There is a sense of ease as we begin the conversation. It is not, by any means, because of the questions I pose to her. It is only because Rachana Patil has mastered the art of speaking. There is, in her words, a cadence that exudes charm and a certain sense of happiness, making it impossible for you to not get engrossed in what she is saying. And while that may, sometimes, be difficult to prove in a tangible manner, the only thing I need to substantiate my claim is to point you to her winning Steller, 2021, the nationwide storytelling competition held by Tape A Tale. Storytelling is something that she is wonderful at. And, what better story is there to listen to than her own?
Born and raised in Mumbai, Patil prescribes a lot of significance to her childhood. There is almost a sense of reverence to the way she describes her earliest memories, cherishing them, for all they are worth, for what they have given her. In our conversation, she recalls how the act of speaking and performing held a special place in her formative years, with her being engaged in multiple co-curricular activities. In point of fact, she asserts that she truly enjoyed sharing stories ever since she was a child. It was only later, when she was growing up, that she realized that the act of sharing stories is something that is not only enjoyable but also something that holds immense value and is a craft, in itself.
That same realization bore fruit earlier this year, when Patil went on to win the Steller of the Year award, in the national level competition held by Tape A Tale. What a lot of people don’t actually know is the fact that she was actually part of the same competition the year before, in 2020. As a matter of fact, she made it past all the initial stages then, beating out the other competitors in Mumbai before going on to compete with the finalists from the other States. She made it till the final leg of the competition, only missing out in the last stage.
Narrowly missing out on something stings. However, it stings a lot more when others try to make you feel better about your loss. Sometimes, that loss is worth a little too much to just let go of. Admitting the same, Patil pushed herself to improve, working diligently and striving to perfect her craft. When the competition came around this year, she didn’t waste time hesitating or wallowing in self-doubt. Signing up for it, she geared herself up for the coming selection phases.
“This year, when the competition came around again, I went for it. I didn’t think twice.”
Rachana Patil
In the conversation, she reveals details about how the initial stages of the competition work. And before we go into that, it is crucial to stress how demanding the competition actually is. Leaving aside the sheer skill that goes into the art of telling a story, there is also the necessity for a dash of mental fortitude. Patil touches on the first stage of the selection process where she and a classmate made it through, after going up against contestants from her college. The second round was a six hour long session where participants, from all over the country, came together to perform their own bits. Interestingly, Patil states that part of the competition was, in fact, her favourite phase, with her being able to witness the stories that others had to tell.
As she went on to Delhi for the third and final round of the competition, Patil found herself satiating a lifelong curiosity, one which entailed her, as a Mumbaiker, experiencing all that Delhi had to offer for the first time. And, that whole leg of her journey was everything she had hoped it would be. From the night of the event to the other participants sharing their own experiences with each other, everything went the way she had envisioned it. When she goes on to talk about being declared the winner at the end of it all, Patil explores what that experience was truly like. Indeed, as she held the trophy in her hands, she realized that this singular moment was everything falling in place as it should. There were no second guesses about what could have been or how it would have felt to win the previous year.
“I would not choose to give myself the trophy in 2020. The journey, from 2020 to 2021, has taught me a lot.”
Rachana Patil
When we really explore storytelling, there is so much more to it than just choosing an engaging subject matter. Patil asserts that, when creating the tales she tells, she tries her best to add humour to it. Whether the tales, themselves, are fictional or based on her real life experiences, her stories come from the idea of attributing meaning to the little slices of life. Structure and plot cohesion comes only after the story itself takes a life of its own. Once that happens, everything falls in place naturally.
As she talks about how she broaches the creation of a story, Patil talks about how storytelling and drama flow into one another. In fact, she doesn’t differentiate between the two. There is this idea of often keeping one separate from the other and, indeed, she has been asked by some why she adds theatrics to her own style of storytelling. She, however, refuses to restrict herself to one. You see, the art of telling a story is not an isolated art. It is, as Patil implies, an art that is infused into every creative effort that we engage in.
I am glad she brought up dramatics in the conversation because it is something that Patil harbours an immense amount of passion for. She touches on how it has always been a dream for her to study acting and drama at the National School of Drama, Delhi. Ever since she was a child, the institute has held a certain allure for her, with it representing, in a manner of speaking, a place where her dreams become reality.
“Something about NSD has always pulled me. I want to learn, I want to go there. The day I do that, I’ll feel like I have done something good.”
Rachana Patil
And, the manner in which she wants to go about doing this is, like everything she does, untethered and seamless. There is a world of opportunity out there and Patil plans on experiencing everything that it has to offer. The idea of working on creative pieces from her own home fascinates her as much as the idea of going to study dramatics in a more structured manner. Through her words, you sense an individual that wishes, with everything she has, to embrace each and every experience for what it’s worth.
The person she has grown into today didn’t just happen instantaneously. Patil, in fact, attributes it all to her working past her own self-imposed limits. Recalling how she made it a point to go perform at every gig that she was aware of, she adds that the experience of just going for what she wanted and being rewarded for it, be it in the form of a clap or the tiniest smile, has helped her come out of her own shell.
It takes a lot of self-belief to stand where she stands. The journey hasn’t been easy, of course, even if Patil’s enthusiasm and zeal makes it seem so. And, it is this very thought that she would want you to take from her story. There is this idea of leaving too much at the hands of others, one she says is crucial to shed. Only then, will you truly be able to chase something that you want. And if you take a closer look, Rachana Patil is inches away from getting all that she really wants.
