India / India has glorious tradition of storytelling: PM on Mann ki Baat

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed the nation through the 69th edition of his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat where he talked about the importance of storytelling, the values of Indian family system and hailed the passage of farm bills.

Every family mostly has an elderly person who talks about traditions, cultures. He would tell a story. Story-telling is an art. The power of a story is reflected when a mother tells a story to her child, when anyone shares any experience.

Story telling is as old as civilisation. PM Modi narrates an anecdote from his life, on the subject of story telling.India has a glorious tradition of story telling. These days, stories relating to science are gaining popularity.

We are proud that we are residents of that country, where there has been a tradition of Hittopadesh and Panchatantra, where, in the stories, the imaginary world of animals and birds was created, so that things of conscience and intelligence can be easily explained. I am proud we belong to a country where stories are told in panchtantras, kathas, religious stories.

“There has been a thriving tradition of telling stories in India. There is an important tradition of storytelling in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is called Villu Pattu,” said PM Modi, talking about the various forms of storytelling prevalent in India.

He then spoke to people involved in this field. It included a group of women who run Bengaluru Storytelling Society and even asked them to narrate a story.

“I urge all storytellers to include all inspirational stories from the period of foreign rule as we are going to celebrate 75 years of independence. Especially between 1857 & 1947. We can introduce our new generation to them in form of stories,” he further said.

He then moved on to farm bills, which was passed by Parliament recently. He said that these bills will empower farmers and give them freedom to sell their produce.

PM Modi then talked about the farmers who have benefitted by the policies of his government since 2014. However, the issue has been controversial with the government facing the heat from the Opposition as well as its allies. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the oldest ally of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), quit the alliance over the issue.

The Prime Minister also hailed the courage, bravery and valour of soldiers who carried out surgical strikes in 2016.

“Four years ago, around this time, the world witnessed the courage, bravery and valour of our soldiers during surgical strike. Our brave soldiers had just one mission and goal - to protect the glory and honour of mother India at any cost,” he said.

‘Mann ki Baat’ is a radio programme, aired on All India Radio on the last Sunday of every month, through which the Prime Minister interacts with the nation.