New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailing the role played by modern-day story-tellers in the country.
Speaking at the 69th edition of the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, the Prime Minister said that the country had a rich tradition of the art and spoke about some people who are contributing in the process. “There has been a thriving tradition of storytelling in India. We are proud that we are citizens of the country where there has been a tradition of ‘Hitopdesh’ and ‘Panchatantra’. In the stories, an imaginary world of animals and birds was created so that words of wisdom and intellect be made easily understood,” the Prime Minister said.
He said that “Kathakalashebam” was an ancient method of telling religious stories.
“Different types of folklores are prevalent in our country. There is an interesting style of storytelling in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, which is called Villu Pattu. It has a very interesting harmony between music and the story. In India, there has been a tradition of puppetry,” he said.
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The Prime Minister said that in today’s day and age, stories related to science and science fiction are getting popular.
He also praised the efforts being made by individuals to promote the art of “Kissagoi” (story-telling) across the country.
“I have been observing the initiative to promote the art of ‘Kissagoi’. I got information about gaathastory.in website run by Amar Vyas and others. Vyas after completing MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad went abroad and then came back. Now he stays in Bengaluru and takes out time to do such interesting work in the field,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister also mentioned others who are popularising stories from rural India like, Vaishali Vyavhare Deshpande (Marathi), Chennai’s Srividya Veeraraghavan. He also mentioned Geeta Ramanujam’s kathalaya.org and another website called Indian Storytelling Network which are doing good work in the field.
HIGHLIGHTS
# Four years ago, around this time, the world witnessed the courage, bravery and valour of our soldiers during surgical strike. Our brave soldiers had just one mission and goal—to protect the glory and honour of mother India at any cost: PM Modi
# I urge all storytellers to include all inspirational stories from the period of foreign rule as we are going to celebrate 75 years of independence. Especially between 1857 & 1947. We can introduce our new generation to them in form of stories: PM Modi
PM Modi’s request: –As a family, set aside some time for story telling. This will be a wonderful experience.
-The same way, highlight stories relating to the great women and men who have made India proud.
# All across India, there are many Indians making story telling popular
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# History of stories is as ancient as the human civilization itself. ‘Where there is a soul, there is a story’…. In India, there has been a rich tradition of storytelling. We’re proud to be denizens of land that nurtured tradition of Hitopadesha & Panch Tantra: PM
In his earlier address on August 30, the Prime Minister had said that the month of September would be observed as ‘Nutrition Month’. He had also given the call to ‘team up for toys’, aimed at making India a hub for toy production.
The Prime Minister had also lauded the Indian farmers for higher crop production amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
‘Mann ki Baat’ is a radio programme, aired on All India Radio on the last Sunday of every month, through which the Prime Minister interacts with the nation.