Story Practices

A myth or a sacred story holds much significance for a people and their culture. It is the lived belief system, a way of veneration. When a performing artist and international storyteller as proficient as Deepa Kiran performs the Ganges story – all one can do is stand up in applause. This story is performed on a boat in the Ganges in Varanasi. The boat sways gently in the river and Deepa Kiran seated in it tells us and the river the story of Ganga Devi. The power of Indic storytelling lies in the fact that the more we repeat our stories and the more we transmit them in a tradition approved method, the deeper we sink into yoga and a yogic experience of our culture. In Indian storytelling traditions it, the act of storytelling can be therapeutic for the audience where they attain salvation or Mukti through bhakti. Storytelling is one of the traditional forms of Bhakti yoga. This narration helps us the audience experience a Ganges like purification process, an attainment towards nirvana.

The story of Ganges as performed by Deepa Kiran offers a lens into the traditional Indian stories and storytelling. These traditional stories transport us back into the world of gods, rivers as goddesses and monumental crisis resolution through the tapas of yoga and determination. Told to the tune of the Shank, the sounds of the Ganges, Sanskrit Chants and traditional musical instruments, this is one compelling performance – Story of River Ganga