“Our life is a collection of stories, about ourselves, our loved ones, and our image and understanding of the world around us. Storytelling is therefore the most powerful lens, through which we can explore, experience and learn about ourselves and the world community. It gives expression to the human voice and helps us get in touch with ourselves and bare our soul”.
“India is a treasure house of stories and fables. Stories preserve information about historical events, social life, human flaws and achievements of the times. The technique of the “nesting process” – a story within a story emerged from India. This was richly used in the two great epics of the world, Ramayana and Mahabharata and deeply influenced western writers including Shakespeare and the Grimm Bros. India is the birthplace of puppetry and for thousands of years a destination for eager lovers of the arts and a good story”.
Deeply influenced by these traditions and eager to share them with her North Carolina community, Usha embraced her role as a Teaching Artist and transported her listeners to faraway lands. She shared her hand made puppets, stories, scroll paintings combining them with folk art, dance and music and enthralled audience of all ages. After showcasing with nationally renowned Teaching Artist, Eric Booth, he said, “Usha created a culturally rich atmosphere and completely engages the audience in her presentation”.