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“This is simply a level wherever we bash lone storytelling. It’s not a lit festival. It’s 3 days of uninterrupted storytelling,” says Udaipur Tales International Storytelling Festival co-founder, Sushmita Singha. Returning for its seventh variation this year, the festival has steadily carved retired a singular abstraction for oral storytelling successful its astir elemental form.
Founded by Sushmita Singha, a civilization curator and author, on with societal entrepreneur Salil Bhandari, Udaipur Tales was conceived astir a decennary ago. “The thought for the festival came astir about 10 years agone erstwhile we were discussing however we could bring unneurotic and conserve the stories of tribal communities and the onshore itself. We didn’t privation to bash a euphony performance oregon thing akin due to the fact that there’s plentifulness of that already. What felt missing was a abstraction dedicated to stories,” she says.
At the time, the founders were unaware that big storytelling festivals adjacent existed. “The much we thought astir it, we realised however overmuch of our oral contented gets mislaid implicit the years,” she says. The archetypal variation was humble successful standard but revelatory successful impact. “Initially, we had expected nary much than 100 radical and had seating for astir 80. By the 3rd time of the archetypal festival, we had astir 120 radical attending. That’s erstwhile we realised this had genuinely worked.” she reminisces.
Over six editions, the festival has evolved from an experimentation successful nostalgia to a abstraction of reflection, interpretation, and lived experience. “We began with the thought of axenic entertainment. There was a definite romanticism to it — listening to stories the mode we did arsenic children,” says Salil. What changed, helium explains, was a much profound knowing of the signifier itself. “We began to recognize storytelling arsenic thing acold deeper than entertainment. Every story, careless of genre, carries a beardown cardinal message.”
He recalls a past retelling of Mandodari’s communicative arsenic a turning point. “The storyteller shared her ain perspective, but the assemblage took distant precise antithetic meanings from it. The spot of the communicative laic successful however it allowed radical to construe it done their lens.” This, helium believes, is wherefore audiences instrumentality twelvemonth aft year.
The 2026 variation brings unneurotic an expansive lineup of storytellers and performers, including Divya Dutta, Rajit Kapur, Arif Zakaria, Danish Hussain, Divy Nidhi Sharma, Meiyang Chang, Mayur Kalbag, Prithwiraj Choudhury, Geetika Lidder, Vilas Janve, and Jyoti Pandey, among others. Genres scope from modern and romance to dastangoi, history, mystery, horror, thriller, and people traditions. The format remains deliberately analogue, foregrounding voice, presence, and attentive listening arsenic the halfway of the experience.
The three-day programme volition unfold done a curated premix of solo storytelling sessions, music-led narratives, and people performances rooted successful determination traditions. Alongside established voices, the festival continues to make abstraction for emerging storytellers done open-mic sessions and competitions, reinforcing its relation arsenic some a level and a pipeline for the creation form.
Inclusivity remains cardinal to the festival’s vision. This year’s variation volition diagnostic performances by inmates of Udaipur Central Jail, sign-language mentation crossed prime sessions, information from unsighted schoolhouse students, and a dedicated children’s segment.
As it enters its seventh year, Udaipur Tales positions itself not arsenic a spectacle-driven taste event, but arsenic a sustained listening practice. One that privileges extent implicit scale, and storytelling arsenic a living, shared quality experience.
The Udaipur Tales International Storytelling Festival is being held from January 9 to 11 astatine Park Exotica Resort, Udaipur. Tickets connected Bookmyshow astatine ₹250.
