Stories I tell

STORYTELLING Craig Jenkins on his experiences in India and his love for stories. ARCHANA SUBRAMANIAN

“Excuse me Mr. Kandaswamy… oru coffee kudipom…” Not the lines you expect to hear from a foreigner. But Craig, or anna as the children in Kattaikuttu Gurukulam, Kancheepuram, call him, is different. “I love stories… be it reading or telling… I love the oral tradition, especially that of Indian origin. And perhaps that’s why I took it up as a profession.”

Finding his goal

This is said with so much passion that you understand how an offbeat profession like storytelling was a dream come true. At 24 years, when others of his age were busy experimenting, Craig’s summer internship at Vayu Naidu’s school helped him decide what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. After graduating in Drama and Film Studies, he decided to specialise in storytelling.A professional storyteller from London, he now pursues his art in Kancheepuram, in the Kattaikuttu Gurukulam where he is teaching students English. He also plans to stage an English play with them. His contemporary style of telling stories was instrumental in his being selected for this programme. “My task is to make these stories appropriate for teenagers. I trained for nearly two years in various community projects, which included both refugee kids and troubled children from the U.K. I use storytelling to help and empower the troubled children using these techniques. They have no representation in society and telling them stories helps them connect and understand their culture.”

Cultural inferences

Craig feels that as cultures undergo rapid changes, people forget the power of stories. Stories about one’s land and culture, he insists, help them reconnect and perceive it better. “I have always used the knowledge of where I’m from to help me narrate better. So with the refugee kids I learnt some of their songs; here in Kancheepuram I use the local flavour… this increases interaction. I have always been interested in using my techniques in another culture. Since I loved the Indian context I was thrilled when the Vayu Naidu company asked me to take up the Kattaikuttu Gurukulam offer. Two months here and then I go back!”A month has gone by and Craig is so attached to his students and the school that he wants to keep coming back.

He not only hums and sings Tamil songs, he loves sambar and rice too! Storytelling as an art is very interesting. The only pre-requisite is to take note of local flavours and use them to keep the audience engaged. In the first 45 minutes of Craig’s class, the students not only tell him stories they heard but also how and from whom. Craig believes in following his style. “Follow your strengths because, unlike other arts where you need props or story, here you need to become the character and present it to the audience.” Following an untrodden path at least in his family, Craig has proved that it pays to be different!