Chennai podcaster launches summer workshop for budding young storytellers
CHENNAI: Long gone might be the days when many of us hurriedly completed our daily tasks, eagerly seeking out the quietest corner of our homes, adjusting the radio antenna, and tuning in to our favourite shows. Yet in a similar fashion, today, most of us have our preferred podcasts whose new episodes we eagerly wait for to listen to. Whether it’s captivating stories, informative discussions, or engaging celebrity interviews, podcasts have become an important medium of consumption. While creating a podcast is soon finding a spot in the syllabi in colleges, how about starting them young?
Well, here is city-based podcaster Deepika Arun ready to welcome children aged up to 16 years to her upcoming summer podcast workshop. The acclaimed audio producer and narrator of Kadhai Osai, an award-winning Tamil audiobook podcast, Deepika shares, “After interacting with some school students about podcasting, I was inspired to organise a summer workshop to introduce children to this exciting world. Children love stories, and when potentially given the opportunity to be storytellers, I think it would be very interesting for them.”
Journey with the mic
From being an IT professional to a digital marketer and primary school teacher, Deepika’s journey has been diverse. Currently, she hosts five podcasts, each delving into a different theme ranging from crime stories to children’s tales and religious discourses. Talking about her introduction to audiobooks, Deepika shares, “I once ran an activity centre for children called Jhoola, but eventually decided to close shop with a heavy heart. It was during this time that I discovered audiobooks as a source of entertainment. My brother urged me to listen to the Harry Potter audiobook narrated by Stephen Fry, knowing my love for the series. Since then, I’ve been hooked on to audiobooks.”
However, while there was an abundance of English podcasts and audiobooks, Deepika encountered a dearth of content in Tamil. “After completing all seven Harry Potter books, I naturally sought out audiobooks in Tamil, my mother tongue. I’ve always been equally fluent in Tamil and English since childhood. To my disappointment, I found that Tamil audiobooks were not as prevalent as their English counterparts,” she recalls. Being a voracious reader and storyteller from a young age, Deepika embarked on curating her own set of audiobooks and podcasts in Tamil for both children and adults.
The summer workshop
Deepika has long held a passion for educating young children and students, a facet of her interests that has remained constant over time. “I’ve always been a teacher at heart,” she says. It was during her tenure as an adjunct faculty member at the Asian College of Journalism that she recognised the burgeoning interest among students in podcasts and the underutilisation of this medium, particularly in narrative journalism. “I figured that young people are very interested in the medium, and it was very intriguing for them to know that there is a new medium that they could explore,” she notes.
With summer vacations around the corner, children can gear up for an exciting three-day workshop happening in two batches, the first from April 29 to May 1 and the second from May 10 to 12. Deepika sheds light on the workshop’s specifics, stating, “The workshop will take place in a studio, offering participants a firsthand experience of recording. They’ll explore questions like what it means to write or think for audio, how to post-produce after recording, and the technical aspects involved. Participants will delve into both storytelling and technology.” Parents will have the opportunity to listen to the creations crafted by their children during the classes, which will be held for two hours each day.
In a world dominated by screens where voices often get lost in the digital cacophony, pave the way for your child to discover a powerful medium to express themselves and tell their stories through podcasting. Perhaps, in their stories, we might find inspiration to tell our own.
For details, and to register, contact 9176583618 or log onto www.kadhaiosai.com