CHENNAI: The chatter and laughter of children stand out in every room that professional storyteller Vithya Dhanraj is a part of. She painstakingly narrates her stories, mimics every individual voice of her characters and engages with her audience. Through her captivating stories and spellbinding words, Vithya Dhanraj manages to keep her audience engaged and eager for more.
The Prologue
As someone fascinated by stories from a young age, pursuing this less-trodden path was not a difficult decision for Vithya. An MBA graduate, she credits her daughter as the starting point of it all. “Spending hours reading to my then six-month-old daughter Adhira at the UK children’s centres and libraries showed tremendous results. Adhira could talk in fully formed sentences in English by the time she was one, which was a real eye-opener,” she recalls. But it was not until Vidya moved back to India did she finally consider pursuing storytelling as something much more. “My husband encouraged me to expand my storytelling skills to others and impart my talents,” she says. And thus began Vithya’s journey of weaving words for children.
Chapter by chapter
From beginning on the ground floor of a gym where she narrated stories to her daughter’s friends, her clientele grew to where she is now through word-of-mouth. “I started going to birthday parties for a while to narrate stories for the guests, but I quickly realised that it wasn’t for me. So I stuck to teaching children through my classes. From there, I was offered a position to take after-school classes for children.” says Vithya.
But her big break came five years later when Apollo Cancer Hospital contacted her to narrate stories to their youngest patients. Though seeing them in pain initially broke her down, she steeled herself for the sake of the children and, with time, saw a significant change. “ With each session, I could see how each child opened up and started engaging with me more, and they became more comfortable. Seeing their smiles at the end of the day is the biggest reward I could ask for,” affirms Vithya.
Trials and tribulations
There was no stopping Vithya from then on, who is not just a staple of Apollo’s team, but also visits government schools on invitation and conducts a book reading programme for students regularly. But she didn’t attain these opportunities without enduring her fair struggles. “Entering an industry which was not well recognised then is not easy. People often assume storytelling is done for free and don’t pay us. They fail to understand that this is our bread and butter,” laments Vithya.
She also states that birthday parties are more well-known for disrespect, leading to Vithya refusing to be a part of them. “Though the pay they offer is considerably high, I refuse because my self-respect is more important,” she says. And although Vithya has learned to hold her ground with time, the battle never ceases. “Every day is a struggle, from the effort that goes into conceptualising a story to delivering it to the audience, but the joy I get from the children after every session makes it worthwhile,” Vithya insists.
Another problem came in the form of the pandemic that struck the world. Though the lockdown was a time of hardship for everyone, Vithya managed to make the best out of it, which led her to begin her book reading programme as a means of sparking creativity and is operating successfully to this day.
Sunny side up
But these struggles don’t perturb Vithya. Aside from interacting with children, her favourite part of her work is her stories, which are either she rewritten or originals. “I loved science and nature as a child, so most of my stories focus on these genres. I infuse humour to make it lighthearted for the children, but I also ensure every story has a meaningful message for everyone,” she remarks.
Vithya’s now ten-year-old daughter Adhira also plays an integral role in her mother’s story writing process. “My daughter has a keen interest in music. I take her help if I want to incorporate music into my stories; sometimes, she accompanies me to my narrations, and we perform joint performances. Everyone has the best time,” she gushes.
And as Vithya forges on each day, taking in every little smile and laughter she gets from narrating her stories to children, she hopes for a day where parents accept their children and their interests wholeheartedly. “A small step for a better tomorrow. It’s why I’m doing what I can to make it happen,” she says. And for her sake and everyone else, we all hope for the same.