For the love of stories

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 10

In her four decades’ (41 years) experience as an educator, Neera Sharma had always excelled in taking her abilities as a teacher beyond classroom.

For someone, who loves to connect with her students by sharing stories, Neera Sharma has now started a second innings as a storyteller, this time in virtual space.

Her podcasts Neera Ki Naiyya, have completed 23 episodes and are streaming on all major podcast platforms. Sharing life experiences and giving moral lessons but in a non-conformist way, Neera has been penning these stories down ever since she retired a year ago.

“After I retired, I spent some time doing things that I had not been able to do because of a busy schedule. But then, I got bored and started writing stories. When I shared these stories with my family and friends, they advised me to get these published. But I just did not want to get a book published. I wanted to engage others with my stories as we love to listen others talk. So, a former student of mine, who is in Mumbai currently, suggested a collaboration to produce a podcast. That’s how we started with Neera Ki Naiyya,” she shared.

Neera ki Naiyya is a weekly podcast, where Neera shares stories in Hindi based on a theme and includes titbits taken from Neera’s own life experiences. There is an episode titled Santulan, about man-nature balance and another one titled Vijay Divas, dedicated to the valour and sacrifice of Lt CK Nongrum, who was martyred in the Kargil war. “This particular story was very emotional to share as it was a collaboration between me and one of my former student, Lt Col Sandeep Ahlawat, who was Lt CK Nongrum’s batch mate,” she said.

Through her stories, she makes an attempt to reach out to not just children, but grown-ups as well, including her former students, who are spread across the world.

“I feel that audio stories are easier to follow, as it makes instant connection with no age bar. I have received reactions from Pan India for my stories and it boasts my morale. I enjoy doing it now as I feel that every time I share a story, I share a bit of myself with my listeners.”

She said audio stories are a good way of introducing young children to literature and developing their imagination. The most recent story by her is titled Chatkara Imli Ka that candidly takes us back to the days when imli was a guilty pleasure enjoyed by kids and grown-ups alike.