Storytelling Carnival


The Storytelling Carnival was conducted by the Department of Languages, School of Arts and Humanities, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Pune Lavasa Campus in collaboration with the SpeakSphere Club. The Carnival was held on 10th October 2023 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Indian novelist, R K Narayan. It comprised three competitive literary events held at the Gazebo as well as various stalls set up in the Social Sphere, Central Block. The session started with a silent prayer. This was followed by a welcome address and a brief introduction by the Emcee touching upon the literary contributions of R K Narayan and his place in the Indian literary canon. Famous for his works like Swami and Friends and Malgudi Days, Narayan is considered to be one of the finest storytellers of his generation. Winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature numerous times. As a recognition of his contributions to India’s cultural and literary landscape, he was also conferred the Padma Bhushan. Following this brief introduction, the esteemed panel of judges were welcomed and the competitions began. 


The Carnival opened with the first competitive event namely “Delicious Stories”. The participants presented a recipe of their choice on stage in the form of a story. They were judged based their storytelling skills, recipe clarity, performance and additional historical, social, cultural and political information provided about the dish. The second event namely “Story Spells” required the participants to explain a concept related to their discipline through a mix of magic spells and potions. The performances were judged based on storytelling skills, concept clarity, ability to relate the concept to the magic spell and dramatic performance. The Carnival concluded with the third event namely the poster making competition titled “Our Future: Utopia, Dystopia or Protopia?”. 




The participants created hand-drawn or digital posters with futuristic narratives depicting a utopia i.e., a perfect world/ a dystopia i.e., an apocalyptic world or a protopia i.e., a world harnessing technological solutions for a better life. The posters which were exhibited at the venue were judged based on the participant’s storytelling skills, conceptualization, visualization and explanation. All three events were well conceptualized and executed, providing the participants an opportunity to employ their creativity to explore numerous themes. The winners were announced and felicitated on stage. The panel of judges shared their valuable feedback with the participants. Each participant received a Certificate of Participation and the winners in each category were rewarded with cash prizes. The Storytelling Carnival enabled participants to understand the role, potential and impact of stories. It also helped them appreciate different kinds of stories: verbal, visual and performative.



Participants were encouraged to explore techniques employed by successful storytellers and identify those that suit their specific storytelling goals. They were able to successfully create impactful stories with engaging plots. The session ended with a vote of thanks. The participants were invited to visit the stalls set up by students in the Social Sphere as part of the Carnival.




OUTCOMES OF THE EVENT
Outcome 1: Appraise the role, potential and impact of stories
Outcome 2: Appreciate different kinds of stories: verbal, visual and performative

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