The Glory of Storytelling

I think story-tellers are born. You have to be born with this skill and then hone it as you go through life. I suppose the story-tellers we had as children helped to a great deal. These were tellers of tales of kings and queens, bold adventurers and nutty pranksters, of talking birds and djinns who flew through the air – stories that lasted through night after summer night when you lay on the white cotton sheet on the charpai outside. I was an imaginative child who visualized what was told. This also must have helped in some way because then it made me want to tell my story in a similar way.

I become involved very deeply with the people I meet. Kafeel bhai was very endearing and his story was heart-warming.

In the beginning of my writing career starting August 1983, I wrote only about places. People were only incidental. But as I travelled more and more, I started getting more involved with people. They brought warmth to the story. I suppose I got here simply by practice.