Chennai: In 2013, Sriram Raghavan was reading a book at a temple in New York. A Indian girl approached him and asked what he was reading. He told her it was Mahabharata. Can I read it on Facebook, she asked him. This led Sriram to wonder why don’t he create an app to make the children of the 21st century learn about Indian culture.
A resident of Ashok Nagar, Sriram, who works as group vice-president of SunTrust Bank in Florida, frequently travels between India and USA and conducts free, fun-filled storytelling sessions for children and adults.
Speaking to News Today, forty-year-old Sriram said, “When I decided to create an app and teach children, I wanted it to be authentic. So, I chose Vyasa’s Mahabharata which is in Sanskrit. I learned the language for two years and then started to read and still keep reading.”
In 2014, he came up with a story book with illustrations on Mahabharata and comic book in 2015. “As children are glued to gadgets, I decided to come up with a mobile app – Gurukula.com. The app teaches Indian epics like Mahabharata, Ramayana, Panchatantra in the form of comic books, audio, video and storytelling. The app connects children to like-minded characters and helps them develop a deep righteous attitude in life,” he said.
Sriram has so far conducted 500 storytelling sessions for children in the US and India. Asked about how he cultivated the art of storytelling, he said, “My mother Girija Raghavan used to host many television shows. I learned from her and tell epic stories relevant to the lifestyle of 21st century children, without losing the originality.”
Sriram will be in the city till 25 December. Anyone interested in organising storytelling session can email him at [email protected]