Passing Down Stories

As a little boy my nephew always wanted me to tell him stories before his bedtime. He was very specific. Ghost stories please. And it must be long he said. At first I was lost. I did not know any children's ghost stories. So I asked my mom (his grandma) as to what kind of stories she told him to put him to bed. She said make it up. Make up the stories with a beginning, a middle and an ending and he will be happy with that. Wow. Why didn't I think of that?

Anyways I started tentatively on this storytelling road. I decided early on that since my nephew had never been to India and since he never got to hear his grandfather regale him with stories of his village in India, I would tell those stories. My stories were often set in the little villages of South India. And I would recall all the details from my travel and weave it into the story. Soon my stories were set in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London and many of the other places that I had visited. The stories ranged from Native American tales and stories of lawyers and corporate titans fighting in haunted offices in Wall Street. I was enjoying this very much.

I realized that my stories not only become a great opportunity for me to transport him into an entirely different world that is linked directly to his ancestors, it also helped me celebrate some of my best travel stories. Children and people are so imaginative. If you tell a story well with good details and mood, their imagination supplies the rest.

Telling good stories with a sound moral theme was actually a wonderful way to keep culture and history alive. It also made me actively recall rich details and the insights I had while traveling in different parts of the world. Telling these stories not only delighted my nephew, it also served and strengthened me. Maybe that is why so much of the ancient cultures were oral traditions. Things were not written down as the ritual of storytelling made communities come together to listen, share and applaud. Oral traditions also meant that memory recall and alertness were key. Elders who were the repository of these stories and old practices kept their minds alert by recalling details for their grandchildren. This kept their brains active and their hearts engaged. As wisdom keepers they knew they had an important role to transmit the knowledge with accuracy and respect.

Today my nephew tells me back some of the stories that I had told him. And he ranks them according to his favorites. Maybe one day he will be doing the same with his children. I realized that what started as somewhat of a chore to get him to sleep has been transformed into a beautiful and creative ritual for both of us.