Janaki Sabesh, the actress who is famous for playing mother on screen – one of her notable performances being her role in Ghilli in which she mothered actor Vijay – has now written a book for children. She isn’t new to the art of storytelling, of course. Through Golpo Tales – Unlimited, the storytelling outfit that she had launched four years ago along with her daughter, Sabesh conducts many sessions for children.
Last weekend, Sabesh launched her first book for kids, The Jungle Storytelling Festival, published by Tulika. The tale revolves around Ostru, an ostrich with a stammer, who wants to be a part of the storytelling festival. Talking about her experience as a storyteller, Sabesh said, “I used to read to my daughter and nephew, even recorded a cassette in the past. Four years ago, I saw Geetha Ramanujam in action when she’d come to my office. That was the trigger to launch Golpo. ‘Golpo’ translates to ‘story’ in Bangla; I grew up in Kolkata.”
Sabesh added that she was drawn to narrating stories mainly thanks to her audience. “Kids are innocent; they have no grey areas. Also, I wanted to remove them from the digital world. I grew up listening to stories, and want them to experience the same joy.”
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The actress had also attended a workshop on writing for children before starting work on her book. “I learnt that I had to give equal importance to illustrations. Prose should be minimal.”
Janaki Sabesh, who made her debut with the 1997 Rajiv Menon movie Minsaara Kanavu, was last seen on screen in the Suriya-starrer Singam 3. She has starred in more than 25 films.
The Jungle Storytelling Festival, illustrated by Debosmita Mazumdar, is available at Tulika bookstore. While the English version costs Rs 195, the other versions in eight Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bangla, are available for Rs 150.
Photo: Golpo Tales – Unlimited’s Facebook page