Storytellers and the Tradition of Storytelling in India

A Look into the Past and Present

Abstract

Story telling in India has been an age-old tradition. Storytelling through the medium of visual art, masks and puppets has been a common practice in the Indian subcontinent since time immemorial. In ancient India, in the absence of written texts, information and knowledge were transmitted orally from one generation to the next through the practice of storytelling. With the progress of civilisation, written material came in. Texts such as the Panchatantra, Hitopodesh and Kathasaritsagar formed valuable sources of storytelling. This paper emphasises that most of the myths and legends narrated in the Indian subcontinent have found their origins in the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas. Tales, whether historical or mythological, were told in different regions of the country through the medium of visual art and performing art which today form part of the cultural heritage of India, although some of them are on the verge of extinction.