CHENNAI:From stories that got us laughing on the floor to the ones that brought tears to our eyes, the second edition of the Chennai Chapter of Stories Worth Sharing had it all. Initially started by Mohit Munjal as a Facebook page two years ago, Stories Worth Sharing was known by the name ‘Qurious Quoran’ and was revamped to its new name along with another co-founder Himanshu Poswal. “It has been a rollercoaster ride.
There were days when we had to rethink our existence, and there were days when we found the world standing by us. This journey made us meet many amazing people (and few discouraging ones too),” said Himanshu. Now, SWS posts stories in series, conducts meet-ups in different cities, and also invites people to go live with them by sharing their stories.
The Chennai session’s storytellers shared stories from different chapters of their lives. Raj spoke about being made fun of as a child, because he had Puberphonia (a high-pitched voice after puberty). He went on to narrate instances from his life where he was put down by friends and family, and how he overcame it by trying to stay confident and practising voice therapy. Abbas shared the journey that took him from dreams of becoming an architect to studying sociology and finally opening up a soft skills training centre. Each of the story had a personal touch to it, while some choked a bit while narrating, there were others who swore they would not shed a tear.
But the journey has not been one without challenges. “Running a parallel initiative with no monetary gains while being a regular college student is a task! Apart from that, working on zero funds was troubling,” says Mohit.
At the end of each session, thank you post cards were distributed to personalise the experience for the storytellers and the listeners. “Over time, we have been able to create a larger impact with the use of the postcards” added Himanshu. The second session in the city saw participation from about 20 people, while last year had 30.”Even if we have just five people, it is a big event for us” said Mohit.