Hope interaction with PM Modi provides impetus to storytelling in country, says Aparna Athreya

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 28 : Interacting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 'Mann Ki Baat' was a momentous occasion and we hope that it gives an impetus to the art of telling stories in the country, said Aparna Athreya of the Bangalore Storytelling Society.
Athreya and her team members had interacted with Prime Minister Modi during the monthly address 'Mann Ki Baat' on Sunday.
"With this recognition comes responsibilities. Interacting with Prime Minister Modi on storytelling was a momentous occasion for us. The future plans are fairly cut out for each of our storytellers, and we have a lot of them. The first aspect that we hold as responsibility is the preservation of all those traditional storytelling forms which already exist. We need to preserve the stories and languages. The second aspect is nurturing, to create new story-tellers, and the third is promotion," Athreya said.
"I hope that our interaction with the Prime Minister was an impetus to create public festivals and events and grants for research and development of storytelling in our nation. I hope that we are embarking on a brand new journey on the revival of storytelling," she added.
PM Modi had on Sunday urged storytellers to include all inspirational stories from the period of foreign rule as the country will celebrate 75 years of independence next year. He also suggested countrymen find time for stories every week.
Atreya told the Prime Minister that she is a mother of two, wife of an Air Force officer, and a passionate storyteller.
"Storytelling began 15 years ago when I was working with the software industry, then while working in CSR projects of the company, I got the opportunity to teach thousands of children through the medium of stories," Atreya said while talking to PM Modi.
Shailaja Sampat and Soumya Srinivasan, Lavanya Prasad of Bengaluru Story Telling Society also talked to the Prime Minister. One of the team members also told a story of King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire who reigned from 1509-1529 and Minister Tenali Rama.
Meanwhile, another member stated that the interaction with the Prime Minister had encouraged the team to do more for the art of storytelling.
"The responsibility has indeed empowered, encouraged us to do more and more, both as individuals and the Bangalore Storytelling Society. One of the main goals and the motives of the society was to bring in people in a space of sharing, listening, and believe in the power of stories," he said.
"In such a wonderful country like India where there are different types, forms but the common thread is stories it now becomes all the more powerful when you see contemporary arts, styles of storytelling along with the traditional styles. We will be channelising our energy as the Bangalore Storytelling Society in creating a more responsible space for people to embrace storytelling into our lives," and further added.
'Mann ki Baat' is a radio programme, aired on All India Radio on the last Sunday of every month, through which the Prime Minister addresses the nation.