Message from Festival Chair
Amrita Somaiya
In 1995, my husband Samir and I were on a road trip in the Yukon, Canada. We came across a young lady hitchhiking and gave her a ride. When we asked her where she was going she told us about a storytelling festival in White Horse Junction.. We were fascinated and stopped at the festival for the day. It was my first exposure to a festival of this type. There were tents with different storytellers and crowds of people mesmerised and listening in rapt attention. Ever since that day I have wanted to bring something like this to Mumbai.
Words from Festival Director
Usha Venkatraman
Long ago, Mumbai was originally an archipelago of seven islands. Indigenous tribals have inhabited Mumbai since the Stone Age. The Kolis and Aagri (a Marathi-Konkani people) were the earliest known settlers and the tradition of storytelling had always been an important part of their culture.
In the Maharashtra region, one such storytelling tradition is Chitrakathi, that combines musical oral narratives with a set of paintings illustrating the story
Today, oral tradition exists in Mumbai, Maharashtra only because of the devotion and
Note from Festival Producer
Babita Krishnan
I never realized when we transitioned from being a listener of stories (as kids) to creator of stories (as adults).Stories are intricately woven into our life and most of us don’t even know it. So, when the chance to bring stories to the fore came our way, I just had to jump on to the driving seat.
Gaatha - Mumbai International Storytelling Festival 2023, is our way of celebrating and keeping the tradition of oral storytelling alive. Putting together any event is a...
