the festival had a free-flow of tales and not curated with a central theme - an intentional choice by co-founder Sushmita Singha. “Once you put a theme, it imposes restriction on imagination and creativity,” she explains. Day 2 was about celebrating master storytellers from across India. The story lineup included Vicky Ahuja, Devdutt Pattanaik revisiting ‘Sati Savitri’ and Shilpa and Adithya Kothakota’s powerful, well into the night ‘Yellamma’ performance. “There is only so much written history that you can take in as education,” says Shilpa Mudbi Kothakota post perfromance. “But what your ajji (grandmother) tells you about her idenity gives you a sense of time. Without her understanding of her God, I wouldn’t have come this far, especially as we grew up urbanised. Understanding our own stories is important,” she adds.
It was a festival at the city of lakes for a reason, with Udaipur itself becoming a living narrative with stories whispered around campfire during breaks, not by storytellers but the audience who eventually passed on stories immersing in the festival’s undertone. Some of the additions to the festival was Tahir Merchant’s showcase of bike-art from his museum ‘Merchant Motoart’ .
The festival’s grand finale became the day of boundless stories for adults, starting with folklore performed by Priyanka Chatterjee, followed by Kahaniwala Rajat, contemporary Pahadi stories from Neha Bahuguna, and more on the contemporary side from Shweta Nadkarni, and ending the morning with folk fusion from Shreya Paliwal.
The evening brought stories from Juliana Marin transporting the listeners to the land of Colombia. Fouzia Dastango, India’s first female Dastango artist who has been reviving the 13th century oral Urdu storytelling tradition, actor Makarand Deshpande’s dramatic flair and Sameer Rahat’s ghazals closed the Udaipur Tales on a high note.
“This is my first time experiencing how rich Indian storytelling and theatre is,” says first-time attendee Rakshika Bansal from Udaipur. “Now, I’m late to the party, having missed out on Indian storytelling all these years,” she adds, further reflecting on the panoply of themes performed, from horror stories to Qawwali, there was something for every palate.
Co-founder Salil Bhandari summed up the essence of Udaipur Tales, “We had no expectations for the festival as we commenced, but we have understood how storytelling is the most powerful medium to reach out across barriers, as it is only the stories that can truly make you pause and rethink.”
Published - February 10, 2025 08:42 pm IST
