Head to this open-air musical storytelling at NCPA this weekend

Daryanani and Rohit Das

City-based educator Dipna Daryanani's childhood was quite typical; she grew up listening to stories passed down from her grandfather to her father. But unlike most of us who remember them in bits and pieces, she narrates them to this writer vividly, delving into every minute detail, over a short call. The credit, she insists, goes to her father's interactive storytelling style that engaged all her senses as a child. Tomorrow, Daryanani will hope to bring the same style to life at The Magical Garden, an outdoor interactive musical storytelling session for children and parents.

"When I perform tomorrow, I won't be putting on a character. It's a recollection of my own childhood, reshaped into a gripping story," Daryanani reveals. The hour-long open-air performance will witness the artiste narrate personal anecdotes from her summer vacations spent travelling in trains, playing in her grandfather's backyard, and running errands with her father. "It's a trip down the memory lane for the parents in the audience; and a window to a simpler life for children who grew up in the city," she notes.

Dipna Daryanani enacts the interactive story at a previous outdoor performance. Pics courtesy/Instagram

For instance, the artiste talks about short visits with her grandfather to music CD shops in the 1990s, a memory she holds dear. "Those trips made me feel special; like I was his favourite grandchild. Only as I grew older did I realise that each of his grandkids had similar stories to tell. That's the magic we talk about in the performance. The magic is in being kind, in playing small, yet significant roles in someone's life," the artiste reveals.

The 37-year-old will be joined by singer and composer Rohit Das, who will add an acoustic guitar to the mix. In addition to creating waves of rising and falling harmonies on which Daryanani's stories will sail, Das will occasionally present Bollywood, songs from the 1980s. "Music evokes certain emotions in children, and makes the stories easier to recall later. As for the parents, it takes them back to their childhood, when things were simpler and the magic was easier to find," she notes, adding that it's this part where the group usually breaks into a dance and sing-along.

Dipna Daryanani

This movement, we learn, is an intentional addition to the performance. Daryanani, who also runs Move With Joy, a creative movement class, believes the city deals with a dearth of open spaces, and the underutilisation of those that exist. She elaborates, "Moving in a green, open space impacts your brain chemistry positively. At the performance, we encourage participants to sit down, feel the grass, and move the way they want."

Unlike many children's stories, this one doesn't present a happily-ever-after ending to the children; it makes them look for it themselves. A treasure hunt to find a hidden magical object that acts as a MacGuffin to the plot all along is the final chapter of the story. "Children love it when we reveal that the object we talked about is real and can be found. Various versions of the treasure are hidden around the venue. They are symbolic reminders to the children that the magic, as always, lies within them," she concludes.

ON May 5; 5 pm
AT Experimental Theatre Garden, NCPA, Nariman Point.
AGE GROUP 4 to 7 years
LOG ON TO ncpamumbai.com
ENTRY Rs 750 onwards