Lucknow dwellers, it’s storytelling time. Tape a Tale, a popular offline community made to tell and listen stories for the strangers under one roof, is back again.
Tape A Tale brings to you an offline event at Lucknow, where you can tell your first-hand story to the world. But who is behind this?
Tape A Tape is the brainchild of Kopal Khanna, who is an avid dreamer, I must admit.
Such a concept, where strangers can tell their sweet and sour stories to other strangers in the world, can come to only a dreamer.
But that's not all about the community of storytellers. An interview with Kopal tells us more about her and her brainchild, Tape a Tale.
How did Tape A Tale happen?
Kopal Khanna told that it was not just one event or one defining moment which made Tape A Tale.
She has always been a compassionate listener, and out there in her heart, she knew that she wanted to build a community of her own.
She had an undiagnosed “entrepreneur keeda” all along. From her schooling in Lucknow to her MBA in London, she has been a compassionate listener.
She knew that the stories, moments lived by the people, and life turning points, needs to be shared.
Sharing makes an event immortal in the world. Tape a Tape is a platform on which you can share your funny, heroic, modest stories.
It is a community which helps strangers in venting out, sharing their personal experiences and feeling the sense of belongingness.
Initially, she asked one of her cousins to make the website for Tape a Tale. The purpose of this website was to collect the audio from users.
After a few months of launching the website, Kopal Khanna went ahead to organize an event of Tape a Tale and received a houseful response.
That is how Tape A Tale did happen. And how it has become something Kopal Khanna (Founder of Tape A Tale) feels proud about.
One piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs?
Kopal Khanna recalled that a person needs only three things to achieve their set goal. Foremost is to dream well. It is just one life, right?
Second thing is hard work. There no shortcuts to life. And the last but not the least things is to believe in your idea. Because belief is something that can move mountains.
After all, your reality is the reflection of your strongest belief!
One of your best moment during the entrepreneur experience?
Kopal Khanna smiles at this question. There might have been many best moments along this journey. But she had her best memory to share with us.
She told us that during this tour, a 17-year-old visited her ‘Khaaniyan’ show in Jalandhar. The 17-year-old had just come to tell Kopal Khanna that she was inspired by her after watching the video on YouTube.
Until then, she thought she was good for nothing. But that one story on YouTube by Kopal Khanna changed something in her. It was overwhelming to see how people are touched by her initiative, added Kopal.
In her ‘khaaniyan’ tour, she purposes to visit 10 cities, including Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Udaipur, Jaipur, Jalandhar.
Maybe she finds more great moments waiting for her all along this tour.
What are the ups and downs of this journey so far?
Kopal Khanna explained that the start-up is bound to have problems, especially financial ones.
She never signed up for the smooth journey, and so she can’t complain about this one. It is all part of the game and she intends to play it for long!
Who else is there with you on this crazy journey?
Kopal Khanna has a co-founder, Ali Hussain and few interns who form the backbone of Tape a Tale. And mind it, it is a brilliant team!
What are takeaways for people visiting Tape a Tale event?
Kopal Khanna extended her smile as the Tape A Tale event has a lot of offer to its people. It has a giggle, a laugh, an excitement, a suspense, and teary eyes at times.
She believes storytelling is a very powerful medium and the audience can relate to all stories.
Just as pain needs to be felt, stories need to be told. At some point in life, people would have witnessed the same emotion in their life, what is being narrated.
And feel a connection, a feeling of belongingness to the community.
What are your long-term plans?
Kopal Khanna told that she does not really plan anything for herself. She is one of those people, who is mum when asked about their maybe 5-year plan.
She plays by the minute and embraces the opportunity as it comes. As for now, she would like to connect more and more people to Tape a Tale and get more people in this community.
She already has over a million subscribers on her YouTube channel. This was something she never thought of happening.
But when the idea is good and belief is stronger than you are unstoppable.
When is ‘Khaaniya’ tour happening in Lucknow? What are the rules for Tape a Tale event?
Kopal Khanna is bringing the event to Lucknow on 25th Nov 7:30 PM at café by Default. Amandeep Singh will be present in the event.
There are few rules one must adhere to in the event. These are -
1) This event is for personal, first-person stories only and length should not be more than 5 mins.
2) If you wish to tell a storyteller then send the full written story to contact@tapeatale.com with the subject line "Kahaaniya Tour”.
3) And if you want to hear the stories, come to join us and share the warmth with us!