When women tell tales

Staunchly believing in how everyone out there has a story that deserves to be told, 25-year-old Shikha Bhatnagar is on a rather interesting mission — to get the women in namma ooru to come forward and express themselves through a one-of-a-kind story telling session, as part of an initiative by storified.me, a free platform that aims to converge creativity of all kinds under one roof. The enterprising youngster tells us more, just as she’s all set to host the first edition of a story-telling session this October in Atta Galatta...

“There’s a hero in every woman, and it’s time to bring it out. While I loved growing up in Bengaluru, I never liked the idea of settling. I always wanted a job that lets me travel and meet new people. That’s when I joined Storified.me as a freelance writer. The platform helped me meet interesting people, travel to places and get women to tell me stories about their lives. And I was blown away by the myriad experiences these seemingly common women experienced. That egged me into starting sessions, where people could be themselves and narrate tales they otherwise wouldn’t have,” shares Shikha, who currently works as a content producer with a YouTube channel, Cinecurry.  

Armed with a masters in mass communication from Commits, she tells us how pursuing a career in a creative field was always on the cards. “I’ve always wanted to pen down my thoughts. So, after my graduation, I was clear that I would do something along the lines of connecting with the masses. Being articulate is a blessing, but unless you give people the leeway, nobody is going to let in on things that could change your perspectives for the better,” she adds.

With a full time job to juggle alongside, it is solely her innate passion that keeps her going. “Despite the social media boom, and many people expressing themselves a lot more than usual, I see a dearth in the number of offline activities that actually encourage people to build connections in the real world. How often do we see women from different walks of life sitting and sharing stories? That’s exactly the concept, and while we have a special line-up of more than ten women, we are expecting a big turnout. It’s unfortunate in this tech savvy era, the essence and beauty of having real and open ended conversations are fading. And that’s exactly what I wanted to change,” she says.

Despite a choc-a-bloc schedule, Shikha indulges in much needed ‘me-time’. “I’m a true blue travel buff, and absolutely love to explore different places and cuisines. I’ve always been game for newer experiences. And on certain days, when I just need to take a break, you will see me vegetating on the couch, getting through the day by binge-watching episodes of Friends,” she adds.