Story of India’s Storytelling Tradition – Class 7 Arts Chapter 4 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 7ArtsChapter 4NCERT book: Kriti - Arts Class 7

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 4 of the NCERT Class 7 Arts book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 4: Story of India’s Storytelling Tradition (Theatre)

Introduction

The chapter is told by Kathanjali, a girl who loves telling stories. She has lived for thousands of years, seen kings and common people, and travelled across the world — yet her favourite place is Bharata.

She says that long ago people did not know stories, so she created storytellers who could remember and narrate them in interesting ways. Around the 2nd century BCE, when listeners grew bored, she introduced pictures, music, dance and puppets — creating many regional storytelling traditions.

In this chapter you learn about folk forms of storytelling in India, problems faced by the artists today, and well-known traditional storytellers.

Key Ideas

Harikathe

Began in the 12th century in southern Bharata.

Inspired by Narada Muni, who travelled narrating stories of Lord Vishnu.

The Bhagavatar community told stories through songs and dance; the form was interactive.

It narrates stories of Lord Hari, hence the name Harikathe. The storyteller is called Harikathe Dasa.

Popular in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Gururajulu Naidu (born 1931) — a multilingual, multitalented storyteller given the title Karnataka Harikathe Pitamaha. Traditional Harikathe went on all night; he revolutionised it into a 90-minute performance. His performances include Bhakta Markendeya, Bhakta Siriyala, Mahi Ravana, Maya Bazaar, Lava Kusha and more. He also acted in films like Mooruvare Vajragalu and Madhu Malathi.

Kaavad Katha

Over 500 years old, from Rajasthan.

Made by the Bhaats, a craftspeople community, so that common people who could not read the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas could understand them through pictures (pictures need no language).

Storytellers (Kaavadiyas) travel village to village with the Kaavad, telling stories in the local language with songs.

They also tell Panchatantra and Hitopadesha stories for children, and today add socially relevant messages like educating girls and maintaining hygiene.

The picture box is made of mango wood, with 8 to 16 parts.

Khojaram ji — from Kumar Dhani near Jodhpur, Rajasthan, practising Kaavad Katha for over 40 years, one of the few surviving Kaavadiyas. He says people once believed in gyan-daan-bhagwan: the Kaavad, like a temple, came to them with knowledge from the stories of Gods. Now they visit the jajman's house once a year, and Kaavadiyas also keep a book recording people living, dead and newly born in the families of the neighbourhood.

Other picture-storytelling traditions

Phad paintings, Rajasthan — stories of the Puranas, kings and their battles, and praise of local deities like Pabuji and Devnarayan.

Thangka — Ladakh, Sikkim, Jammu, Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh — stories from Buddhist scriptures, lives of saints and local folk stories.

Problems faced today

These traditions are becoming rare. Young people are not learning them, and with television and smartphones there are fewer listeners. When storytellers are gone, their stories go with them.

Why save them?

These are oral traditions, passed down through generations. Everyone knows the Ramayana and Mahabharata because of them. Even a person who cannot read can learn values for life. Written books or computer data can be destroyed in seconds, but stories in oral tradition live on in people.

Activities in the Chapter

Take a story from your English or Social Science textbook and narrate it with pictures.

Become a storyteller! — connect the traditional paintings given into your own story, change their order if you like, and narrate it in a sing-song tone, with dance steps, songs or rhyming words. Present to the class and share feedback.

Key Terms

Harikathe (हरिकथा) — stories of Lord Hari through song and dance

Harikathe Dasa (हरिकथा दास) — the Harikathe storyteller

Bhagavatar (भागवतर) — community that performed Harikathe

Kaavad (कावड़) — painted wooden picture box

Kaavadiya (कावड़िया) — Kaavad storyteller

Bhaats (भाट) — craftspeople community of Rajasthan

Phad (फड़) — scroll painting of Rajasthan

Thangka (थंगका) — Buddhist painted scroll

Oral tradition (मौखिक परम्परा)

Jajman (जजमान) — patron family

Folk form (लोक विधा)

Storytelling (कथावाचन)

Artists & Traditions Mentioned

Narada Muni (inspiration for Harikathe)

Gururajulu Naidu — Karnataka Harikathe Pitamaha

Khojaram ji — Kaavadiya from Kumar Dhani, Jodhpur

Connect to Your Life

Grandparents' stories, festival tales and bedtime stories are all part of oral tradition. Try teaching a chapter to a friend using pictures and songs — it helps you remember it too.

Common Mistakes

Calling Harikathe a North Indian tradition — it grew in the south (AP, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu).

Mixing up Kaavad (wooden picture box) with Phad (painted scroll) — both are from Rajasthan but are different forms.

Thinking Thangka tells Puranic stories; it tells stories from Buddhist scriptures and saints' lives.

Assuming these forms only tell old stories; Kaavadiyas now include social messages too.

Let's Reflect

If you created a new form of storytelling, what would you add to make it more interesting?

If you were in the government, list two things you would do to save these art forms.

Compare a storyteller you know with an older format you read about.

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Indian storytelling grew by adding pictures, music, dance and puppets to oral narration.
✓Harikathe (12th century, South India) tells stories of Lord Hari through song and dance; Gururajulu Naidu made it a 90-minute form.
✓Kaavad Katha of Rajasthan uses a mango-wood picture box so people who could not read could understand the epics.
✓Phad (Rajasthan) and Thangka (Himalayan regions) are other picture-based storytelling traditions.
✓These oral traditions are fading and need to be learnt and carried forward because they keep culture alive.

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Read Kathanjali's narration aloud in character to set the storytelling mood.
→Show images of a Kaavad box, a Phad scroll and a Thangka and let children compare them.
→Play a short Harikathe clip and discuss how song, dance and interaction keep audiences engaged.
→Let groups turn a Social Science or English lesson into a picture story and narrate it.
→Run the 'Become a storyteller' activity with rhyming lines, songs or dance steps.
→Invite a local storyteller or grandparent to share a traditional story in class.
→Discuss why these art forms are fading and brainstorm ways to save them.

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student explain how Harikathe got its name and where it is popular?
Can the student describe Kaavad Katha and who created it?
Can the student match Phad and Thangka with their regions and themes?
Can the student suggest practical steps to protect dying art forms?
Can the student narrate a story using pictures, song or movement?

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