NCERT Textbook: Story of India’s Storytelling Tradition | Arts (kriti) Class 7 - New NCERT PDF Download

 Page 1


 Story of India’s 
Storytelling traditions
You will learn
 ? Folk forms of storytelling in India.
 ? Problem faced by the artists today.
 ? Well-known traditional storytellers.
Once upon a 
time, there was a  
girl — Kathanjali, who 
loved telling stories. 
She knew all the stories from 
ancient history to the most modern 
ones. She also created stories. She has 
been living for thousands of years. 
She has seen many kings and rulers, 
lived among the common people, and 
also travelled across the world. So, she 
remembers the stories she has read 
and lived through many of the stories! 
But she is always curious and in search 
of more interesting stories. 
Let us listen to her —
4 
Page 2


 Story of India’s 
Storytelling traditions
You will learn
 ? Folk forms of storytelling in India.
 ? Problem faced by the artists today.
 ? Well-known traditional storytellers.
Once upon a 
time, there was a  
girl — Kathanjali, who 
loved telling stories. 
She knew all the stories from 
ancient history to the most modern 
ones. She also created stories. She has 
been living for thousands of years. 
She has seen many kings and rulers, 
lived among the common people, and 
also travelled across the world. So, she 
remembers the stories she has read 
and lived through many of the stories! 
But she is always curious and in search 
of more interesting stories. 
Let us listen to her —
4 
Namaste! Though I have travelled across the world, my favourite 
place has always been Bharata. No matter where I am, I prefer to 
come back here as it feels like home! It has the most beautiful stories. 
Do you know how it all started? Many, many years ago, when I was 
going to different places in Bharata, I realised that the people did not 
know stories at all. They were missing the fun and the values they 
could learn. I had to find a way to tell them stories. Since I could not 
do it all by myself, I created storytellers. 
They were people who could remember and 
narrate stories in very interesting ways. This was 
fun. There were so many storytellers across the 
country telling different stories to everyone from 
small children to old people. 
This went on for hundreds of years. Around 
the 2nd century BCE, I noticed that the listeners 
sometimes got bored or were distracted. So I had 
to find something new to make it interesting. 
That is when I introduced pictures, music, dance 
and puppets. Wow! This made storytelling a very 
different experience for people of all ages. I went to 
different parts of the country and created different 
ways of using pictures, music and dance to tell 
stories, based on their traditions. Do you want to 
know about some of them?
47  |  STORY OF INDIA’S STORYTELLING TRADITION
Page 3


 Story of India’s 
Storytelling traditions
You will learn
 ? Folk forms of storytelling in India.
 ? Problem faced by the artists today.
 ? Well-known traditional storytellers.
Once upon a 
time, there was a  
girl — Kathanjali, who 
loved telling stories. 
She knew all the stories from 
ancient history to the most modern 
ones. She also created stories. She has 
been living for thousands of years. 
She has seen many kings and rulers, 
lived among the common people, and 
also travelled across the world. So, she 
remembers the stories she has read 
and lived through many of the stories! 
But she is always curious and in search 
of more interesting stories. 
Let us listen to her —
4 
Namaste! Though I have travelled across the world, my favourite 
place has always been Bharata. No matter where I am, I prefer to 
come back here as it feels like home! It has the most beautiful stories. 
Do you know how it all started? Many, many years ago, when I was 
going to different places in Bharata, I realised that the people did not 
know stories at all. They were missing the fun and the values they 
could learn. I had to find a way to tell them stories. Since I could not 
do it all by myself, I created storytellers. 
They were people who could remember and 
narrate stories in very interesting ways. This was 
fun. There were so many storytellers across the 
country telling different stories to everyone from 
small children to old people. 
This went on for hundreds of years. Around 
the 2nd century BCE, I noticed that the listeners 
sometimes got bored or were distracted. So I had 
to find something new to make it interesting. 
That is when I introduced pictures, music, dance 
and puppets. Wow! This made storytelling a very 
different experience for people of all ages. I went to 
different parts of the country and created different 
ways of using pictures, music and dance to tell 
stories, based on their traditions. Do you want to 
know about some of them?
47  |  STORY OF INDIA’S STORYTELLING TRADITION
HARIKATHE
During the 12th century, I was travelling in the 
southern part of Bharata. I visited a lot of beautiful 
temples and met kings who encouraged art and 
culture. But, I realised that a lot of people were still 
unaware of the wonderful stories we have. 
I remembered Narada Muni who went 
from one place to another, narrating 
stories of Lord Vishnu. This would 
be a great way to tell stories here, 
I thought. So I encouraged 
the Bhagavatar community 
to start telling stories 
through songs and dance. The 
people loved it as it was also 
interactive. Because they 
narrated the stories of Lord 
Hari, it came to be known as 
Harikathe. 
It became popular across 
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, 
Maharashtra, Karnataka and 
Tamil Nadu. The storyteller 
was called Harikathe 
Dasa.
This multilingual, 
multitalented storyteller, 
Gururajulu Naidu, was 
born in 1931. 
His contributions to 
Harikathe gave him the 
title Karnataka Harikathe 
Pitamaha.
While actual 
Harikathe performances 
were going on all night long, his style 
revolutionised Harikathe performance, with a 
duration of 90 minutes, which was welcomed 
by the audience. 
His famous Harikathe performances 
include Bhakta Markendeya, Bhakta Siriyala, 
Mahi Ravana, Maya Bazaar, Nallathanga Devi, 
Gaja Gowri Vrata, Shri Krishna Garudi, Lava 
Kusha, and many more.
He has also been an actor in movies like 
Mooruvare Vajragalu, Hannele Chiguridaaga, 
Madhu Malathi, and many more.
Harika the — Gururajulu Naidu 
48  |  KRITI
Page 4


 Story of India’s 
Storytelling traditions
You will learn
 ? Folk forms of storytelling in India.
 ? Problem faced by the artists today.
 ? Well-known traditional storytellers.
Once upon a 
time, there was a  
girl — Kathanjali, who 
loved telling stories. 
She knew all the stories from 
ancient history to the most modern 
ones. She also created stories. She has 
been living for thousands of years. 
She has seen many kings and rulers, 
lived among the common people, and 
also travelled across the world. So, she 
remembers the stories she has read 
and lived through many of the stories! 
But she is always curious and in search 
of more interesting stories. 
Let us listen to her —
4 
Namaste! Though I have travelled across the world, my favourite 
place has always been Bharata. No matter where I am, I prefer to 
come back here as it feels like home! It has the most beautiful stories. 
Do you know how it all started? Many, many years ago, when I was 
going to different places in Bharata, I realised that the people did not 
know stories at all. They were missing the fun and the values they 
could learn. I had to find a way to tell them stories. Since I could not 
do it all by myself, I created storytellers. 
They were people who could remember and 
narrate stories in very interesting ways. This was 
fun. There were so many storytellers across the 
country telling different stories to everyone from 
small children to old people. 
This went on for hundreds of years. Around 
the 2nd century BCE, I noticed that the listeners 
sometimes got bored or were distracted. So I had 
to find something new to make it interesting. 
That is when I introduced pictures, music, dance 
and puppets. Wow! This made storytelling a very 
different experience for people of all ages. I went to 
different parts of the country and created different 
ways of using pictures, music and dance to tell 
stories, based on their traditions. Do you want to 
know about some of them?
47  |  STORY OF INDIA’S STORYTELLING TRADITION
HARIKATHE
During the 12th century, I was travelling in the 
southern part of Bharata. I visited a lot of beautiful 
temples and met kings who encouraged art and 
culture. But, I realised that a lot of people were still 
unaware of the wonderful stories we have. 
I remembered Narada Muni who went 
from one place to another, narrating 
stories of Lord Vishnu. This would 
be a great way to tell stories here, 
I thought. So I encouraged 
the Bhagavatar community 
to start telling stories 
through songs and dance. The 
people loved it as it was also 
interactive. Because they 
narrated the stories of Lord 
Hari, it came to be known as 
Harikathe. 
It became popular across 
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, 
Maharashtra, Karnataka and 
Tamil Nadu. The storyteller 
was called Harikathe 
Dasa.
This multilingual, 
multitalented storyteller, 
Gururajulu Naidu, was 
born in 1931. 
His contributions to 
Harikathe gave him the 
title Karnataka Harikathe 
Pitamaha.
While actual 
Harikathe performances 
were going on all night long, his style 
revolutionised Harikathe performance, with a 
duration of 90 minutes, which was welcomed 
by the audience. 
His famous Harikathe performances 
include Bhakta Markendeya, Bhakta Siriyala, 
Mahi Ravana, Maya Bazaar, Nallathanga Devi, 
Gaja Gowri Vrata, Shri Krishna Garudi, Lava 
Kusha, and many more.
He has also been an actor in movies like 
Mooruvare Vajragalu, Hannele Chiguridaaga, 
Madhu Malathi, and many more.
Harika the — Gururajulu Naidu 
48  |  KRITI
KAAVAD KATHA
This is a storytelling tradition that is over 500 years old. 
When I realised that the common people were unable to 
read scriptures like the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas 
and other stories from our tradition, I asked the Bhaats, a 
craftspeople community in Rajasthan to create an interesting 
way of using pictures to tell stories. As pictures do not need 
language, anyone could understand them. So they travelled 
from village to village with the Kaavad, telling stories to 
people in their language. They also included 
songs in it.
They also told stories from the 
Panchatantra and Hitopadesha for 
children. These days, they also tell 
modern stories that give valuable 
messages that are socially relevant, 
like educating girl children in 
villages and maintaining hygiene.
This box of pictures is created 
with the wood of mango tree. 
According to the requirement of 
the story , the boxes have anywhere 
between 8 to 16 parts. the biggest 
cover made so far is 25 feet long!
There have been many storytellers 
in these forms who travelled across 
Khojaram ji is 
from Kumar Dhani 
near Jodhpur, 
Rajasthan. He has 
been practicing 
Kaavad Katha for 
more than 40 years 
now. He is among 
few surviving 
Kaavadiyas.
He says, earlier 
people believed in gyan-daan-bhagwan. 
Everyone would gather under a tree 
to listen to Kaavad Katha. Kaavad, as 
the temple would come to them and 
they would not just look at the God but 
listen to the knowledge embedded in 
the stories of Gods. Now, we go to the 
jajman’s house once a year. He, like other 
Kaavadiyas also maintains a book which  
also keeps the records of people living, 
dead and newly born, in the families of 
the neighbourhood.
Kaa v adiy a — KhojaRam ji
49  |  STORY OF INDIA’S STORYTELLING TRADITION
Page 5


 Story of India’s 
Storytelling traditions
You will learn
 ? Folk forms of storytelling in India.
 ? Problem faced by the artists today.
 ? Well-known traditional storytellers.
Once upon a 
time, there was a  
girl — Kathanjali, who 
loved telling stories. 
She knew all the stories from 
ancient history to the most modern 
ones. She also created stories. She has 
been living for thousands of years. 
She has seen many kings and rulers, 
lived among the common people, and 
also travelled across the world. So, she 
remembers the stories she has read 
and lived through many of the stories! 
But she is always curious and in search 
of more interesting stories. 
Let us listen to her —
4 
Namaste! Though I have travelled across the world, my favourite 
place has always been Bharata. No matter where I am, I prefer to 
come back here as it feels like home! It has the most beautiful stories. 
Do you know how it all started? Many, many years ago, when I was 
going to different places in Bharata, I realised that the people did not 
know stories at all. They were missing the fun and the values they 
could learn. I had to find a way to tell them stories. Since I could not 
do it all by myself, I created storytellers. 
They were people who could remember and 
narrate stories in very interesting ways. This was 
fun. There were so many storytellers across the 
country telling different stories to everyone from 
small children to old people. 
This went on for hundreds of years. Around 
the 2nd century BCE, I noticed that the listeners 
sometimes got bored or were distracted. So I had 
to find something new to make it interesting. 
That is when I introduced pictures, music, dance 
and puppets. Wow! This made storytelling a very 
different experience for people of all ages. I went to 
different parts of the country and created different 
ways of using pictures, music and dance to tell 
stories, based on their traditions. Do you want to 
know about some of them?
47  |  STORY OF INDIA’S STORYTELLING TRADITION
HARIKATHE
During the 12th century, I was travelling in the 
southern part of Bharata. I visited a lot of beautiful 
temples and met kings who encouraged art and 
culture. But, I realised that a lot of people were still 
unaware of the wonderful stories we have. 
I remembered Narada Muni who went 
from one place to another, narrating 
stories of Lord Vishnu. This would 
be a great way to tell stories here, 
I thought. So I encouraged 
the Bhagavatar community 
to start telling stories 
through songs and dance. The 
people loved it as it was also 
interactive. Because they 
narrated the stories of Lord 
Hari, it came to be known as 
Harikathe. 
It became popular across 
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, 
Maharashtra, Karnataka and 
Tamil Nadu. The storyteller 
was called Harikathe 
Dasa.
This multilingual, 
multitalented storyteller, 
Gururajulu Naidu, was 
born in 1931. 
His contributions to 
Harikathe gave him the 
title Karnataka Harikathe 
Pitamaha.
While actual 
Harikathe performances 
were going on all night long, his style 
revolutionised Harikathe performance, with a 
duration of 90 minutes, which was welcomed 
by the audience. 
His famous Harikathe performances 
include Bhakta Markendeya, Bhakta Siriyala, 
Mahi Ravana, Maya Bazaar, Nallathanga Devi, 
Gaja Gowri Vrata, Shri Krishna Garudi, Lava 
Kusha, and many more.
He has also been an actor in movies like 
Mooruvare Vajragalu, Hannele Chiguridaaga, 
Madhu Malathi, and many more.
Harika the — Gururajulu Naidu 
48  |  KRITI
KAAVAD KATHA
This is a storytelling tradition that is over 500 years old. 
When I realised that the common people were unable to 
read scriptures like the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas 
and other stories from our tradition, I asked the Bhaats, a 
craftspeople community in Rajasthan to create an interesting 
way of using pictures to tell stories. As pictures do not need 
language, anyone could understand them. So they travelled 
from village to village with the Kaavad, telling stories to 
people in their language. They also included 
songs in it.
They also told stories from the 
Panchatantra and Hitopadesha for 
children. These days, they also tell 
modern stories that give valuable 
messages that are socially relevant, 
like educating girl children in 
villages and maintaining hygiene.
This box of pictures is created 
with the wood of mango tree. 
According to the requirement of 
the story , the boxes have anywhere 
between 8 to 16 parts. the biggest 
cover made so far is 25 feet long!
There have been many storytellers 
in these forms who travelled across 
Khojaram ji is 
from Kumar Dhani 
near Jodhpur, 
Rajasthan. He has 
been practicing 
Kaavad Katha for 
more than 40 years 
now. He is among 
few surviving 
Kaavadiyas.
He says, earlier 
people believed in gyan-daan-bhagwan. 
Everyone would gather under a tree 
to listen to Kaavad Katha. Kaavad, as 
the temple would come to them and 
they would not just look at the God but 
listen to the knowledge embedded in 
the stories of Gods. Now, we go to the 
jajman’s house once a year. He, like other 
Kaavadiyas also maintains a book which  
also keeps the records of people living, 
dead and newly born, in the families of 
the neighbourhood.
Kaa v adiy a — KhojaRam ji
49  |  STORY OF INDIA’S STORYTELLING TRADITION
the country telling stories and keeping the art alive. 
Some have also travelled to different countries, 
showcasing the stories of our country and its traditions.  
Do you want to know about some of them?
Phad paintings, Rajasthan
Thangka — Ladakh, 
Sikkim, Jammu, 
Kashmir and 
Arunachal Pradesh 
Stories from Buddhist 
scriptures, events in the 
lives of saints and local 
folk stories.
Though these were 
very popular, now they 
are slowly becoming 
rare. Young people are 
not learning this to take it 
forward. With everyone 
watching television and 
smartphones, there is 
no one to listen to their 
stories. If the storytellers 
are gone, the stories also 
go away with them. Don’t 
you think it is important to 
keep these traditions alive 
and spread them across 
the world?
Would you like it if 
your school textbooks 
were taught to you in such 
interesting ways? Let us 
try. Take any story from 
your English or Social 
Science textbook and try 
to narrate it with pictures. 
Infact, this will help you 
remember the lessons. 
Stories of 
Puranas, kings 
and battles they 
fought. Praise 
of local deities 
like Pabuji and 
Devnarayan.
CIRCLE  
TIME
1. If you had to create 
a new form of 
storytelling, what 
are the things you 
would add? How 
would you make it 
more interesting?
2. If you were in the 
government, list 
out two things you 
would do to save 
these art forms from 
dying out.
50  |  KRITI