Our Story Tellers (Edition 2024)

Mita Vashisht is a well-known versatile actress, a post graduate in Literature and a NSD passout .She is known for her sensitive and strong potrayals in films, theatre & television. She has received many prestigious awards for her acting. Mita is keen to take her organisation Mandal forward as a space for artist collaboration, research and education.

Rohini is an internationally acclaimed radio personality. Radio gets her heart beating while her romance for the stage sees her host audiences on red carpets and stages alike. Having moved to Singapore for a brief three-year stint, she was the first person of Indian origin to win a double honour at Singapore’s Mediacorp Radio Awards in 2013. She returned in 2016 to launch India’s first ‘retro cool’ radio station, Radio Nasha 91.9 FM where she hosts the popular daily breakfast show, ‘Jhakaas Mornings’. She recently received the first ‘Queero’ award from India’s LGBTQ community for her undying championing towards the cause of equality.

Gautam Mukerjee has worn two hats for 30 years. He has been an entrepreneur and a teacher. His areas of interest are Indology, Zoroastrianism, Environmental Sciences and Consciousness. He has been professionaly involved in film making and music. He says he comes from a family of storytellers and would like to keep the legacy alive.

A graduate of Forensic Science from Glasgow, has been actively involved in both the theatre and film industry as an actor, writer and director since 2010. He has acted in over 20 Professional stage productions, ranging from a very popular cameo in The Interview to lead parts
in the acclaimed comedy Rafta Rafta and the super-hit Tuesdays with Morrie.  He has also acted in feature films and many web series.

Anant Dayal (they/them) is a queer non-binary theatre artist, musician and educator. Now based in Dharamshala, their work is largely focused on creating space for dialogue on gender, queerness, and on climate change: engaging with school children, local communities and rural audiences alike. They also serve as Trustee of d.r.i.f.t. Trust that regularly organizes theatre festivals and residencies in the mountains, and mentors local performers and theatre groups in the region.

Asima Bhatt is a distinguished individual with a background in Human Psychology and Acting. With over two decades of experience in the media industry, she has worked as a Reporter for Navbharat Times and as a Sub-Editor at Patliputra Times. Asima is known for her creative contributions to newspapers and magazines. She has also taught Acting and Gender Studies at various universities. Currently, she’s a writer and actor in theatre, films, television, and OTT platforms and has published stories and poems in Hindi magazines. Asima is dedicated to mental health counseling, highlighting her multifaceted career.

Gautam Agarwal has a lot of stories to tell. Well-read and experienced as a filmmaker & theatre artist he has worked in remote areas. A man of rare qualities he can spin a tale based on his research on mystical, geographical and historical findings.

Hema Subramanian is an educator and a professional storyteller.  She has been telling stories for years as an educator and continues her passion for storytelling as a professional. Her stories are unique as they are interspersed with poems that she loves to pen. She has performed at the Kanoon International Festival 2022, Mumbai International Storytelling Festival (MIST) 2022 and Gaatha- Mumbai International Storytelling Festival 2023 amongst others.

Simi Srivastava is a master storyteller and Founder of Kathashala.Storytelling is her passion, she is a soft skills trainer and a performing artist.She is professionally trained in theatre,creative music & miming.Currently she is researching the use of storytelling as a therapy for young .

Dr. Ulka Mayur is a doctrate in literature and a versatile artist. She has been working as a storyteller for over ten years, presenting folklores, sufi traditional stories, contemporary tales and original stories. She has performed at eminent educational institutions, museums, art galleries as well as art and literary festivals.Ulka has written and directed celebrated plays like Cast off All Shame, Ballad of Desires and Tik Tak Tales & directed music videos and written shows for networks such as STAR and SONY India.  She has been awarded with Udgam Women Achiever’s award and Special Achievement Award by Vishwa Hindi Akademi.

Yugm is an amalgamation of the ideology by Abhishek & Mayank which resonates through music. A band of youngsters, they sing self-written and composed songs. They are an independent folk fusion band exploring different genres.

 

BLUE HUSH, An Inide Duo

Blue Hush is giving out all its music to the world through genres like Jazz, Pop and Indie. Their music talks about emotions, nature and personal experiences while experimenting and exploring the music from within. Their latest single ‘Ursa Major’ is available on all Music Streaming Platforms.

With a devoted commitment spanning more than two decades, Zia Nath has immersed herself in the study and mastery of diverse Sacred Dances of the India & Central Asia.

Zia Nath will be presenting Gift of Love – an Ode to Rumi, along with Sanatan Chakravarty, a renowned Odissi dancer recipient of several national and regional awards.

Zia & Sanatan are all set to entertain the audience
at the much anticipated oral storytelling festival, Udaipur Tales. Don’t miss out on their special performance!

Rebecca Lemaire   is a versatile Belgian-British storyteller and is currently based in the Apujarra Mountains in the South of Spain. She tells stories in English, Spanish, and French wherever the wind takes her from Europe to Asia and Africa.

She has lived, studied, and worked in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Arabia (Sultanate of Oman and Kuwait), Morocco, India, France and Spain. Her passion is to look into people’s eyes and travel with them through stories, whether at a festival, in a prison, a yoga school, a Tibetan monastery in the Himalayas, a theatre, or a library.Her repertoire includes mystical and healing stories, humorous tales from her Belgian and British roots, and magical stories from the times of Al-Andalus when the Arab culture was pre-dominant in Andalusia where she lives. She has played music since she was a child and often uses sounds (flute, kalimba, voice, and drum) to support the stories she tells.

She says: “Storytelling is a form of communication that goes way beyond words; it is a heart-to-heart interaction, and that is why I love it!”

Shikha Talsania is an Indian film & TV actress, who made her acting debut with the 2009 Bollywood comedy drama Wake Up Sid, which starred Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role. Shikha played Ranbir’s best friend in Wake Up Sid. Shikha has also played some prominent roles in the movies like My Friend Pinto, Midnight’s Children & the 2018 release Veere Di Wedding.
Potluck season 2 is another very popular series she has done

Syed Sahil Agha is a writer, author, and storyteller from New Delhi, India who specializes in the verbal art of dastangoi. Agha performs Dastangoi, a 13th- century Urdu art of oral storytelling. Dastan-e-Hind, a collection of his dastans and Indian folklore, has been performed by many artists around the globe.

Akhshay Gandhi is a theatre artist & facilitator. He is a SITI Company (NYC) ambassador, was artist-in-residence at Gesseneralle, Zurich (with TENT School) and guest faculty at Lalit Kala Kendra & Drama School Mumbai. He has received his theatre training at SITI Company (New York), Odin Theatre Laboratory, (Denmark) and Indian Ensemble (Bangalore). His work has been performed at prestigious venues including, Stanford University, UCLA, Dixon’s place (NYC), Odin Teatret(Denmark), Spoken Fest (Mumbai) to name a few. Some of his accomplishments include, a TEDx talk, IATC Conference Paper, Tata Scholar Grant, BITSAA 30u30 award. He is currently engaged in the creation of ‘Conservatory for arts & artists’, an organization to support marginalized artists from various traditions in India.

Anjana Chandak is a contemporary artist based in Bangalore. Finding her path, a B.Tech graduate in Interior design; fulfilling as this journey was but the artist continued her quest for something deeper. This directed Anjana to pursue her cherished profession as a painter artist and freelance writer, which resulted in the debut solo art shows “ELOQUENCE OF SOUL”, “TAPESTRY OF SILENCE” and release of her debut novel, “TWO TALES” in 2014. Exploring her Spiritual Self, she intends to make a difference through her various avenues of creative expression. Anjana is passionate about poetry and has created a compilation of her poetry in Hindi with her first art n poetry book ‘Mann ke Manke’, published recently. Her 11 min poetry ‘ittu si’ on child sexual abuse was performed at a dance festival in KHAJURAHO. Her theatrical monologue ‘Mai Kaikeyi’ won rave reviews with various shows in and out of Bangalore. Prestigious SGMF Foundation chose her as an artist to present Panchkanya. Under Artist Initiative Programe, SGMF Foundation featured her on ‘Google Arts and Culture page’ as a performance artist. So the journey continues, more than hundred shows all over the country with monolougue monodrama of ’Mandodari’, ‘Draupadi’  ‘Ahalya’ and ‘Sita. Her forthcoming painting show will be based on thoughts of Kabir.

A dedicated and passionate actor with a solid foundation in acting education and extensive experience in both stage and television acting. Well-connected in the industry with a reputation for artistic integrity, the actor has an impressive list of television credits, including notable shows like “Balika Vadhu,” “Diya aur bati hum,” and “Ek Haseena thi.” In addition to television, the actor has worked in films such as “Krackjack” and commercials for brands like Parle Products and Water Kingdom. Theatrically, they have performed in various plays directed by renowned figures like Pt. Satya Dev Dubey and Tom Alter. The actor is also involved in film and web projects, with contributions to Netflix’s “Ankahi” and Hotstar’s “Khichdi.” Beyond acting, the individual serves as an educator, conducting theatre workshops and working on a feature-length film. Their versatility extends to scriptwriting for TVF (The Viral Fever) and research for projects like “Haddi” with Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Currently, they are co-writing a feature film and developing a commercial stand-up one-act play.

Vilas Janve is a prominent Mime artist and director of India. He has been engaged in Mime since he was 18 years of age. Janve is disciple of Guru Padmashri Niranjan Goswami and assisted his Guru in Mime Workshops at different places. Vilas Janve has conceived, produced, acted and directed numerous Mimes on varied subjects. Vilas Janve has been awarded Senior Fellowship in the field of Mime by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (year 2000-2002). He believes in innovation and created his mimes in such a way that they make people laugh and think at the same time. He has also worked on the poems of Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore from Geetanjali and created Mimes “Kripan” and “My child”. He has trained hearing impaired children of local Schools and adult inmates of Central Jail, Udaipur. Besides Mime Vilas Janve is also a playwright and Theatre Director. His work is more prominent in Children Theatre and Nukkad Natak. Janve has been involved with Udaipur Tales from the inception in various roles and responsibilities.

Rahgir was born and raised in Khandela, Sikar and got his early education from Indira Senior Secondary School. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communications. He worked as a Software Engineer for Accenture for 1.5 years before starting playing for local cafes and clubs in Pune and later started his own songs under his stage name Rahgir.  Rahgir shot to fame with his song ‘Maharana Ji’ about the great warrior Maharana Pratap. Since then, Rahgir has released several songs that gained him international recognition.

Rajat Menghnani is a Storyteller and Program Director at Radio City-91.9 F.M.

Rajat is famously known as ‘Kahani Wala Rajat’. He looks after Udaipur, Kota, and Bikaner regions and hosts a show, ‘Chali Kahani’ in which he narrates stories written by famous writers of their times. Rajat is a storyteller who believes that stories help us relive lost moments, experience unknown worlds and help us develop our minds. He shares his experiences related to storytelling, his inspirations, his favorite stories, and how the audience is an important part of the media profession.