Tall Tales for Sleepy Heads

“Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is that to go on living I have to tell stories, that stories are the one sure way I know to touch the heart and change the world.”

— The above lines could have been written by me but alas, Dorothy Allison, American writer, speaker and member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers beat me to it.

Of all the memories of childhood that I carry, I treasure the moments spent in the lap of my grandparents listening to stories. Stories from when they were little, stories from when they were not so little, stories of stories they heard from their grandparents, stories from when my parents were little, stories they read and heard. A delightful cornucopia that I still carry deep within and draw upon in times of need. Those stories took me to places I had never heard of, to meet people I’d never met. Those stories carried lessons yet unlearnt. And to a large extent contributing to or laying the moral cornerstone of life.

And it’s not only me who believes this. Science tells us that stories are important for children. They help in the growth and formation of character. Listening to stories makes them more attentive and imaginative and creative and empathetic. Stories make them more open-minded and acceptable to new ideas. Stories make them better listeners. And what’s so great about learning through stories is that the process is done in a natural way. There’s no actual teaching involved at all, they learn from simply listening to or reading the story.

And that is how my podcast, Tall Tales for Sleepy Heads was born. In an ever-increasing world of nuclear families and working parents, where time is a luxury, children miss out sometimes, on this simple pleasure of storytelling. They are so consumed by their screens, by the continued razzmatazz of YouTube videos, by perpetually evolving things that demand their continuous attention. In a world like the one we inhabit, they will probably never experience the pleasure of simply closing your eyes and letting the mind drift as one listens to the magic of stories and the stories of magic.

I hope every child gets to experience the immeasurable power of reading. And the solace and comfort the printed word can bring. Listening to stories is the first step towards it. And if this podcast helps even one child to dream and imagine, it will have been worth it.

I have dabbled in multiple things all my life, a bit of this and a bit of that. I am a writer, a poet, an environmentalist, a teacher and now a storyteller. This podcast is available on all platforms like Spotify, Anchor, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, OverCast, RadioPublic, OwlTails, etc. Just google Tall Tales For Sleepy Heads and you will be there.

One more thing, the podcast is absolutely free, like all the good things in the world. Love, laughter, hugs, joys, friends, sunsets, the starry skies and the power to dream and imagine.

Spread the word is all that I ask for. Listen to Tall Tales For Sleepy Heads. You can follow the Instagram page for new episodes every day.

_{Featured image: Annie Spratt/Unsplash}

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