The Story Arts Festival, Hyderabad, an initiative by Story Arts India that was formed this year – an organisation that wants to keep alive and also promote oral tradition, an integral part of many Indian cultures, along with Nivashi Publishers was held on July 13 and 14.
Itwas an event that was celebrated with fun and frolic for children aged between 9-15.
The aim of the festival was to engage people from all sections of society, to get involved in art forms, one being story telling that too in varied languages like Telugu, Urdu and Bengali. The atmosphere was filled with energy and cheer as both children and parents were equally enthusiastic in taking part in the events.
“Our basic focus is on arts. We intend to promote both art and literature through various structured workshops and training sessions, reaching to a larger network of people,” said Deepa Kiran, founder of SAI.
As a part of this two-day festival, Mullu poyi katta vacche, dhaam dhaam dhaam - Telugu Story telling and You will fall in love with these kids, an awareness programme about autism. Apart from these, there were cultural events-- a unique Qawwali performance serenaded in English by Sangamitra Malik and Rythms of the world, a display of folk instruments.
Story telling sessions for the hearing and visually impaired were also part of the festival.
The display of folk instruments, announced the history of many folk musical instruments across the globe.
A few instruments like the tango, rainmaker, dafli, dholak, Narada’s mahathi, Meera Bhai’s ektaara, Buddha’s meditation Singing bowl, etc, were introduced by Salil Kader, a music enthusiast and a part-time musician, along with Deepa Kiran, founder of SAI, to the inquisitive children present.
Along with some humour and gentle humming of melodies to match the use of these instruments’, the session concluded on a good note.
This was followed by You’ll fall in love with these kids which was conducted to throw some light on autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder that can be detected in both adults and children.
Founder of Autism Society of Andhra Pradesh(ASAP), Madhavi Adimilam contributed to this event sharing stories of many autism affected children. The ASAP is partnered with Pravara Educational Trust and Akshara Centre for Special Needs and she pointed out the need for awareness. “If proper care and attention is given to them, miracles can be achieved,” she said.
She also made a mention of her personal story.
“Autism doesn’t define a person, it only affects them. People often forget that these children are not intellectually challenged,” said Madhavi, who also happens to have an autism affected child. The disorder is believed to relent with early intervention, speech/music therapy and a couple of other remedial programmes.
The session also focused on offering various experimental techniques to make these children better adults.
SOURCE: Indian Express
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