Beauty of Storytelling

Storytelling is a noble and beautiful art
It thrives with indulgence of the heart
With love & passion if stories get impart
Joy of listening is said to be worlds apart

At the core of this art are four founding pillars
When mastered, they help create engaging tellers
Stories with hope, truth and belief aide the teller
Love for the story, alone, can make it a bestseller

Stories come to life through a teller's expression
Often, leaves many with a lasting impression
Stories with fantasy and fiction trigger wild imagination
Cascade, it must get, through to the next generation

A skilled storyteller is like a two humped camel
Their hunch to observe and listen makes them able
Variation in their tone adds flavor to a fable
Carry us they do, to eternity, on a silky saddle

Beauty of a story is enhanced through its telling
Lack of energy may result in airborne shelling
Glamour all facts; so it sounds compelling
May its glory shine in each & every dwelling

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©Balaji Palanidurai

I wrote this poem onboard Chennai Express train from Bengaluru to Chennai. I (with my wife) was returning home post a 3 days workshop on storytelling conducted by Kathalaya Trust. Wonderful learning from its founder Madam Geeta Ramanujam and 20 other participants all now complete listeners and observers, which I learnt are key traits of a good storyteller.

My writing journey started on my numerous travels, often resulting in an oasis of stories. But some months would pass without any travel and hence no stories . I thought journey of a camel in a desert would be a good metaphor for this, which I have tried to embed in this poem. Hope you like it.

Beauty of our heritage

Beauty of heritage is in the synergy

of tradition, buildings & language
Duty of people lies in their energy
to cascade it with pride & assuage

Diverse, are cities we live in, where
time & people move rampant & fast
Immerse, they do in routines, their 

yesterday seems like a distant past

No wonder, traditions with hardly
any existence or of age
Becomes a fashion and smartly
many call it their heritage

Buildings, preserved over ancestry
through care and diligence
Transformed into abode with luxury
throw culture in negligence

Tradition & values etched on stones
narrate to us many a story
Expeditions far & many, for thrones
curate for us a hearty history

Big temples & forts of supremacy
defied laws of nature & invasions
Stand testimony to our democracy
defined rules for modern inventions

Beauty of heritage is in the synergy
of tradition, buildings & language
Duty of people lies in their energy
to cascade it with pride & assuage

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©Balaji Palanidurai
I wrote this poem after a heritage tour I went on 20-22 July 2018 Ottran Padhai (#OttranPadhai). It was to visit heritage sites of The Cholas and beautifully curated by a good (and crazy) friend of mine, themed on a famous novel "Ponniyin Selvan" by Kalki.

I started feeling like someone from that era. It kicked off an urge to find my ancestry, which I kind of know I have that roots. This, in turn, added fuel to my quest for my heritage!