Saturday, November 22, 2014

Stories: Today and Forever



CSA EVENT: Session on Story-telling

It was a CSA event like never before. The subject was story-telling -- bonding with the help of stories. Predictably there was a huge interest generated and expectations were high. The seating space in the UT Guest House hall was filled to capacity and more chairs were brought in. The clock ticked on but no one was in a hurry to bring the evening to a close, so riveting was the session!
Even more interesting than the subject was the manner in which the speaker -- who took on the role of story-teller this evening -- kept the listeners hanging on to every word she uttered. The interactive format, the stories she narrated the histrionics and the theatrical mode. Jaishree Sethi, the invited speaker of the day was not just another speaker; she was a many-faceted talented young woman with a passion for stories and an unbounded zeal for her work. And could she connect! She did, and beautifully, too.

With her fingers in many pies, Jaishree Sethi has been working for the radio, for television, theatre and print journalism. She runs her own organization called "Story Ghar" through which she promotes the love for literature, especially among the younger generation. Simultaneously, she is on the guest faculty of Jamia Milia and Amity Universities and is also pursuing doctoral  research.

The session with Jaishree was a scintillating one. The audience -- which comprised the young as well as not so young, were totally taken up by the speaker and wanted her to continue. Several requests were made for another story, another anecdote, another illustration but finally the organizers had to call it a day. The excitement, however, lingered on in the air and everyone left with a 'feel-good' thought that the evening hours had been well-spent.

This was, no doubt a successful event. The next CSA program will be a poetry session to be held at the UT Guest House on the 6th of December.

Photographs of today's event are posted on the CSA Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/chandigarhsahitya.akademi/media_set?set=a.987437531273321.1073741844.100000212495273&type=3