‘Great power in storytelling’

Stories culled from author and Padma Bhushan recipient Sudha Murtyrsquos formidable oeuvre have now found space on YouTube They have leapfrogged from paper onto the digital animated spaceMurty Media content production house announced its show lsquoStory Time with Sudha Ammarsquo on its dedicated YouTube channel at a press conference on Tuesday evening at a Juhu hotel Murtyrsquos selected stories for children will now be available to be consumed on YouTube There are 52 handpicked stories and the episodes are of 11 minutes each the host informed at the launch Power poiseThe star of the event was unassuming lsquoammarsquo herself Sudha Murty captivated with her trademark simplicity and grace Murty made an entrance to applause and smiles ldquoNamasterdquo she politely greeted her audience as she walked up to the dais and doffed the proverbial hat to Mumbai stating ldquoNamaskar sagdyanardquo namaskar all in MarathiThe subject was a compelling one It was about words and the power of a story Murty in her address talked about her genesis as a storyteller She started ldquoThe power of storytelling is amazing I remember I was 14 and my teacher in school in a village said that she was going on maternity leave I was the class monitor There were no substitute teachers in those days My teacher told me lsquoyou will have to manage the class for one subject for four monthsrsquordquo The young Sudha Murty knew to manage meant to hold the attention of the class It was an onerous task for a 14yearold as she said ldquoI asked myself lsquowhy would the students listen to mersquo I was the same age as them I knew I had to come up with something to hold their attention Then I decided to start telling them stories I became a storyteller I would in fact tell nearly the entire story in one class and yet hold back the end I would tell them lsquoI will let you know about the end tomorrowrsquo That is how I held the attention of the class for four monthsrdquo she said to some laughterCut to anecdote No 2 years later when Murty became a teacher She said ldquoI was teaching Computer Science students It is harder to hold their attention It was studies and storytelling Many of my students went on to become very successful Old students are like old wine rare and precious Today when they come down to meet me I ask them lsquodo you remember what I had taught yoursquo Most of them tell me lsquowe do not remember anything we only remember all the stories you told usrsquo That is the power of the story to bind and also it teaches us so muchrdquoAlso read Pune cops to probe drug lordrsquos escape from hospital custodyThe jumpAnecdotes over Murty came to her books and she said ldquoI wanted to write for my grandchildren I thought how could I communicate with them I started writing stories and out they came as books Grandmarsquos Bag of Stories Grandparentsrsquo Bag of Storiesrdquo Of the current initiative Murty said it was her daughterinlaw Aparna Krishnan president Murty Media who told her firsthellip ldquoIt is time your stories were moved to the digital format We live in a different world now and your stories have to be animatedrdquoMurty said at the time she told Aparna ldquoI write with my heart You go and do your research As a writer it is pen and paper for me All this is not my cup of teardquo Yet her daughterinlaw persevered telling her the stories would go to ldquoremote placesrdquo and the animation initiative took shape Murty while mentioning the entire team and thanking them also said ldquoThis lsquoStory Time with Sudha Ammarsquo is Aparnarsquos first baby the next will be her real onehellip she is due in a few daysrdquoWarm fuzzyMusical maestros Prasoon Joshi and Shantanu Moitra who composed the song for the show talked about the opportunity and the warmth and simplicity that Murty exuded Joshi said ldquoThere is a difference between ignorance and simplicity Ignorance is when you do not know Simplicity is when you know everything you are wise you are welltravelled and yet you are like thisrdquoThe afternoon launch ended with Murty interacting with several children and attendees experiencing that warm lsquonrsquo fuzzy vibe the ldquohot cup of chai on a rainy overcast day feelingrdquo the one that Megha Tata CEO Cosmos Maya the animation engine behind the show said the Sudha Murty storyteller gives peopleThe link for the show is httpsyoutubePcLeAEvQuU8featureshared52Number of stories currently available