Rains...rains...and more rains! When most parts of Asia are under the spell of rain, what better theme than "Splish Splash Splosh" for this episode of Story Wok.

Also, today being the 4th birthday of FEAST, we bring to you the stories from the 4th book of FEAST anthology "Splish Splash Splosh", told by the authors themselves.

The Dragon King who lived in the Luoyang River created trouble for the people. Crossing the river became difficult…even dangerous. Guan Ying heard about this and wanted to help. Who is Guan Ying? Will she be able to help? Listen to this Chinese folktale retold by Lynn Kirk in the Miso segment for children.

An old man and woman led a happy life in a beautiful countryside. One day, the old man began to follow a tiny red bird which took him deeper and deeper into the woods. What did he find? Was it something magical? Listen to this folktale from Japan retold by Meher Gehi from India, in the Dimsum segment for adults.

In the Fortune cookie, the multilingual segment, listen to an interesting folktale from Malaysia authored by Jumaini Ariff, adapted and told today by Debjani Bhaduri and Shelly Verma in Bengali and English.

Episode Hosts and Producers:

Shubha Das is an Early Educator turned professional Storyteller who particularly enjoys indulging in and retelling folktales. She specializes in Malayalam classics, and stories based on cultural heritage with a contemporary edge. For her, stories are a piece of art, and hence, she believes in performing them in a manner that leaves an aural and visual imprint with linguistic hues in the minds of her audience.

Parvathy Eswaran is a storyteller by passion and by choice, believes that stories are there everywhere just like the air we breathe and we, as storytellers act as a medium to spread and bring the stories to you. 

Meenu Sivaramakrishnan, a Performance Storyteller, Educator and Voice Artist from Bengaluru, India, truly believes that stories are an experience that are not only entertaining but also enriching. After a decade in the IT industry, she quit to pursue her passion and love for performing Arts. She began her initiative called “KATHA GALATTA - Unleash Ur Joy Thru’ Stories” to rekindle the joy of discovering characters and revive the love for oral storytelling. She also facilitates courses based on the art of storytelling at Manipal Academy of Higher Education. You can find her stories on Facebook @KathaGalatta and Instagram @kathagalatta.meenu

Featured Tellers:

Lynn Kirk

Lynn has been telling stories for over 25 years in Asia and the UK. She has a magical Story Apron to suit early years/lower primary age children and can incorporate simple drama/puppetry/crafts to extend the stories she tells to cover all ages. Lynn truly believes the power stories have and how they can change one’s life.

Meher Gehi

Once upon a time, a mother began telling tales to her 6-month old child and ended up falling in love herself! After seeing her daughter's eyes sparkle while listening to stories, Meher Gehi decided to sprinkle this joy to other kids in her community. Today, she is a certified professional storyteller, story educator and voice artist. Her storytelling comes alive through her expressive eyes & voice. She loves to infuse her storytelling with her deep love for music, theatrics & spirituality. She has performed & conducted sessions at prestigious schools & venues in Mumbai (like Bombay Scottish School, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum etc) and India. Having performed at national and international storytelling festivals, she can have you travel different worlds through her tales... Ready? To watch her unique storytelling style, head straight to her channel - Meher Gehi

 Jumaini Ariff

Jumaini pursued her love for the literary arts and became a published author in 2013.Jumaini performs as ‘Nek Selampit’, the Folktale Storyteller , a unique, highly energetic character who is witty and filled with Lampung charm. Effectively bilingual in English and Malay, Jumaini enjoys performing Asian folktales, fables and legends for audiences of all ages. In 2017, Jumaini became the first storyteller to be recognized for her efforts in reviving the Malay language through storytelling and was appointed Malay Language Ambassador of Singapore by the Malay Language Council(Singapore). Since then, she works with various institutions to pique interest of students in Malay through the art of storytelling.

Debjani Bhaduri

A decade ago, by sheer coincidence, Debjani came to know about the art form Storytelling. Since then she has been sharing stories across all age groups to spread happiness and joy.She loves retelling folktales, mythological accounts and authored classics lacing them with contemporary thread and adding a hint of humour.She believes stories could be the best way for skill development and she has been training teachers to teach concepts through stories and coaching corporate professionals soft skills through stories.

Shelly Verma

Shelly Verma is a teller of tales who grew up in India listening to stories of kings, queens, animals, gods and goddesses from folklore and mythology. She carries these stories in her mind and her heart no matter where she is. Her repertoire includes stories from around the world but her main focus is using these stories to create awareness about the pressing issues of our times and be a part of the change. She believes in stories that inspire social change, give voice to the unheard and make the unseen noticed. You can find her stories on Facebook @Storyteller.ShellyVerma or Instagram @verma.shelly

Story Wok is produced by FEAST(Federation of Asian Storytellers ), (https://www.feast-story.org/ ). Our focus is on spreading Asian stories, celebrating colors from the Philippines in the east to Turkey in the west and the story telling communities that lie in between.

Write to us at [email protected] | [email protected]

For details of upcoming events visit our website www.feast-story.org