Anaganaga Anaganaga…
Bhoomika (Vineet, Vijaya, Raavan, Samyuktha)
Duration: 40 mins
Age group: All ages
🗓 26th January 2024
⏱12:00 pm – 12:50 pm
The session will consist of four storytellers, each telling a story of approximately 10 minutes. The stories will be told in simple Telugu, in theatrical style. Simple suggestive props may be used. As one storyteller tells a story, the rest of them will add simple accompaniments, chorus or other sound effects as desired. The themes for the stories shall be chosen from popular Indian stories, with timeless appeal and relevance for the present times.
Hyderabad Stories
🗓 26th January 2024
⏱2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
The Diamond City That Redrew Trade Routes
Duration: 20-30 mins
Serish Nanisetti is an author and journalist who has done extensive research on the Qutb Shahi kingdom that ruled from Golconda fort and later from Hyderabad for over 150 years. This was the time when a small fort became transformed into a bustling township that drew merchants from across the world. The trade links and culture that facilitated it continued even during the Asaf Jah rulers who supplanted the Qutb Shahis. The story fleshes out aspects of this globalized empire that are there in plain sight.
Beyond Boundaries: Love Defying Social Norms
Duration: 20-30 mins
This is an engaging and thought-provoking story-telling session designed for a young audience, offering a captivating exploration into the extraordinary love story of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah and Bhagmati. This session aims to not only unravel the romantic narrative but also shed light on the societal challenges the couple overcame, breaking barriers and defying norms in the process.
Dive into the societal challenges that Quli Qutb Shah and Bhagmati overcame to create a love story that defied the norms of their time. The primary objective of this story-telling session is to inspire and educate young minds about the power of love in transcending social boundaries.
These buildings have tales!
Duration: 20-30 mins
The idea is to take participants through everyday historical structures like say Grand Hotel and also monuments like the Charminar to explain the narratives that those structures hold aside from the general facts. The idea is not to simply narrate some stories but also make people understand that the history of a city is made up of stories and facts, and that both can be part of it. Stories can also include personal stories of people who have seen the city change over decades, and those narratives sometimes can help us connect to more recent events as well. I’ll be going through a series of stories, so it will be easily 20 or perhaps more. I’ll accordingly choose the interesting or important ones.
Aakaasa Kuade Gala?
Duration: 30-40 mins
Age group: 5-10 years
27th January 2024
11:00 am – 11:50 am
Storytelling is a powerful medium for education and entertainment, particularly for children. It has the potential to shape their values, attitudes, and understanding of the world. Responsible storytelling for children is a concept that aims to ensure that the stories we tell are not only engaging and educational but also ethical and mindful of their impact on young minds. And if the stories are in their mother/heritage language then it’s a huge step towards inclusivity and belongingness.
Aakaasa Kuade Gala? A story based on valuing what you have and being conscious about the environment.
Our Earth, Our Home
Neha Khaitan, Sri Sai Kolanka, Dr Srikanth
Duration: 45 mins
Age group: Open to all
27th January 202412:00–12:50 pm
The story shows how human activities and progress have been a source of constant setback for the entire ecosystem. The lively Orangutan in the forest jumping from tree to tree, crossing the rivers to get food for his children from a distant boat, living a happy life, is now in danger from forest fires. The playful dolphins go quiet as there is sewage and garbage in the dark deep waters, that chokes them, the Pondicherry shark is extinct. What is happening? What is the kind of earth we want to live in?
Music Composition and Violin: Sri Sai Kolanka, Mridangam: Dr Srikanth.
Concept and Choreography: Neha Khaitan
Oriya story by Manoj Das
Duration: 60 mins
Age group: Open to All
27th January 20242:00–3:00 pm
The Little Theatre was formed around 25 years ago with the objective of popularising reading as an activity for pleasure. The readers, who have been many over the years, come from all walks of life and all age groups. They have performed over 250 dramatised readings across cities, covering various genres, and reaching a variety of audiences.
Parchhhaaee, Ismat aur Manto ki
Suhas Bhatnagar, Sanghamitra Malik
Duration: 30 mins
Age group: Adults
27th January 20243:00 – 3:50 pm
Ismat Chugtai and Sadat Hassan Manto were good friends. Their friendship was beyond their intellect. Manto used to call her Ismat Apaa in spite of being elder to her. Besides discussing their stories during their meetings, they used to comment on each other’s day to day life too. They were family friends. In writers’ circle they were taken as a pair because both had written openly. ‘Parchhaae’, is a conversation between the two and both are open to themselves as well as to each other. In this session, Suhas Bhatnagar is Manto and Sanghamitra is Ismat. In 1948, Manto migrated to Pakistan and that was almost the end of a good friendship. The concept is based on Dastavez (five volumes on Sadat Hassan Manto) to which Suhas Bhatnagar has given his own touch to make it fictional.
Saakshi-Natya Katha Utkal se
Katha Konnections (Krishna Chaitanya and Bithika Mistry)
Duration: 30 mins
Age group: All ages
28th January 202411:00–11:30 am
Saakshi-Natya katha Utkal Se is an adaptation of popular Odia folklore. This story of love, faith, and dedication is intertwined with songs and narratives in rhyme and verse and is depicted through dance while the teller narrates the story.
My Cancer Story
Duration: 25 mins
Age: Teens and Adults
28th January 202411:40 am–12:10 pm
I was diagnosed with Colon Cancer (stage 2 B) in November 2021. Over a period of one year, I endured 3 septic shocks (the probability of surviving one septic shock is only between 20 to 30%), 4 major surgeries, 10 rounds of chemo, 5 cycles of radiation and was in the ICU for 40 days. In this session, I talk about how I battled all these with my mantra of ‘Managing every tumour with humour’, the incredible support of my feisty family, and my ‘foul weather’ friends. I’ll also touch upon a few coping mechanisms that can work not only for cancer but any other crisis.
Chakali Ilamma
Duration: 50 minutes
Age group: Adults
28th January 202412:00–12:50 pm
Story of Chakali Ilamma, a revolutionary leader from Telangana who inspired many with her courage and compassion in fighting against the zamindars. A musical narration of the milestones from her life, including the “Uyyala paata” on Chakali Ilamma from the Telangana oral tradition of singing lullabies in honour of the legends of the land.
Transmitting Cultural Heritage Through Tales: “Dharampada” in Odia and English
Duration – 10 minutes
28th January 20243:00–3:25 pm
Through the stories we want to convey that culture, heritage, and tradition travel through tales. Stories act as a vehicle for transmitting culture. From the “Dharampada” story, we know how the Konark temple was built. Anand Mahanand will narrate the story titled “Dharmapada” in Odia. It will be retold in English by Somya Nayak.
Transmitting Cultural Heritage Through Tales: “Tapoi” in Odia and English
Duration: 20-25 mins
28th January 20243:25–3:50 pm
Through our stories we want to convey that culture, heritage, and tradition travel through tales. Stories act as a vehicle for transmitting culture. From the story “Tapoi” we know the maritime trade tradition of the people in ancient Odisha when they used to travel to Bali, Java, Sumatra, and other countries for trade. Anand Mahanand will narrate the story titled “Tapoi” in Odia. It will be retold in English by Deepa Kiran.
