“TITLIYAN’ is a dream come true for a group of GK-II women – these women are the family nurtures, family balancers, providers, many having successfully traversed the career paths outside their homes. Some of us may be able to relate – this group was looking for deeper meanings, sharings, and connections. They were looking for an embracing, respectful space from which an honest platform was born by the name of ‘TITLIYAN’. Here we hold hands, empower, laugh, teach, learn, and unlearn through any and every skill/way we may have picked up in our own journeys of life.
‘Suno Kahani’ was one of the sessions. We were all so brimming with love and excitement. Each one wanted to go first to narrate her story.
Seema Aggarwal kick-started with the story “Learning from Loss”. She enraptured us not only by her very insightful story about human behavioral outcomes and learnings but also her amazingly distinct style of telling the story. We were flowing with her through the highs and lows, eagerly awaiting the ‘what next’ moment. She left us with so many thoughts to ponder over.
It was Abha Batra’s turn next. She is, I must say, a highly evolved storyteller! Her story was “How much land does a man need” by Leo Tolstoy. She mixed Hindi and English and made it so relatable and palatable. Her excitement and voice modulation engaged us immediately. We were left with a compelling message about man’s greed which we must never forget.
When my turn came, I naturally wanted to tell a story of a special child, having taught special needs children for a long part of my life. Through the narration, I relived the pains and struggles of the child. The story took all of us to a very tender place within. I could see tears trickling down from many eyes. A chord had been touched.
Deep conversations followed among the members. Very thought-provoking inputs and interventions ensued by our wise members – Sulakshana, Amita, and Sumita, by bringing forth their personal experiences.
Something different came up after that. It was a poem on ‘life’ recited by Nisha Narula and written by her very young daughter. Made us all think afresh about our ‘desires’ and our ‘view of life’. Very profound indeed! A very sweet finale was thrown in with the bubbly narration of a fun story written by Tenali Ram by our own Rashmi Bakshi, giving us a message to be ‘in the now’ and enjoy ‘living’.
This rendezvous of ‘Suno Kahani’ left us satiated, settled, grounded, and with ‘each other’. We were left wanting more, seeking more. Paradoxically, hungrier in a very satisfying way. Kudos to this novel platform of inclusivity and gentle empowerment. “There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love, once you have heard their story!”.
