Sunday Suspense: Radio, Podcasts and the art of storytelling
Rediscovering the art of storytelling: how audio narratives foster human connection and development in a digital age.
Storytelling is something that is seen as one of the most powerful ways of communication through which thinking capacity can be developed in humans, specifically in children, making human resource development easier.
I have always been fascinated by storytelling for its ability to develop ethics, morals, and human values more than anything else. What fascinates me in storytelling is that it certainly helps one to understand things better without sticking to the mobile or TV screen or even book, rather just by attentively listening to it.
Sunday Suspense is one of a kind of programs that has rejuvenated that lost field of interest which had been fascinating me since my childhood when I used to listen to radio programs from various stations and channels, including All India Radio.
We used to listen to news coverage, mostly international news and affairs, from channels like Radio Tehran, BBC, Voice Of America, Bangladesh Betar etc. apart from our own All India Radio.
Prior to the late 2000s, people used to rely on radio and newspapers in India, especially in rural areas where hardly there were TVs available for live-streaming or various programs. Most of the people, even those who weren't doing any job, used to plan and manage their daily activities according to the programs presented on Radio.
We used to go to school after listening to a news bulletin at 8:50. So, apart from enjoying various programs on Radio, we used to update ourselves according to radio. There used to be dramas, songs, song dedication programs, programs for farmers, teachers apart from news reading and weather reports and employment news.
But suddenly, things have changed so quickly that people hardly have time to reflect on those beautiful moments. With the dominance of social media and increasing number of media houses all of a sudden it feels like the world is a changed one.
People hardly get time to think that they're human. Constant use of mobile, laptop would definitely cause serious health problems in the next few decades, maybe before that.
But, according to various recent research reports and papers, people are trying to get away from those shackles of social media. They're trying to keep phones away as much as they can. Considering the impact on health issues, I think people are doing some really impressive things by using podcasts and redefining the ways of storytelling. Keeping it in mind, people have made something positive about this thing.
They're leaving mobiles, TVs etc. to remain healthy. Podcasts, thanks to advancements in technology, are receiving overwhelming responses worldwide.
From the city of art and culture Kolkata, a weekly radio program, also available on YouTube, is being streamed to encourage storytelling. And, for that purpose, I think tens of thousands of people have started to use this way of listening to beautiful stories, which is comparatively very easy and accessible than to watch anything on TV or mobile.
I think it will also boost the confidence among the Gen-Z who think that technology can do anything anywhere and whatever technology does has something positive in a way or another. So, I find it more heartwarming when I see young children going for an audio version than to watch.
As of now, Sunday Suspense is available only for the Bengali story lovers, releasing at least a story every Sunday. The land of Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul, Satyajit Ray and numerous other world renowned Bengalis is always ready to welcome such things. They love their way of storytelling.
In modern times, the rise of podcasts has made a positive impression on the quality of contents which binds them to a particular story when most of the people get impatient by watching just a 10 sec video.
