Storytelling | Volume 4
Ajay Dasgupta, Erica Taraporevala, Chetan Shetty, Dola Dasgupta | Storyteller
Storytelling is a form of deep healing which was used by ancient Shamans and tribes to pass on wisdom to communities. Traditionally and in modern times also stories have been used by families and educators to transmit life skills and teachings. Storytelling is also perhaps the oldest form of social entertainment which through theater, dance, puppetry, art and music, has for centuries held humanity together with a common thread of feelings and emotions. The charm of gathering as a
community in the warm presence of other human beings and listening to stories kindle our primordial nature and
bring us closer to our emotional and spiritual selves. This is an attempt to assist a worldwide effort to revive
the ancient art of oral rendition of stories, in an age where other forms of entertainment have swamped people’s inner and outer lives.
The Storytellers:
Ajay Dasgupta is a storyteller and co-founder of The Kahani Project – a non-profit organisation that is making stories accessible to children with disabilities and
children from communities that lack access to modern digital and mass media. Over the past years, Ajay has told stories to hundreds of children across Pune in schools, community areas, settlements and slums. (www.thekahaniproject.org)
Erica Taraporevala started her career as a software professional but post marriage and children moved towards a deeper study of life and spirit. She is one of the first in the urban Indian context to turn to home schooling for both her children. As a writer and passionate environmental activist, she has had ample opportunity to learn the value of observation and introspection. She now defines herself as a practitioner - a practitioner of meditation, music and storytelling.
Chetan Shetty has been a resident of the Pune Cantonment, in the neighbourhood of The Loft, all his life, where he has found opportunities to do theater, he sings in a choir and tells stories. He was fortunate to play Paravicini in The Mousetrap and Sancho Panza in The Man of La Mancha. He sings with the Chamber Singers and is actively associated with the Poona Club Book Club and The Storytellers. He works at Extentia Information Technology and is the father of two teenage boys.
Dola Dasgupta is a new resident of Pune. She moved to Pune, bag, baggage, barrel, kids, dog and a heart full of dreams from Delhi , in 2012, to start life afresh.
She stumbled onto active storytelling along her journey as an unschooling facilitator to her two kids and a passionate worker of community-based activities.
She has been a journalist and teacher in the past. Her vision is to create multiple urban spaces for community based gatherings and activities and spread the message
of freedom of spirit.
