Deccan Chronicle

Tathaastu

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When mythology meets storytelling, there is bound to be wholesome entertainment. And when these are stories of boons you can also expect to throw in many laughs. Tathaastu (that means So be it)  is a word associated with Gods and Goddesses of India when they sealed the boon granting process. Indian mythology and folklore are replete with stories of funny, harmless, dangerous and serious boons and many of these stories are edge of the seat thrillers, while some others will have you laughing out loud. This weekend you can grant yourself a boon by seeing a carefully selected bouquet of “Boon stories” that is sure to ensure your weekend goals are met.

Parvathy Eswaran
Parvathy Eswaran

Jyothi, Meera and Parvathy are professional performance storytellers with an innate love of stories having a combined storytelling experience of more than 20 years between them who will showcase these stories. Meera Venkatesan’s journey in storytelling  started off on a very non-specific note of curiosity to simply know more about storytelling, at the Beginner’s course in Kathalaya. “Looking back at all the stories I have collected on this path till today- through performances, training,  workshops, writing, teaching and shared experiences, I am just glad that I took the first step, almost 10 years ago. While I enjoy the interactions with children the most, creating a learning experience using stories gives me great satisfaction. My friendship with stories has also helped me in my career as an Instructional designer.”

Meera Venkatesan
Meera Venkatesan

As August heralds the festival season, each that comes with its own train of stories which are in fact a boon for story lovers, the timing of this show could not be more appropriate. “We wanted to bring a whiff of this “Boon of Indian mythology’, through a performance, especially to a generation where this interest in them is fading,” avers Venkatesan. And with boons being a unifying thread through mythology this performance will see different methods of storytelling for each of the stories, both traditional and out of the box. Parvathy Eswaran a storyteller by passion and by choice did the Kathalaya storytelling course, volunteered there and started storytelling. “Twice a month, Meera and I do a 30-minute storytelling session at a public park in HSR Layout to reach out to children of various strata. Given an opportunity we would like to replicate this in other public parks. We believe stories are there all around us in plenty as free as the air we breathe. I would like to spread the importance of stories and storytelling across all ages, both for entertainment and as an educational tool.” Jyothi Kunjoor adds, “Tathaastu will see Meera, Parvathy and me collaborating for the very first time. Each of us is a passionate storyteller and in this performance, we will be playing to our strengths. Given Meera’s aptitude for creativity, Parvathy’s talent for theatrics and my love for music, “Tathaastu” promises to be a unique effort in the annals of Bangalore’s vibrant storytelling scene. While I immensely enjoy narrating stories to children, I would love to conduct more storytelling sessions for adults in the future, with workshops thrown in for good measure.” The show promises to be all things fun with a strong undercurrent of stories that is sure to keep you hooked and booked this weekend. “As a storyteller, I would love to reach this skill to as many people as I can, across all ages and levels. Hopefully storytelling would become as much an omnipresent and recognized skills, as technology skills are today,” concludes Venkatesan.

  • What: Tathaastu: Stories on Boons from Indian Mythology
  • When: August 25th, 11 am to 12 pm
  • Where: MyBoTree, 60 Feet Rd, Above Khadims, KHB Colony, 5th Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560095.
  • Tickets: http://go.eventshigh.com/6isyv

This story first appeared in Deccan Chronicle Bengaluru dated August 23, 2019 here:

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