Allahabad women stitch together a novel storytelling style

With a story staying the same through the passage of time, what can invoke renewed interest are improvisation, theatrics and embellishment. The art of storytelling is therefore as important as the story itself if not more. Stories are one of the oldest forms of communication that have been passed down through generations since time immemorial. The art of storytelling hence remains a way of preserving the culture and beliefs of a community.

A few women in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj (Allahabad) have put to use a unique embellishment to keep the art of storytelling alive. The women make appliques by stitching coloured fabric onto a base fabric through which stories are told. Appliques are ‘ornamental needlework in which pieces of fabric are sewn or stuck on to a larger piece to form a picture or pattern’.

The idea that this could be done, however, first struck an NRI, Lily Bhavna Kauler.

It was in April that Lily, who is currently studying storytelling at Harvard University, gave a new dimension to the existing art of storytelling by using deftly created applique of the story as a prop through her group called Prayagraj Storytellers Unlimited (PSU). The visuals, according to her, helped people understand the story better. She was right. The new form of storytelling has evoked tremendous response from people, particularly those in the rural belt, in a short span of time.

Even though many forms of storytelling exist today, this is the first time such a method has been put to practice in India. Lily, an NRI who lives in Australia, said it was while flying from Sydney to India in March that the thought first came to her mind. A couple of week’s planning and preparation helped her get a clear idea about how to introduce the appliques in storytelling. She chose five women from the PSU to do this ‘special’ job.

The women travelled to remote schools and villages with the appliques that they had prepared beforehand. The stories were centered around various themes – environmental, mythical and moral. “The appliques we use are varied and made before telling the story, as they used as a prop. We use environmental messages (such as why monkeys have become a menace in some towns and cities), moral and mythical stories and tales taken from Panchatantra and the Bible,” said Lily. An applique that talks about how cutting of trees is causing problems for monkeys and they are proving to be a menace in many cities and towns attained significance. Stories drawing from mythology are also retold by giving them a current context. For example, the story of Kumbhakarna, a well-known rakshasa and a younger brother of Ravana from the famous epic Ramayana, evoked tremendous response from the audience when the story was narrated through the applique recently.

“We have been to oral storytelling sessions before, but this is a great experience. The use of appliques provides innumerable elements in a story on a single fabric. We enjoyed the story of Kumbhakarna using the appliques,” Neelam, a native of Allahabad who enjoyed an applique storytelling session, told The Federal.

Storytelling uses different forms and mediums across the world. But Lily believes every story has a common purpose, as they are used to teach lessons, morals, and to entertain people. If you take India’s diverse cultures, Lily said, you will see them each follow their own style of storytelling. “While some narrate, others employ props like puppets, dance, and even musical instruments. Some are told completely through the medium of dance and music. When we started telling stories using appliques, we found that many liked it. They loved the appliques and everyone wanted to hold and touch them. They are able to relate themselves to the stories through the appliques very fast. If it is a long story then we make a scroll so people can see the entire picture in one hit,” she said.

Besides documentation of an oral tradition of storytelling, Lily believes it can also generate employment for women in the rural pockets of India.

“I believe we are the only people in India doing this as we have turned this into an income generation activity. We are giving training in applique making and showing people how to make a story applique and then sell it. We have trained people in Odisha and Uttar Pradesh so far,” said Lily, founder of Capre Foundation (CF), a non-profit organisation. The PSU is one of the activities of CF’s Tree of Life Centre, which promotes storytelling, the art of narrating a tale through smriti (memory) rather than reading.

“Our storytellers are from all walks of life. Even though we are based in Allahabad, we cover all of India. We have members in Telangana, Jaipur, Chennai, Mussoorie, Sunauli, Maharajganj, Kanpur, Delhi and also Perth and Alice Springs in Australia,” she added.

The women in the PSU travel to remote villages with the applique that they make. They not only tell stories, but also document them. “We do know that all cultures have told stories. The earliest evidence of stories comes from the cave drawings in Lascaux and Chavaux, France. Scholars believe that the drawings are more than 30,000 years old and they depict animals, humans, and other objects. Some of them appear to represent visual stories. We are trying to keep the art of storytelling through the appliques and are recording the stories as well,” said Lily.

A couple of weeks ago, members of the PSU visited two leprosy colonies in Allahabad and conducted storytelling sessions for the residents at the two self-settled ashrams in Kareli and Daraganj. “It was a great experience, giving an opportunity to people living with leprosy to tell their stories. I wanted to drive home the point that leprosy is a curable disease and instead of discriminating against those afflicted, we need to accept them as people,” she said.

Storytelling with appliques has become popular and Lily said ‘the method is proving to be a great hit among people of all ages’. “We started storytelling using appliques only in April but each session has evoked a great response so far. Much larger storytelling groups have joined us. We are planning to do this in more areas of India,” she said.