IKS Certificate Course|S9|The Storytelling Legacy of Bharat:Understanding how Stories Shaped

The Storytelling Legacy of Bharat: Understanding how Stories Shaped and Sustained an Ancient Civilization
16 to 27 March 2026 (6:30pm to 8:00pm)

Gayana: The Oral Storytelling Tradition of the Rathwas of Central
Gujarat
Dr. Nidhi Shendurnikar, Independent Media Educator & Researcher,
Fr. Assistant Professor, Faculty of Journalism & Communication,
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat

About the Course and Outcomes
Stories are an essential part of the human civilization. Stories define and shape human identity, relationships and social existence. Stories create and sustain narratives that tells future generations about the legacies they have inherited from their ancients and the valuable lessons that they need to carry forward. Indigenous Knowledge Systems across the world are rich in storytelling. Before the advent of written texts and documented, formal means of communication; knowledge was transmitted from one generation to the another through storytelling. Narrating stories and preserving cultural knowledge is not merely a skill, an art but there is also a system and science to it which was mastered by Bharat and its people. Stories of Bharat are found in our religious and civilizational texts such as – Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Upanishads, Panchatantra, Hitopdesh, Kathasaritsagar to name a few. Stories and legends from the above mentioned knowledge texts have shaped and sustained the essence of
Bharatiyata and have ensured that civilizational and historical realities are never erased from our consciousness and we continue to embody the values that made Bharat a great civilization.
In context of Bharat being a predominantly oral tradition, stories and storytelling assume greater significance. Bharat has a wide diversity of storytelling forms some of which thrive in its hinterlands even today while some are on the verge of disappearing.
This certificate course will introduce participants to the rich legacy of Bharatiya Storytelling and will help them explore the following aspects in-depth:
 significance of stories to IKS
 examples and case studies of Bharatiya storytelling
 a cursory view of global storytelling traditions
 appreciate the diversity of stories from different corners of Bharat
 explore stories from different Indic Knowledge Traditions and Texts
 immerse into the art and craft of storytelling practised in Bharat
 learn how to integrate stories in the IKS framework in the classroom
 engage in research on storytelling traditions of Bharat
 disseminate values and ethics based on IKS stories to students
 appreciate the role of storytellers in an ancient civilization
 locate storytelling in the broader context of 64 kalas
 design student friendly IKS modules using stories
 explore platforms and resources that employ Bharatiya storytelling

Previously, NLD has successfully concluded three editions of the IKS Certificate Course, all of which received an overwhelming response from faculty members, research scholars, students, professionals & IKS enthusiasts across the country. Through this fourth edition, NLD
renews and reaffirms its commitment to quality IKS teaching and research in higher education.
 First Edition: Indian Knowledge Systems: Navigating the Extent and Scope
[February 3-14, 2025] in collaboration with GNVS Institute of Management, Mumbai
 Second Edition: Indian Knowledge Systems: Pathways and Trajectories [June 23- July 4, 2025] in collaboration with Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), Shaheed Mangal Pandey Govt. Post Graduate Girls College, Meerut
 Third Edition: Integrating Indian Knowledge Systems in Academia through NEP 2020: A Vision for Civilizational Reclamation [November 17-28, 2025] in collaboration with Indian Knowledge Systems Cell, Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, Sri Anandpur Sahib, Punjab
न चोरहार्यंन च राजहार्यंन भ्रातृभाज्यंन च भारकारर।
व्यर्येकृ तेवर्धतत एव तनत्यंतवद्या र्नंसवधर्नप्रर्ानम्।।

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