My tryst with stories!
I remember my childhood filled with books of fairy tales. My mother, an avid reader and the truest beholder of the phrase 'books are my best friends' would spend a lot of quality time to read them to me as a toddler and encouraged me to read as I was growing up. To her surprise, I couldn't really muster up the interest to do so. It was daunting to even think of opening a book's cover and start that process of reading page one. Given how I reacted to books as a child, it seems quite strange that I swear by the science and art of 'storytelling' now.
In primary school, storytelling was explored through essays or compositions that we were asked to write on a certain topic. I understand that it was probably to trigger our imagination as children, but I'd just feel so crippled the moment I was asked to write. I wouldn't know how to go about constructing the essay - no thought starters whatsoever. Over the years I realized that stories need to carry something more than just a monotonous write up on '10 things I saw at the beach' or 'my experience at the circus'. Somehow, we were trained to narrate what we would have seen at the beach or the circus, which is from observation rather than imagination. Therefore, the question I was often faced with was, 'what is going to trigger the incorrigible imagination - that seemed to be so stubborn when I had a submission the next day?' The answer that I found to that is INSPIRATION!
The power of cinema was undeniable :) which I was an avid consumer of. It wasn’t as difficult to watch a film as it was to read a book. Of course, just like books, a film told a story as well, however the audio-visual medium accelerated the impact for the viewer. I studied the basics of film making early in life, that gave me an opportunity to view a film through the eyes of a storyteller. It transported me from being a consumer (being asked to read as a child) to a creator (storyteller). It was fascinating! We played the role of film critics, script writers, screen play writers, cinematographer that truly brought forth the power of storytelling and the meaning behind it. Little did I realize back then that the medium dint matter as much, what mattered was the kind of story we wanted to tell as amateur film makers. That's when I figured that story telling needed to carry my most favorite 'I' word - Inspiration. Reading or writing a story - a book or a film script - that 'moves' and/or 'inspires' us as audiences or story creators is a definite trigger to the imagination and is the key to telling a good story - whether fictional or real. That's when I also realized that reading is not the problem; the only expedition I needed to traverse is finding the books that inspire or move.
The building blocks - Inspiration!
They say that most tiny incidents are connected to fulfil a larger life agenda. Many times; we tend to miss these coincidences as we are too involved in the experience and often lack the ability to look at things from a macro perspective. After coaxing myself to introspect, I arrived at a few incidents that were a definite fuel to my inspiration and played an integral role or shall we say played cupid between ' storytelling and me'… some of these experiences catalyzed the realization that each and every one of us are living our story each day – it is unfolding right before us! It is just until the day we see it that way 😊
A play in school
It was Independence Day (celebrated in India on the 15th of August, when India became free from British rule) and the school had organized an I-Day play. I was at the audience that year. I vividly remember the tears that rolled down my eyes the moment Bhagat Singh's (a freedom fighter) body was carried from in between the audience onto the stage after a soul steering performance on how his ideas and ideals formed a force that unified people across castes, religions, ethnicities and powered India's march towards freedom. The unity and the undying commitment were inspiring, and moved me to tears. There was a story behind that performance that held the power to move audiences.
Our eclectic gang at college
We grow up in a socio-economic surrounding that's usually very similar to ours. My friends from the neighborhood, cousins and peers at school shared similar social, economic and cultural backgrounds. It is usually at the cusp of adulthood when one goes out for education, we realize that there are so many people with such different backgrounds. The cocoon we grow up in finally cracks open and we are exposed to a myriad of cultures. I got a deeper view of the lives of a few friends as we went on to become close during college. It helped me see that there was a story in each one of them that was so different from mine. It opened my mind to why someone was the way they were and what shaped them as people. It triggered the realization that everyone has a story - and each story is unique. Breaking out of the cocoon, and meeting people outside of my regular social group, opened something up inside me that I am still trying to articulate.
My encounter with the sex workers
Here is one of the dots that makes a connection with the larger network. I had to meet sex workers and understand their story as background research for an assignment; I wasn't the least bit anxious, actually excited because I knew it'll show me something that could result into a phenomenal life learning. Meeting these two women and hearing what they had to say infused so much inspiration within me that I knew I had a story to tell, all I had to do was capture it in the best way possible. These women were trafficked by a supposedly close relative and sold across the border. It was almost heart breaking (and yet so powerful) to see how they had accepted their current reality and were actually happy with what they did. Reminding myself everything I'd learnt in conversation class a few years ago, I was successful in coaxing them to open up; their only apprehension was whether I was judging them for their profession, else they were chilling as they sipped their mid-morning tea, excited that someone was keen to know their story, before they went on to dress up for the daily work.
We can look at them as sex workers and a set of women who face stigma on a daily basis in a country like India. Or we can look at them as middle aged women who had found their way in spite of their circumstances (or taking their circumstances within their stride) - who were real, powerful, with a beautiful heart and an iron clad spirit. It depends on who’s telling the story; and the perspective they behold.
My conversations with fellow travelers
I was blessed to travel when I was a few years into adulthood. The places I chose to go to were roads less travelled and often frequented by travelers from different parts of the globe. The exposure to meet people from around the world and having conversations with them were apt ingredients to put things in perspective. It accelerated the experience I had with my college friends from different backgrounds, in a tangential sort of way. The lives of my fellow travelers were so different from mine. I met people who were on a 2-year break for travel, those that were on a 180-day bike expedition, some that were on a yearlong road journey.
What were their stories? Why were they on this break - just traveling - when most people I knew were engaged in meeting deadlines at their workplace? What triggered the decision for long term travel? What was their childhood like? What made them who they are? I was inspired by these questions, and the most meaningful conversations unfolded to reveal their story. In hindsight, I do know why I was overwhelmed with the interest of knowing their story.
It was to reinstate my belief that everyone has a story and that each story is unique.
All of these realizations are in hindsight, when I started to see my life as a story – with interconnected events and experiences.
I urge all of you to reflect on your story.
What are those events and experiences that moved you, that inspired you – how are they interconnected and how do they form the various chapters to your life book?
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