Introduction

Kathalaya has been traveling the length and breadth of the country since 1998 training teachers, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and parents to "Use story telling as an educational and communicative tool to effect a change in society".

Kathalaya works with storytelling centers around the world in both urban as well as rural scenarios. The main aim is to enrich the curriculum by introducing stories in the classroom related to the curriculum. Kathalaya"s Story Educators motivate learning in children using stories, anecdotes and experiences throughout the year in schools.

It has catered to specific segments and customized storytelling to address language development, skill building, vocabulary enhancement, awareness of the environment and to revive interest in Social sciences. Above all Kathalaya evokes innovative thinking with its Thinking, Telling and linking programs both for children and corporate.

With the growing need, Kathalaya felt it was time to set up an Academy of Storytelling. It has two centers in India, Bangalore and Chennai. Kathalaya conducts short term and long-term certificate courses in Storytelling and is affiliated to the International Institute of Storytelling, Tennessee, in U.S.A. The course includes the essentials of integrating storytelling into education, storytelling techniques, extrinsic and intrinsic qualities of a storyteller, importance of gestures and body language, use of chitrakathas, toy theatre, mask making, origami, clay modelling, and puppetry in project presentations.

Kathalaya has full time, part time and volunteer staff. Various activities that Kathalaya is involved in include the following:

• Story-telling sessions and workshops for schools:Including stories as an educational tool in schools using the techniques of narration, story reading, picture Stories, toy theatres, clay modeling, puppetry, shadow play, role play and craft activities. Research and revival of storytelling traditions and ancient knowledge systems.


• Story on Wheels: Field trips for children to extend storytelling to "out-door experiences" through Folk Trails, Nature Trails, Village Visits, heritage centers, industrial visits, art centers and Museums with stories of people and places.


• Teacher Empowerment: Orientation & training programs on integration of storytelling and folk arts into the curriculum. Kathalaya has developed more than 10 training modules and certificate courses for teachers to strengthen their teaching skills to use storytelling in a classroom transaction. It has trained over 49,940 teachers so far, both in India and abroad- Sweden, Poland, Japan, South Africa, Singapore, USA and Germany.


• Resource & Training Center for Storytelling and Education: These activity centres are located in Bangalore and Chennai. It serves as a reference center for teachers and those interested in storytelling. The Academy training programs are also conducted here.

• Linking initiatives in Art Education between Karnataka and Western Sweden to set up a Story Academy at Vastra Gotland in Western Sweden since 2008
• Set up 152 Story learning centers at Karanjia and Keonjhar ,Orissa for the Santhali Tribals - 2009.
• Developing Storylabs at Madurai, Chennai. Annegundi, Sweden and Orissa.
• Reached out to 50 rural schools with the support of Sarva Shiksha Abhyan of the department of Education in Karnataka.
• Participated and presented papers in both national and international story telling events and conferences
• First International Storytelling festival organized for the first time in India in 2005 and 2006 and have entered the Limca Book of Records for the same.
• Storykits for teachers and Educators
• Trained over 49,000 teachers, NGO"s and professionals and corporate across the world.
• Kathalaya is grateful to International and national funding organizations, who have supported its programs from time to time, storytelling organizations, storytellers, Educational Institutions, Media and Children from across the world.

Kathalaya Trust

Trustees:
Ms.Nirmala Sethuraman
   Founder Kanila home for the Aged, Chennai.
Mr.G.Viswanathan
    Philanthropist
Mr.H.Kumar
    Industrialist,Mumbai.

Advisory Board:
Ms. Premalatha Paneerselvam
    Principal, Mahatma Montessoru School, Madurai
Mrs.Geeta Krishnan
    Academician
Dr. Jimmy Neil Smith,
    Director, International Institute of Storytelling,Tennessee, U.S.A.
Ms.Cathy Spagnoli,
    Storyteller, Author, U.S.A.

Executive Director:
Ms.Geetha Ramanujam

Geeta Ramanujam is the founder of Kathalaya and has been an inspiration to many. She is an Ashoka Fellow, academician and Storyteller from Bangalore. She has been a teacher and librarian at the Krishnamurti Foundation School, Bangalore and the Sri Aurobindo Memorial School for over twenty eight years. She has also worked as a freelance journalist for ten years. In 1998, she founded Kathalaya: The House of Stories, to revive the ancient art of storytelling and to use it in schools as a cultural tool in education. She has traveled abroad to several countries to conduct workshops on storytelling. Since then, she has established storytelling as part of the curriculum in many schools in and has won many awards for her contributions towards child welfare and education. She has also authored books published by Puffin, and has authored a book for Story Educators.

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