When tradition marries technology

In this digital age, where a tweet flutters away faster than a thought, the tradition of storytelling remains quintessential for our collective consciousness as well as our cultural connections.

- BANSURI SWARAJ

From the expansive realm of the Ramayan to the magnificence of the Mahabharat and the fantastical fables of the Panchatantra, India has a robust storytelling tradition that boasts a treasure trove of wisdom.

When I was a child, storytelling was a mandatory nightly ritual. My mother (former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj) was usually the sutradhar [narrator], shouldering the responsibility of whisking me away to the land of the sandman with her vivid narrations. Her go-to aid would normally be the Panchatantra.

Each narration would end with a moral of the story-a life lesson etched in my brain till date. On the days Ma was travelling, my father (former governor Swaraj Kaushal) took over with his own flair.

He had just one story in his repertoire that was repeated unabashedly and designed to bore me to sleep. The plot was simple-it was about a boy and a stubborn radish stuck in the ground that the boy desired to pull out for a salad. Dad would spin a yarn naming every relative that came to help the boy in his arduous task.