Storytelling community Tape A Tale turns back the pages to revisit their enduring story ahead of an eighth anniversary celebration in the city this weekend
Amandeep Singh, Priya Malik and Yahya Bootwala
Before ‘being in someone’s story’ meant making a fleeting appearance on someone’s Instagram for 24 hours, writers Yahya Bootwala, Priya Malik and Amandeep Singh were part of Tape A Tale founder Kopal Khanna’s real-life story. Eight years strong now, the tape is still rolling for the close knit community that has charted a journey from Khar in 2017 to venues in Australia recently. This weekend, an anniversary celebration will see old friends from the group reunite.
An unusual Kamra-derie
Before cafés in this city rolled out red carpets for events as vague as ‘coffee raves’, times were a tad different. “We started as an audio story platform for the world to hear our stories. That world ended up being 40 listeners,” Khanna laughs, adding, “I then went café hopping in Andheri in 2017, asking for venue collaborations for physical shows. They looked at me like I’d lost the plot,” Khanna recalls. A familiar face would eventually bring things on track.
Singh (second from left), Khanna (centre) and comedian Samay Raina (extreme right) in a moment from one of the earliest shows by the group. PICS COURTESY/KOPAL KHANNA; Instagram
“We always wanted a stand-up comedian to host our shows to bring some comedic relief between the deeply emotional stories. My roommate at the time had been on a Hinge date with Kunal Kamra, who was doing fairly well for himself. We took a shot in the dark, and gave him a phone call to pitch the idea,” Khanna chuckles. The comedian would agree, on one condition — the show would have to be hosted at The Habitat, Khar.
“And so, our association with the venue began with open mics. Suddenly, stories that were locked away in people’s diaries had a spotlight over them,” Khanna shares. Among these early participants were Amandeep Singh, Mohammed Sadriwala, and Mazgaon-based and Internet-favourite new age poet, Yahya Bootwala. “I remember I performed a romantic poem at their second-ever open mic. Khanna came across as someone who had a balanced understanding of art and the business of art. It was something the scene needed desperately,” Bootwala recalls.
Poetry goes cool
Some digging in the depths of the Internet reveals that this writer might have more in common with Bootwala, whose first tryst with writing came as a student columnist for a city newspaper. “I was a student at RD National College [Bandra] when the opportunity came my way. Ever since, I’ve taken up copywriting, radio and eventually full-time writing jobs. Now that I look back, my writings have consistently explored the intricacies of human relationships across the mediums,” he reveals.
Ayushmann Khurrana performs at an open mic in Bandra. PIC COURTESY/TAPE A TALE ON YOUTUBE
Soon, Bootwala found himself on the other side of the news, this time for his viral poem, Shayad Woh Pyaar Nahi, which stands at 18 million views today. “Three days after the video was posted, I was at a mall when a woman pulled out her phone and showed me my own video. ‘Yeh aap hi hai?’ she asked. It was all so unexpected,” he fondly recalls. This weekend, the writer will give it back to his audience, quite literally with a performance that entails audience participation.
Conflict and resolution
Every fairytale must have an antagonist, and for the group, it came wearing a mask. “The pandemic was, without a doubt, our most challenging phase. The poetry and storytelling scene was so nascent that if we sat back for two years, people would have forgotten us forever,” Khanna shares. Through online fundraisers, online shows, and storytelling workshops, Khanna pulled through. “But it dealt us a tough blow, nevertheless. Many artistes flew back to their homes across the country, and never returned,” she rues.
Kopal Khanna
It would be apt to say the group made a full recovery, launching their own open mic venture, Ghar, and expanding to more than 30 cities across India. In March, Khanna received a nod from tinsel town when actor Ayushmann Khurrana crashed an open mic. “We received a call from his team asking if he could make a special appearance with a poem he had written just two days ago. Ayushmann has been a longtime supporter of storytelling in the city,” Khanna reveals.
To the next chapter
With almost all boxes ticked, we ask the duo what lies ahead of them. Bootwala hints at an upcoming web-series that he has been working on. “It’s a story set in 2017. Around the same time new art forms started mushrooming in Mumbai. It will hit close to home,” he teases. For Khanna, her next milestone lies in the hills of Dharamshala, where her new festival IP will debut later this year. Do we know more? Perhaps. But that’s a story for another day.
ON July 13; 6 pm to 8 pm
AT The Habitat, Hotel Unicontinental, Road 3, Khar West.
LOG ON TO @tapeatale on Instagram; district.in (for tickets)
ENTRY Rs 499 onwards
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