A Letter to a Storyteller

 

written by Nupur Bapaye published in the anthology ' There's a letter for...'

Dear Mrs. Sudha Murty,

I’ve often heard that creative minds have a story to tell and they inspire others. Stories keep the world revolving. We owe it to each other to tell stories, share our experiences and our bittersweet emotions. I really admire people who have stories to tell. Experience shapes the man. But imagination nurtures the soul. I've always wondered, how do we learn to imagine? Isn't it through stories itself! It's such a powerful tool to shape our thought processes and evaluate our actions! Why do we listen to stories? It's because they make us think. They make us feel. They make us laugh. They make us cry. They are the building blocks, the very foundation of our lives. Stories inspire us to be someone, we never thought we could be, or do something we never thought we could do. They allow us to live many different lives and explore many different places. They can convince us, confuse us, or even surprise us. They begin our journey from a listener, to a storyteller.

I've always loved listening to stories, ever since I was a little girl. I remember, after coming back from school, my grandmother used to tell me the story of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, every day. I listened to the same tale every day, and weirdly enough, I never got tired of it. Every night before going to bed, I would beg someone to tell me a story. My mother would often fish out the local newspaper, for I loved the tiny tales that would be printed on its last page. I grew much older, and I discovered the pure joy of reading a book. My parents, recognizing my love for books, brought me "The Magic Drum", one of the first books I read that was written by you. And I fell in love. Not just with the wonderful stories, but also, with how you told them. I devoured story after story. It was my escape and my refuge. After that there was no stopping me. I read all of the stories you wrote for children. My favourite thing was that I could imagine myself to be in the characters' places, and I often thought about what I would do, if I were them. I always felt at home, with your warm words, that instantly made their way into my heart.

As I was growing up, I had to 'step out into reality' so I read "The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk". I had expected non-fiction to be boring, but I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I was moved by the various struggles faced by people, something that I had been oblivious to, so far. The characters were so real, so vulnerable, that I could recognize their fears and wishes in the people around me, myself included. It changed the way I looked at the world. It made me believe strongly, that we are just ordinary people, living extraordinary lives. I wonder how it must have felt to be able to interact with all those wonderful people! Reading your books developed my outlook, my perspective on things, and slowly I was introduced to the concept of an emotional quotient. It convinced me, in the words of Albus Dumbledore,
" words, are our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both, inflicting injury, and remedying it". I learnt how to sympathize with other people's actions and that greatly bettered my understanding of the way the world worked. I understood, that a story can be very simple, but it's got to make you feel something. Not only happiness or contentment, but also grief, anger and even jealousy. This remains to be my favourite thing about the way you write, you always make readers feel something.

As I grew up, my reading experience exposed me to many authors, from around the globe. But your timeless, immortal tales will always have a special place in my heart. For, whenever I feel sad, lost or lonely, all I do is open up grandma's bag of stories, and I'm transported to your beautiful little village, sipping afternoon tea under the rotating fan, as you tell the 'story for the day'. Of course, I still like to bother my grandma to tell me a story, and she happily obliges. What can I say, some things never change!

I really wish I could meet you someday! It would be a dream come true. Anyway, I won't take up any more of your time, but I just wanted to let you know, that, just as you told your story to the world, maybe one day, I'll be able to tell mine!
Thank you, for everything.

Yours sincerely,
Nupur Bapaye.