July was a month of abundance just like the monsoon’s in Bengaluru for Talescope.
Read on to find more.
July 3rd : The gift of honest feedback from a renowned theatre practitioner.
The best gift for a performer is when the art that he or she practices is graded as pure.
Today, we happened to meet Mr. Vijay Padaki, in a theatre performance, who happened to attend one of Talescope’s “Villu Paatu” performance and said that it was “Storytelling theatre at its best”.
In his words
“On Saturday the 12th, we had the utterly charming one woman presentation of VILLUPAATU , a folk storytelling tradition from Tamilnadu.( Partly Kerala I learned later). Following the narration- singing form faithfully, combining Tamizh and English skillfully, Lavanya kept the audience in AttaGalatta, spellbound with her mastery of the Villupaatu form. Her singing and narration was accompanied by a trio of percussion devices all handled by herself. The stylized bow ( Villu) with sets of ghungroo bells on a string , was aptly supported by a drum on her lap and a pair of stick in her hands. The entire performance of an hour was done seated. No lighting, no audio, no sets, no props, this was storytelling theatre at it’s best. Kudos Lavanya!
July 4th and 5th : Going back to Roots – Sharpening the saw
An in depth focus on Ramayana, a deep dive into the ocean of the knowledge that holds the reins to the path of Dharma. The deeper we get into our roots the stronger we understand the purpose. To watch plays that combine the elements of storytelling, theatre and music is a gift to a performer. Mrchhakatikam that was showcased in Rangasankara was one such. My takeaway from the performance was the importance of “ Mouna” or silence in storytelling theatre.
July 5th : Monsoon Magic – Where every drop has a story to tell
A wonderful morning of stories around rain well spent with the members ( Kids and parents
) of Kahaani box library in Electronic city. To introduce VilluPaatu to this younger generation is a pure delight. To see the curious little hands wanting to try the instrument, sing and tell a story brings hope in me that these oral storytelling traditions will stay as long as the sun and the moon lives!
July 20th : Stories as a tool to create awareness
The first step to any storm that you come across your way that leaves you shattered is acceptance, which leads to resilience. As a mother of a type 1 diabetic child, the first thing that we struggled with was the acceptance of the fact that our child has an autoimmune condition. But as the years went by we realized how grateful we were to know more about the condition that helped us as a family to sail through the storm. To be able to do the same to the parents and the recently diagnosed children through a wonderful story written by Gingervieria, to the patients in Idhayangal Foundation, was a true moment of purpose for Talescope.
A fulfilling, soulful storytelling month only leads to more. Looking forward to August!
