Imagine giving up a well-paying, cushy job to chase one's passion. Sounds fascinating but mind you, it isn't a cakewalk. Nevertheless, taking the risk and making it worthwhile are a few young professionals in the city who have quit their jobs in the corporate sector to turn into full-time storytellers. And this bunch has no barriers when it comes to exploring the world of stories.
They feel that their strength lies in their choice of stories and style of narration. Nisha was a marketing professional before she turned a storyteller. She says that she had earlier ignored the inner calling for arts when she was younger, to opt for a more practical and lucrative corporate career. "I think that wrong step eventually caught up with me. I found that I no longer enjoyed what I was doing and found my true calling in theatre and storytelling," she says. She adds that once she gathered the courage to accept that she must plunge into her passion full-time, the move was easier. Looking back, Nisha feels that she should have made this move much earlier because she now finds herself in a comfortable space.
"As a consultant in the corporate sector, my job was to spin a story that was marketable and there was very little truth to the work; although it was difficult to see it that way, when I was neck-deep in it and was enjoying the perks that came with it," she narrates. Now Nisha says that she finds an immense amount of creative satisfaction in writing her own stories and crafting them for a performance. "Whether it's for children or adults, storytelling allows me to dive into themes that I am most passionate about — environment, culture, gender and diversity," adds Nisha. She finds her present job very rewarding and one that challenges her to think beyond what exists in front of her.
Storytellers feel the art has opened up a whole new world of possibilities and given them a chance to unravel the mysteries locked in the many stories that abound around us. Rashmi Kulkarni took a break from her corporate job when her daughter turned two because she wanted to dedicate more time to her family. And storytelling was something that she did on the side. The break, says Rashmi, inspired her to choose storytelling over her earlier job.
"This is where I get to meet new people from different backgrounds. It is a joy to watch the expressions on the face of the audience, especially children, when a story is narrated to them. I never got that satisfaction when I was sitting in front of a computer," she says. The feedback she gets after every storytelling session is truly encouraging, she says. "There's nothing more gratifying than a broad smile from a child asking me when I am coming back to narrate a story," she adds.
Rashmi has developed her own style of narration and introduces songs in all her sessions. This, she says, truly livens up the session."Storytelling knits together a host of different traditions, history and geography. Stories evoke strong emotions in people, whether young or old, and literally connects with the inner self," elaborates Rashmi.
Vikram Sridhar, a member of the Bangalore Storytelling Society, feels storytelling is the oldest and perhaps the strongest tool to get a point across and the benefits of it are aplenty. "I am able to connect with people of all age groups. Each story is carried through generations and has many layers. Peeling those layers is a mystery in itself," he explains.
About how he strode into the art, Vikram says that he continued his interest in theatre and storytelling even when he had a full-time job. "It was when I was asked to do a storytelling session that I realised there was so much stereotyping happening around and stories have an important role to play in it. I personally connected to storytelling and the drive inside became the force to take to it full-time," he adds. He says that as a storyteller, he gets to travel to new spaces. "Storytelling is a long journey and I don't want to get content too early," he says with a smile.
![]( "DISTINCT CHOICE Many Bengalureans are opting to turn storytellers in order to explore their creativity.")
Imagine giving up a well-paying, cushy job to chase one’s passion. Sounds fascinating but mind you, it isn’t a cakewalk. Nevertheless, taking the risk and making it worthwhile are a few young professionals in the city who have quit their jobs in the corporate sector to turn into full-time storytellers. And this bunch has no barriers when it comes to exploring the world of stories.
They feel that their strength lies in their choice of stories and style of narration. Nisha was a marketing professional before she turned a storyteller. She says that she had earlier ignored the inner calling for arts when she was younger, to opt for a more practical and lucrative corporate career. "I think that wrong step eventually caught up with me. I found that I no longer enjoyed what I was doing and found my true calling in theatre and storytelling,” she says. She adds that once she gathered the courage to accept that she must plunge into her passion full-time, the move was easier. Looking back, Nisha feels that she should have made this move much earlier because she now finds herself in a comfortable space.
"As a consultant in the corporate sector, my job was to spin a story that was marketable and there was very little truth to the work; although it was difficult to see it that way, when I was neck-deep in it and was enjoying the perks that came with it,” she narrates. Now Nisha says that she finds an immense amount of creative satisfaction in writing her own stories and crafting them for a performance. "Whether it’s for children or adults, storytelling allows me to dive into themes that I am most passionate about — environment, culture, gender and diversity,” adds Nisha. She finds her present job very rewarding and one that challenges her to think beyond what exists in front of her.
Storytellers feel the art has opened up a whole new world of possibilities and given them a chance to unravel the mysteries locked in the many stories that abound around us. Rashmi Kulkarni took a break from her corporate job when her daughter turned two because she wanted to dedicate more time to her family. And storytelling was something that she did on the side. The break, says Rashmi, inspired her to choose storytelling over her earlier job.
"This is where I get to meet new people from different backgrounds. It is a joy to watch the expressions on the face of the audience, especially children, when a story is narrated to them. I never got that satisfaction when I was sitting in front of a computer,” she says. The feedback she gets after every storytelling session is truly encouraging, she says. "There’s nothing more gratifying than a broad smile from a child asking me when I am coming back to narrate a story,” she adds.
Rashmi has developed her own style of narration and introduces songs in all her sessions. This, she says, truly livens up the session."Storytelling knits together a host of different traditions, history and geography. Stories evoke strong emotions in people, whether young or old, and literally connects with the inner self,” elaborates Rashmi.
Vikram Sridhar, a member of the Bangalore Storytelling Society, feels storytelling is the oldest and perhaps the strongest tool to get a point across and the benefits of it are aplenty. "I am able to connect with people of all age groups. Each story is carried through generations and has many layers. Peeling those layers is a mystery in itself,” he explains.
About how he strode into the art, Vikram says that he continued his interest in theatre and storytelling even when he had a full-time job. "It was when I was asked to do a storytelling session that I realised there was so much stereotyping happening around and stories have an important role to play in it. I personally connected to storytelling and the drive inside became the force to take to it full-time,” he adds. He says that as a storyteller, he gets to travel to new spaces. "Storytelling is a long journey and I don’t want to get content too early,” he says with a smile.
They feel that their strength lies in their choice of stories and style of narration. Nisha was a marketing professional before she turned a storyteller. She says that she had earlier ignored the inner calling for arts when she was younger, to opt for a more practical and lucrative corporate career. "I think that wrong step eventually caught up with me. I found that I no longer enjoyed what I was doing and found my true calling in theatre and storytelling," she says. She adds that once she gathered the courage to accept that she must plunge into her passion full-time, the move was easier. Looking back, Nisha feels that she should have made this move much earlier because she now finds herself in a comfortable space.
"As a consultant in the corporate sector, my job was to spin a story that was marketable and there was very little truth to the work; although it was difficult to see it that way, when I was neck-deep in it and was enjoying the perks that came with it," she narrates. Now Nisha says that she finds an immense amount of creative satisfaction in writing her own stories and crafting them for a performance. "Whether it's for children or adults, storytelling allows me to dive into themes that I am most passionate about — environment, culture, gender and diversity," adds Nisha. She finds her present job very rewarding and one that challenges her to think beyond what exists in front of her.
Storytellers feel the art has opened up a whole new world of possibilities and given them a chance to unravel the mysteries locked in the many stories that abound around us. Rashmi Kulkarni took a break from her corporate job when her daughter turned two because she wanted to dedicate more time to her family. And storytelling was something that she did on the side. The break, says Rashmi, inspired her to choose storytelling over her earlier job.
"This is where I get to meet new people from different backgrounds. It is a joy to watch the expressions on the face of the audience, especially children, when a story is narrated to them. I never got that satisfaction when I was sitting in front of a computer," she says. The feedback she gets after every storytelling session is truly encouraging, she says. "There's nothing more gratifying than a broad smile from a child asking me when I am coming back to narrate a story," she adds.
Rashmi has developed her own style of narration and introduces songs in all her sessions. This, she says, truly livens up the session."Storytelling knits together a host of different traditions, history and geography. Stories evoke strong emotions in people, whether young or old, and literally connects with the inner self," elaborates Rashmi.
Vikram Sridhar, a member of the Bangalore Storytelling Society, feels storytelling is the oldest and perhaps the strongest tool to get a point across and the benefits of it are aplenty. "I am able to connect with people of all age groups. Each story is carried through generations and has many layers. Peeling those layers is a mystery in itself," he explains.
About how he strode into the art, Vikram says that he continued his interest in theatre and storytelling even when he had a full-time job. "It was when I was asked to do a storytelling session that I realised there was so much stereotyping happening around and stories have an important role to play in it. I personally connected to storytelling and the drive inside became the force to take to it full-time," he adds. He says that as a storyteller, he gets to travel to new spaces. "Storytelling is a long journey and I don't want to get content too early," he says with a smile.
Imagine giving up a well-paying, cushy job to chase one’s passion. Sounds fascinating but mind you, it isn’t a cakewalk. Nevertheless, taking the risk and making it worthwhile are a few young professionals in the city who have quit their jobs in the corporate sector to turn into full-time storytellers. And this bunch has no barriers when it comes to exploring the world of stories. They feel that their strength lies in their choice of stories and style of narration. Nisha was a marketing professional before she turned a storyteller. She says that she had earlier ignored the inner calling for arts when she was younger, to opt for a more practical and lucrative corporate career. "I think that wrong step eventually caught up with me. I found that I no longer enjoyed what I was doing and found my true calling in theatre and storytelling,” she says. She adds that once she gathered the courage to accept that she must plunge into her passion full-time, the move was easier. Looking back, Nisha feels that she should have made this move much earlier because she now finds herself in a comfortable space.
"As a consultant in the corporate sector, my job was to spin a story that was marketable and there was very little truth to the work; although it was difficult to see it that way, when I was neck-deep in it and was enjoying the perks that came with it,” she narrates. Now Nisha says that she finds an immense amount of creative satisfaction in writing her own stories and crafting them for a performance. "Whether it’s for children or adults, storytelling allows me to dive into themes that I am most passionate about — environment, culture, gender and diversity,” adds Nisha. She finds her present job very rewarding and one that challenges her to think beyond what exists in front of her.
Storytellers feel the art has opened up a whole new world of possibilities and given them a chance to unravel the mysteries locked in the many stories that abound around us. Rashmi Kulkarni took a break from her corporate job when her daughter turned two because she wanted to dedicate more time to her family. And storytelling was something that she did on the side. The break, says Rashmi, inspired her to choose storytelling over her earlier job.
"This is where I get to meet new people from different backgrounds. It is a joy to watch the expressions on the face of the audience, especially children, when a story is narrated to them. I never got that satisfaction when I was sitting in front of a computer,” she says. The feedback she gets after every storytelling session is truly encouraging, she says. "There’s nothing more gratifying than a broad smile from a child asking me when I am coming back to narrate a story,” she adds.
Rashmi has developed her own style of narration and introduces songs in all her sessions. This, she says, truly livens up the session."Storytelling knits together a host of different traditions, history and geography. Stories evoke strong emotions in people, whether young or old, and literally connects with the inner self,” elaborates Rashmi.
Vikram Sridhar, a member of the Bangalore Storytelling Society, feels storytelling is the oldest and perhaps the strongest tool to get a point across and the benefits of it are aplenty. "I am able to connect with people of all age groups. Each story is carried through generations and has many layers. Peeling those layers is a mystery in itself,” he explains.
About how he strode into the art, Vikram says that he continued his interest in theatre and storytelling even when he had a full-time job. "It was when I was asked to do a storytelling session that I realised there was so much stereotyping happening around and stories have an important role to play in it. I personally connected to storytelling and the drive inside became the force to take to it full-time,” he adds. He says that as a storyteller, he gets to travel to new spaces. "Storytelling is a long journey and I don’t want to get content too early,” he says with a smile.