####Udaipur Tales Storytelling Festival Returns to Transform Lives Through Inspiring Stories

Stories are not meant only for entertainment, but also to inspire and transform lives. While earlier storytelling was limited to grandparents at home, today stories have evolved into a powerful medium that attracts people and plays a significant role in shaping their thoughts and lives. Carrying this spirit forward, the 7th edition of the three-day Udaipur Tales Storytelling Festival is set to begin on January 9.

Organised by Ma My Anchor Foundation, the festival will be held at Park Exotica Resort, Shilpgram Road, Udaipur. The festival will present a rich collection of interesting, thrilling, unheard and untold stories from India and abroad.

Foundation founder Sushmita Singha said that storytellers first transformed their own lives through stories and are now inspiring others to do the same. She added that the festival provides a unique platform where audiences can experience storytelling as a medium of personal and social change.

The festival will feature renowned national and international storytellers, theatre artists and Bollywood personalities, offering audiences an opportunity to listen to diverse storytelling styles including folklore, contemporary narratives, mythology, humour, music and theatre.

Day One Highlights

The festival will begin on January 9 at 10 am with children-centric storytelling sessions. Udaipur-based storytellers Vilas Janve and Kiran Janve will present the humorous Mewari story “Chhora Mewadi Sabse Aagadi”. This will be followed by Gauri Neelakantan with her imaginative story “Magical Illness” and Rajesh Shinde with the musical folk tale “The Shy Demon and the Lioness of Ullal”.

In the evening from 5:30 pm, audiences will witness Mayur Kalbag’s mysterious story “Aghori”, African folk songs “Under the Sky”, Bollywood actor Divya Nidhi Sharma with the contemporary story “Life”, and veteran actor Rajit Kapur presenting “Guarding the Garbage” and the satirical play “Majnu”. The evening will also feature a classical fusion dance performance “Changing Sands” by Sanjukta Sinha Dance Company.

Day Two: Folk, Theatre and Music

Udaipur Tales co-founder Salil Bhandari shared that the second day will begin with children’s storytelling by Shona Malhotra through “Kahaniyon Ka Pitara”. This will be followed by Maiya Ganatra with folk literature, storyteller Rajesh Shinde, and Upendra Bagha Bain and Kishore Ray Chaudhary, who will present Bengali folk tales.

From 3 pm to 5 pm on all three days, a special interactive segment titled “Jamghat” will be organised, where homemakers, college students and first-time storytellers will participate in open storytelling competitions. On the second day, school-level storytelling competitions will also be held, followed by felicitation of storytellers.

Renowned theatre director and storyteller Danish Hussain will present the legendary tale “Tilism-e-Hoshruba”. Colonel R.K. Sharma will narrate a story of valour titled “Veer”, while Bollywood actor Arif Zakaria will present the romantic story “Riksha”. Actor and singer Meiyang Chang will perform independent music.

Day Three: Mythology, Memoirs and Sufi Music

The final day will begin with Geetika Leader presenting an autobiographical story “Life of a Soldier’s Wife”. Jyoti Pandey will narrate the classical epic “Urmila”, followed by Micka Cesseron, who will present the Israeli mythological tale “Jonah and the Whale”. The afternoon will feature a musical performance by the Jail University Band.

In the evening from 5:30 pm, Prithviraj Chaudhary will present “A Part of Life”, Bollywood actress Divya Dutta will share her autobiography through storytelling, and Vijay Kumar will perform a satirical piece titled “Elections in Bihar”. Renowned music composer and tiger conservationist Abhishek Ray will narrate a story highlighting the issue of illegal tiger poaching. The festival will conclude with a Sufi Qawwali performance by Anchal Srivastava.

Readymio is the digital partner of the Udaipur Tales International Storytelling Festival.

With its powerful narratives and diverse voices, the Udaipur Tales Storytelling Festival once again promises to inspire, engage and transform audiences through the timeless art of storytelling.