Delhi to celebrate craft of traditional storytelling

From Tamil Nadu's ancient tradition of naratting stories with a unique musical instrument to ballad singing that brings alive a heroic battle fought by Manipuris against the British: such rare and traditional forms of storytelling are what Delhi would be hosting from Friday.

Aiming to generate awareness on the traditional methods of storytelling in different parts of the world, the "Kathakar-International Storytellers Festival" presented by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in collaboration with Nivesh India, will be hosting storytellers from not only India but also countries like Hungary, Sweden and Britain.

"Villupattu" is an ancient tradition in which stories are narrated using a bow (villu) placed on a mud pot. The lead singer beats the pot while singing and the co-singers play active listeners uttering appropriate oral responses to the song in between.

"Baithak ni Bhavai" is a popular folk theatre from Gujarat and will present stories on various social themes.

Similarly, Emily Parish a story-teller from Sweden, will share folk tales from Europe, India and Africa and Britain's Sarah Rundle will present stories from the Silk Route.

Imphal's Nameirakpam Ibemni Devi will perform "Khongjom Parva" a kind of ballad on the battle between the Manipuris and the British in 1891.

The festival will end Feb 1.