Don't tell you don't check your phone while doing your morning business in the bathroom. If you don't then you are one of the rare species living on earth, Congratulations!
For the remaining others like me, we take pride in sharing the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the places we discover, and even the last coffee we sip at the end of the day.
You can post/tag/share/comment/like/subscribe and what not on these different social media websites for acknowledging a connection with your friends/friends of friends/family/acquaintances.
Nowadays you would notice that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, plus a social media overreaction. Social media platforms are our preferable medium to connect to people nowadays.
No, I am not here to judge your social media profile or belittle those applications in any way. I have recently discovered a new way to build a connection with strangers. No, No!!! Guys I am not talking about Tinder. Let's move on to our actual story today.
Haven't we all grown up listening to stories? Would you believe me, if tell you there is a platform out there where you can share your life stories? Yes, you read it right!!! I am talking about "Tape A Tale"!!
Tape A Tale is a platform for crowdsourced personal stories. You can share your memories and experiences with people unknown to you, that is perfect strangers.
Does it scare you? It did to me too. They recently hosted an event in Lucknow called "Secret living Room". I know, it's getting spookier, but hold on to that thought.
Imagine a group of unknown people sharing a moment together by telling stories. You won't believe me, would you?
Secret Living Room event gathers the strangers under one roof, but only reveals the location on the last day, thus making the living room a secret place.
You could be a listener or a speaker there depending on your choice. Secret Living Room event by Tape A Tale was hosted in 7 different cities at the same time.
In one single night, people from various walks of life, in 7 different cities, at the same time were listening, understanding, connecting, evolving and telling each other their stories. Lucky for me Lucknow was one of them.
During the start of the event, there is a theme decided on which the participant narrates his or her own personal story. This secret living room event from Tape A Tale, which was hosted in Lucknow on a fine Saturday evening, drew my attention.
I somehow convinced my myself to go for it. And "waise bhi khaniyan sunna kisko pasand ni hota haii..??".
Everyone has a story to tell, and it's the second oldest profession people had. From kids to adults, we have grown up listening to stories.
Continuing to the evening, the host happened to be the most warm-hearted couple which as they said: "they became richer by the evening from having us there at their home!".
Before the event commenced there was the sheer need for ice breaking between us. We started with a game to know each other.
Now those faces who were strangers a few minutes back, felt familiar and warmer. There were participants from all ages present in that room.
The hosts, who were childhood theatre artists and lovers, poured their love story in the most captivating manner. There was a small kiddo from high school who narrated her story of meeting her crush too.
Stories have this ability to teleport you to another world. I was teleported from the 1980's to 2018 back and forth with every story. In that one evening, I felt emotions, had a glimpse of somebody else’s world.
No stage, no cameras, and most importantly no judgments. They shared a part of themselves with a group of strangers that they'd probably shy away from telling even their closest friends.
And I felt you happen to be honest and open-minded with strangers, as there is no one to judge you. None of this could have ever happened if I was sticking myself to my mobile or my computer. I had never experienced this.
By the end of the evening, every storyteller did their part. They had made us a part of their life for some time. And here is how a room full of strangers felt that they were there for a reason. We had a strange connection which had no definition.
Well, this was my experience of Secret Living Room. Tape A Tale also have a website where you can upload your story "apni zubaani".
It means you can record it on WhatsApp or email them so that the whole world gets to know your story.
We all make good and bad choices in life. The bad choices happen to be a great story!!
Try out newer way in the oldest manner to build a connection with others. You will find the tale-teller hiding in you.