Stories for a cause

Today, a virtual storytelling event featuring a line-up of popular artistes like Naseeruddin Shah, Lalit Prabhakar and Mehak Mirza Prabhu, will aim to raise funds for pandemic relief efforts

Recognising that the past year had been tough on businesses, livelihoods and underprivileged sections of society, the Mumbai Storytellers Society (MSS) along with not-for-profit organisation Mumbai First, have come together to create a fundraising initiative. The three-hour-long storytelling event will feature an impressive line-up of artistes including Naseeruddin Shah, Mehak Mirza Prabhu and Lalit Prabhakar.

Usha Venkatraman and Mehak Mirza Prabhu

The storytellers will narrate stories in Hindi, English, Marathi and Urdu, and the tales will closely follow the themes of hope, strength, and courage. The idea is to help the audience escape into a world of joy, leaving daily anxieties aside for a little while.

The thought came to the team of MSS after founder Usha Venkatraman fell ill with the virus herself. “The Covid-19 virus left me a calling card this April. Although I wasn’t hospitalised, there was a fear of death in me which made me think of others around me who didn’t even have access to oxygen. So, I thought as part of the storytelling community, we could organise a fundraiser to generate money to help,” says Venkatraman.

Among the talents set to take the virtual stage is Shah, who will perform two short stories live in English and one in Urdu. “I’ll be performing two stories by James Thurber and one story in Urdu by Faheem Azmi called Art ka pul,” he says. Describing his motivation to join this initiative, he adds, “During such times, everyone must do whatever can be done to help.”

Mumbai-based storyteller and writer Mehak Mirza Prabhu will also narrate an anecdote live in Hindi. “The entire event will have stories of hope, something that people will smile about at the end of the session,” she assures. 

Radio personality and storyteller at the event, Hrishikesh Kanan, adds, “The time has come when we can’t leave it all to the frontline workers. Even though we’re sitting at home, we can look at things to do that will help raise funds.”

On: Today, 6:30 pm onwards
Log on to: Mumbai First on youtube.com

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