Tell a Story day: Importance, history of storytelling

New Delhi, Apr 27: Movies, television and other such forms entertainment have pushed storytelling to a corner. Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of entertainment known to man and it may have existed even before languages evolved and took a proper shape.

A well told story can transport us to a new realm of imagination altogether. In fact many of the folk tales were document only recently and passed on from generation to generation through oral recitation.

Stories have existed long before recorded history. For a long stretch of time in history, storytellers were very important figures in a society. The ability to tell stories effectively and memorably was a very valuable skill.

"Tell a Story" day that is observed in the United States on April 27. People of all ages are encouraged to share all kinds of stories on National Tell a Story Day.

Why was storytelling important in olden days:

As wars were fought and valiant deeds were done, the people needed some way to remember them. Instead of simply stating what happened, stories began to emerge as a way to preserve the raw emotions and sequence of events of the actual event.

History is nothing but a series of stories that, when told correctly, can teach us lessons, give us insights into a variety of concepts, or entertain us. Every story serves a purpose, even if to simply relay a message. Without history, without chronicled stories, mankind would never learn from his mistakes, would never dream to emulate past heroes, would never see anything but the now. We would be clueless to the past, and therefore helpless for the future.

Tell a Story Day celebrates story-telling of all kinds. It doesn't matter if its fiction or non-fiction, a tall tale, or folk lore. Libraries celebrate this day with story telling hours for kids.