Listen to Peter talking about himself and storytelling

I’ve been involved with the Touchwood Project for nine months or so, and in that time many surprising, insightful, and exciting exchanges have taken place. The following are just a couple of the many sessions that spring to mind: 

Visiting the British Muslim Association in Halifax, and telling to a group of men, the youngest of whom was 55 years old.  Not only was the age group a departure from my usual work settings within schools and libraries, but as a full time Storyteller, I very rarely work with a group made up of one age, one religion, and one gender.   Oh and I forgot to mention- the whole session was performed in Punjabi!  Though this North Indian language is different from the Urdu language that the group spoke, there are enough similarities to get yourself understood. I was unsure how the stories would be received but they went down really well, and the group were really getting into them.  I could see one older gentleman chuckling behind a newspaper at a certain part in the story that had obviously tickled him.  The highlight for me though was after I had told them a version of the Cinderella story from Kashmir. The heroine loses a nose ring, and many other girls come to the palace to claim it as theirs and marry the prince.  But of course the nose ring is either too tight or too loose, and so the tale continues.  When I had finished the story, one of the group proceeded to tell me in a really animated way how in the version he had heard, the girl had lost a glass slipper!  It was a real eye opener for me.  Firstly I’d assumed, incorrectly, that this elderly Muslim guy wouldn’t necessarily be familiar with the European story, and secondly I’d never have thought he’d feel so unselfconscious as to relay it back to me in Urdu. There he was though, his eyes lit up,  pointing to his shoes and smiling as he excitedly told me his version  in front of all his peers. I used stories that I use when working with any group, they weren’t altered specifically for this session.  The fact that the tales had Punjabi settings, or Hindi gods in them, made absolutely no difference to the group at all.  It was the experience of sharing the tales that was the most important thing.  And that’s why I love Storytelling- you never know what is going to come back to you, and more often than not one story inevitably leads to another. 

Pete and storytelling at Todmorden High School

In March 2008 I spent a day working with 10 Year 7 pupils at Todmorden High School, helping them learn a story from scratch and then tell it to the rest of their class.  They were brilliant.  Without having a lot of time, they worked mostly in pairs with stories that I had given them, and by the end of the day they had bought these stories to life and had added their own personalities and unique voice.  One pupil in particular used language that was familiar to her, and the rhythm in her delivery was like the rhythm in a song.  In one part of her story a man is angry with god for creating nighttime.  God thought he was helping mankind by giving him time to rest by creating the sleeping hours.  But when he checks with the man the next day, he realises there was a flaw in his plan.  The pupil totally got into character, and even now I can hear her Yorkshire accent when god asked her how she liked the night time:

“ Yeah, thanks a lot you prat!  I fell down the stairs last night, and nearly killed me cat in the dark.”

And of course God had to create the moon so man could still rest, but also see enough to avoid hurting himself or his pets.

This year 7 pupil had taken a story from East India and made it her own, embellishing it with her own local language, and adding her own attitude and personality to the tale.  I really hope she keeps on telling it, and inevitably it will change with each person who passes it on to the next.  That’s what stories do-the essence is always there, it’s just dressed differently by each teller. 

Peter is a British-born Indian storyteller, whose family migrated to Britain in the 1950’s. He has told all over the U.K. and in The Netherlands, Belgium and India.

A large part of his work is within Primary schools, where he shares his stories with pupils and helps them create their own.

His work with adults has taken him to many festivals nationwide, and has included performing as part of Refugee Week, Black History Month, and various other public events.

“…very moving and an absolute joy
to all who attended ”
Kate Corkery, Irish Centre Hammersmith.

“ We had a brilliant time with Peter Chand. The best storyteller yet, really exciting to listen to and watch, plus good with the kids”
Stowlawn Primary School Wolverhampton.