<p>There was a different sort of ambience at the Ranga Shankara. Usually filled with people indulging in some ‘intellectual’ talk over a hot cup of tea, there was laughter and queals all around as the little ones ran across the cafe. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Not a common sight but indeed it was a pleasant one. On the occasion of ‘World Theatre for Children Day’, Ranga Shankara’s ‘AHA!’ and Goethe Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan had invited these little guests along with their parents for a storytelling session by prominent theatre personalities.<br /><br />The energy was infectious and by the time everybody settled down for the first <br />story, even the adults had become child-like. <br /><br />With an interesting bag of stories waiting to be told, the evening began with a <br />story session by actress and well-known theatre practioneer Padmavati Rao or <br />Pinty akka, as the kids fondly called her. <br /><br />Padmavati took the kids on a journey not too far away from the City. <br /><br />Her story began where most stories end, a happily ever after. <br /><br />“What happens after a happily ever after? How does one really live happily ever after?” she asked the children and thus began the story of a clever Brahmin, his wife and a greedy Gowda. The children loved the tale with all its adventure and witty lines. <br /><br />They joined in enthusiastically helping Padmavati make all required noises. <br /><br />Aditya, an eight-year-old, said he was having a fun time. “Pinty akka’s story was really funny and I enjoyed the characters,” he added. <br /><br />The next storyteller to take the stage was S Surendranath, who has worked <br />extensively on Indian mime.<br /><br />One of the founding members of Sanket Trust and the Sanket Group, Surendranath, entertained the kids with a cute Kannada story that he had heard as a child. <br /><br />The tale revolved around a pumpkin and by the end of this the children really were hungry. <br /><br />Parents frantically rushed to the cafe and bought some crispy hot vadas, french fries and kokum juice to satiate the evening hunger pangs of the kids. <br /><br />As the children settled down again for the next tale, they were introduced to Arati Punwani-Sunawala, founder of ‘Tarantismo Creative Dance Company’. For the evening, Aarti had chosen a German folktale titled ‘The Fisherman and his Wife’. <br /><br />This was then followed by a Kannada folktale Punyakoti. Veteran theatre personality Arundhati Nag expressed her delight at the turnout and even shared a piece of advice with the parents. <br /><br />“I hope this little session will encourage all of you to start telling stories at home and keep the art alive,” she added. </p>
<p>There was a different sort of ambience at the Ranga Shankara. Usually filled with people indulging in some ‘intellectual’ talk over a hot cup of tea, there was laughter and queals all around as the little ones ran across the cafe. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Not a common sight but indeed it was a pleasant one. On the occasion of ‘World Theatre for Children Day’, Ranga Shankara’s ‘AHA!’ and Goethe Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan had invited these little guests along with their parents for a storytelling session by prominent theatre personalities.<br /><br />The energy was infectious and by the time everybody settled down for the first <br />story, even the adults had become child-like. <br /><br />With an interesting bag of stories waiting to be told, the evening began with a <br />story session by actress and well-known theatre practioneer Padmavati Rao or <br />Pinty akka, as the kids fondly called her. <br /><br />Padmavati took the kids on a journey not too far away from the City. <br /><br />Her story began where most stories end, a happily ever after. <br /><br />“What happens after a happily ever after? How does one really live happily ever after?” she asked the children and thus began the story of a clever Brahmin, his wife and a greedy Gowda. The children loved the tale with all its adventure and witty lines. <br /><br />They joined in enthusiastically helping Padmavati make all required noises. <br /><br />Aditya, an eight-year-old, said he was having a fun time. “Pinty akka’s story was really funny and I enjoyed the characters,” he added. <br /><br />The next storyteller to take the stage was S Surendranath, who has worked <br />extensively on Indian mime.<br /><br />One of the founding members of Sanket Trust and the Sanket Group, Surendranath, entertained the kids with a cute Kannada story that he had heard as a child. <br /><br />The tale revolved around a pumpkin and by the end of this the children really were hungry. <br /><br />Parents frantically rushed to the cafe and bought some crispy hot vadas, french fries and kokum juice to satiate the evening hunger pangs of the kids. <br /><br />As the children settled down again for the next tale, they were introduced to Arati Punwani-Sunawala, founder of ‘Tarantismo Creative Dance Company’. For the evening, Aarti had chosen a German folktale titled ‘The Fisherman and his Wife’. <br /><br />This was then followed by a Kannada folktale Punyakoti. Veteran theatre personality Arundhati Nag expressed her delight at the turnout and even shared a piece of advice with the parents. <br /><br />“I hope this little session will encourage all of you to start telling stories at home and keep the art alive,” she added. </p>
