We live in a time where time is fleeting and with each passing day it gets harder to sustain your emotions. Staying grounded, rooted in your feeling has somehow become difficult. The feeling of being in love with living somehow has become a waining concept. These standups will reflect, mirroring emotions that are often left unacknowledged. Ranging from a parental relationship, lost love, cherishing a lover and a simple beautiful message to live a little more every day will make your day.

Ravinder Singh

Ravinder Singh’s words to express leave a significant impact helping you resonate with life, we all have lived once. He narrates the journey from an aspiring to an inspiring love for writing, to sustain and relive the moments he cherished the most. A love story of a 26-year-old man, filled with emotions so raw with a tragic end but with the courage to change the course to make it an exhilarating one. The poetic essence throughout his talking completely captivates a mind. The building up of the story with a balance of handling rejection but also not giving up and finally reaching a sense of contentment from accomplishment. His humbleness, passion and dedication towards his work and love of life is simply beautiful. Ravinder succeeds in keeping his memories alive and relives them every day with every single person that reads his book, ‘I Too Had A Love Story.’ A story of success, love and hardship with a beautiful message to live life with a purpose.

Divya Chaudhary

A parental and a child’s relationship is shown beautifully through realization and embracing the moment and time. Divya Chaudhary shares her journey as a mother and her extremely inquisitive girls. The questions they innocently ask her, turn into a dawning realisation about life. The way she tells the story leaves you smiling throughout with a deep resonance about a mutual understanding that comes with time. A barrier that always clouds an Indian family and their communication is dissected so simply and instead shows the unconditional love that exists. Divya as a child, sibling and mother expresses herself and her experience in a poetic way leaving the audience on edge throughout to know the next instance that takes place.

Babil Khan

A story of a Mowgli finding solace beyond the conceived concrete life. Babil Khan with an innocent fumble manages to narrate his entire life trajectory. A life showing the beauty of now and emphasising the fleeting time. Babil’s narration hits a chord deep within you as he talks about growing as a boy being deprived of society and his mechanism to cope once he was in the brutal world. The genuineness in his acceptance and embracing himself with the unconditional love he grew up with. Babil shows a glimpse of hope always presents during hard times. The dawning reality that his Baba is his best friend since day one, his constant is a content fact is peaceful. His way to give us access to his childhood and relationship with his father opens up an insightful door to perceive life in a customised true version to navigate life.

Helly Shah And Samuel

Helly Shah’s poetic tribute to a lover with a hope of living in the present with an adoring request to reconnect with the person again if they drift apart is spectacular. Samuel Pandya strumming the guitar while she performs a lyrical piece will take you back in time to cherish memories or appreciate the present. Helly’s words are piercing and filled with nostalgia but so much love, passion and hope. The intricate details with what she describes being in love is beautiful to hear. Fleeting time is a fearful trait that often makes the present uncertain. What Helly does is emphasise present is all we got that we need to optimise to the fullest so there are no regrets. ‘Ho Sake Toh Laut Aana’, is a glimmer of hope and letting go with a reassurance that uncompleted stories will be complete and provide you with the finest solace and contentment.

Childhood, was such a beautiful phase of our life, we didn’t care whether our friend was wearing Gucci or Rupa, we didn’t care whether our friend celebrated Diwali or Eid, all we cared about was the fun and frolic and the lip-smacking Motichoor ke Laddoo of Diwali and Gosht Biryani of Eid. That’s how simple and fun our childhood was, untainted by societal norms and expectations. And as they say, good times always pass by in a blink of an eye, and so did our childhood. 

Pariya – Swaraj Singh

Being an adult and still keeping the inner child alive is not something that’s easy or possible, but every now and then when we choose not to wear the different shades of discriminatory glasses that society provides us with, we positively contribute to making this world a better place for us and others. And that’s exactly what Swaraj Singh managed to do but sadly this trick only works when others follow suit as well, otherwise, you would end up being the only Pooh in a land filled with Grinches. 

Fairies are the most popular character in a child’s world, and as the fairy tale norm dictates, they must be in a white gown with long hair, a smile on their face and a magic wand that solves all of the world’s problems just like Doraemon’s magic pouch (Disclaimer: Fairies are capable of solving kid’s problem only, the adult world is too messed up for them to bother). But as we grow up we realise fairies come in a variety of forms, some have short hair, some long, some wear vibrant colours, others dull, some frown all the time while others can’t keep the smile off their face. And for Swaraj, his fairies came from a not-so-distant land but rather from a neighbouring country, Pakistan. A land with whom his country’s war never ended is where his saviour from dark times arrived. Even though they looked past all the religious differences that divided their nation and became two peas in a pod doesn’t mean the roots of those differences vanished. And just like the tree that once lost its branches gets rejuvenated if its deep roots are still intact, similarly, this tree of hatred also thrived as its age-old roots never actually vanished. 

Swaraj ends his heartfelt piece by making us wonder about the power of generalization that makes us think that everyone who belongs to one community must be evil, by reminding us that humanity doesn’t have a religion. 

Chappal – Parag Dubey

When it comes to discrimination how we hope it only comes in one form, but sadly it doesn’t. The story of Mahesh, a daily wage labourer, acts as a testament to that. Performed excellently by theatre actor Parag Dubey who manages to capture the true essence of what it feels like to help build something but not get any credit for the same just because you don’t exactly fit the type that the society has set, under 5 mins. Every human has a story to tell, and from the moment Mahesh enters the scene to the moment he left we can see how his life taught him that his story was not something that was worthy of being heard as he began by sharing how he was dumbfounded when somebody asked him to share his story but continued once that person gave him some prompt. And till the end of the video he stuck to those two prompts only and left us with the parting words, “bas yahi do bateein bolni thi, namaste” (Translation- Just wanted to share these two things, Namaste). Imagine humans who are considered the custodian of humanity making someone feel so less that they feel ashamed when compared with fellow human beings.

Storytelling is an art and very few people actually manage to excel at it. With the story of Mahesh (Performed by Parag Dubey) and Swaraj, both Dubey and Singh have managed to captivate the audience and make them wonder how selective is their humanity. 

Fleeting time shows us the beauty we have lived in our past and the desire to reminisce the memories. Looking back at them as a changed person with time truly shows your journey and how you have evolved. Presenting a set of beautiful stories retold. Captivating stories about first love, discoveries and interactions make you reflect on your past and experiences.

Girl Crush – Sheena Khalid

Sheena Khalid illustrates a narration of first love and its perception and impact on an individual’s life. The realisation and discovery of the moment and memory with a person who manages to make you feel a certain way, embedded in your head. Sheena’s delivery emphasises every single word she utters. Conveyed the feeling of jitters, excitement and nervousness she felt in the past. The people we meet in different phases of our life are sheer reflections of what we were and what we have evolved to. Sheena Khalid takes everyone back to memory lane reminiscing their teenage year and first love. She emphasises how we have a piece in our hearts dedicated to all, we encounter in our lives.

Love is Love – Swati Sachdeva

Swati takes a humorous tour of her experiences as a bisexual in a conservative societal space. Her stance of narrating her story in little innuendo jokes and trivial household humour leaves the audience in laughter. The delivery of her story encourages acceptance of all or hope of evolution in an ignorant society. She remains nonchalant throughout the standup sharing her past dating experiences and the hilarious assumptions she came across while at it. Swati’s approach creates a wave of appreciating and accepting people for who there are, love at the end of the day is truly unconditional.

Ek Ajnabi Mulaaqaat – Priya Malik

A tale of ‘Don’t trust strangers’ turns into a lesson to become a reliable one to others. Priya narrates her paranoia and speculation when she misplaces her wallet in Uber while returning from Australia. The worth of her wallet with all her essentials makes her spiral about the uncertainty of getting it back inclining towards the insincerity of people. Her conversation with the Uber driver who returned it back to her with utmost sincerity turns out to be an enlightening experience for her. The denial of any reward but as an act of his ‘imam’. In a world so selfish it’s high to initiate selfless intention and propagate ethics.

Woh Keh Na Saka – Mehak Mirza Prabhu

A mesmerizing poetry performance is telling a tale of love. Mehak portrays a beautiful image of unfolding her love story from the beginning. Her narratorial voice is immensely soothing going back-forth between what she remembers and what happened. The use of words, the trivial incidents and the influence they have on someone is so captivating. Mehak is seen reminiscing and reliving, her expression dripped with nostalgia giving a glimpse of memories she cherishes to this day. Mehak’s phrase,’ Woh Keh Na Saka’ has a beautiful story of the interior banter between them from her perspective showcased poetically. She ends her session with her composed song which is lyrically appealing.

Sure, everyone can narrate tales and stories, but storytellers have the magic to do the same. The lyrical and smooth recitation of these recollected memories and anecdotes weaves magic. There is indeed a tone, a narrative style, and a beautiful synchronization of the words in a storytelling performance. While we believe most stories are spun out only fictionally, it is quite wrong. Non-fiction and real-life stories teach us more about our world, our surroundings, and ourselves. Our experiences define us and the experiences of others become a medium through which we can view ourselves in the other person’s shoes. It becomes both a hope and a warning for us. Storytellers Priya Malik and Rakesh Tiwari share some small snippets from their lives. They bring out the essence of seemingly insignificant moments of life, and make us aware of the complexities and simplicity of life. 

Here we bring two of these storytelling performances by Priya and Rakesh. A tale narration which will win your heart, and maybe resonate with your soul too. 

Bade Hokar Kya Banoge? – Priya Malik 

Priya Malik is a poetry writer, poetry performer, and a storyteller. In this standup performance of hers, Priya gives us a glimpse of her life, who she was and who she is now. This is a story of passion, dreams, and desperation. Priya Malik wasn’t always a poetry writer, and she never even considered it as her career, even though she loved the arts and theatre from the very core of her being. Born in a middle class Indian family means one has to find a stable financial route, and unconventional career paths like acting, dancing, singing are looked down upon. Priya kept her artistic hobbies aside, and did all kinds of jobs, from call centres to teaching at the best school in Australia, yet her life was still missing an essential scoop of it. She still wasn’t satisfied. Priya, through her life story, beautifully laid down the dilemma in which we live, but at the end of the day, we must respond to our heart’s calling. Listen to her story, and you’ll be amazed to listen to Priya’s undulating journey, and how she finally reached her desired destination.

Papa, Waqt Aur School – Rakesh Tiwari

Rakesh Tiwari is a splendid storyteller and a poetry writer. His words bear so much thought, symbolisms, and metaphors. It is a treat to listen to his tales, poetries, and anecdotes. In this episode of another of his standup performances, he brings to light the mystery of time. Narrating his childhood days, back from 1999, Rakesh recalls about his childhood. Although he wanted to impress his dad with a good score in his board examinations, he failed with an average percentage score. Through this experience, Rakesh learns that time is indeed a powerful play. It is time which has the control over many aspects of our lives. You’d be fascinated to listen to Rakesh’s point of view, his perception towards time. And the ending of his story will make you look for the hope and comfort you thought you lost. Applause to Rakesh Tiwari for bringing such a thought-provoking story on time and its enigma. 

According to National Crime Bureau, 139,123 people commit suicide in India every year, and 5.6% of these cases are directly related to alcohol and other substance consumption. The short film”Shrab Band, Zindagi Shuru” discusses the direct causal relationship between alcohol addiction and miseries such as strained family relations, mental disorders and frequent suicide attempts. 

“Sharab Band, Zindagi Shuru” and fourteen other such short stories are part of the “Meri Zindagi Campaign with Neelesh Mishra.” The campaign is a collaborative effort of ‘The WHO Southeast Asia Regional Office’ and Mr Neelesh Misra’s creative team. It brings forth the dangerous outcomes of alcohol or other substance abuse in front of the youth and guides them on how to quit it. The many audio stories released under the campaign discuss various aspects of alcohol use. 

Story

The short film “Sharab Band, Zindagi Shuru” is the story of Yash Badal, the hero who, after 17 years of severe alcohol addiction, successfully reclaimed his life from alcohol. It is the story of his family who chose to seek help from professionals. A supportive family who stood by him in bad and worse is essentially the reason behind his revival. 

Yash’s alcohol addiction started when he was in school. Under peer pressure, he started drinking every week and soon, this weekly habit turned into daily practice. His addiction didn’t allow him to complete his graduation, have a promising career like his friends, or even a stable married life. Daily skirmishes and violence were usual at home, and soon, Yash, tired of daily fights with family and his addiction, got trapped in the web of depression and attempted to take his own life. 

But, Yash’s story is not about the struggle he faced due to alcohol addiction. His story is about acceptance, second chances and breaking the stereotypes related to alcohol addiction by talking about it. With constant support from family, he finally accepts his addiction and how lethal it is for him and wins his battle with alcohol. 

Today, Yash’s relationship with his family has improved, and he enjoys a blissful married life. Now, professionally, he is a well-known certified counsellor who helps alcohol-addicted people reclaim their lives back from the jaws of alcohol. He has also presented papers on alcohol at European Council and a conference in Dubai.

Yash’s story shows that addiction is not limited to the poor or uneducated, and neither it is impossible to overcome. If only, as a society, we could talk about it more openly rather than brush it under the carpet by demeaning the addict. In that case, we can push the youth of our country in the right direction, which makes an alarming 35% of total alcohol consumers in the country.