Story Wok Ep Five | A FEAST of Thai Stories

What would the world be without Tom Yum Goong and Pad Thai?

Not quite the same, says foodies and Story Wok producers - Krupa Vinayagamoorthy and Shereen Saif who also happen to be hosts of our brand-new episode.

Here’s presenting Episode 5, our tribute to land that has gifted the world many flavours, wonders and of course, stories!

Awaiting you is a spread of 3 Thai folk tales told by 3 FEAST tellers from 3 different countries. Dr Jongkit Wongpinit aka Dr Poom (Thailand) will warm your heart with an endearing tale of the Gourami fish. Bie (Indonesia) gets all animated with a fishy fable of two fisher friends and Priti Modyiyer (Singapore) gives good counsel with a story about giving credit when it is due.

In our country special Entrée, we chit chat with Dr Wajuppa Tossa, Thailand’s first International storyteller, and find out about how the storytelling scene (both physical and digital) has blossomed over the years. She also shares an interesting bite about the art of co-telling.

Us podcast producers raise a cacophony (or symphony as Krupa insists) in our Pantry segment sharing some ideas about using sound effects in storytelling. Great for those looking to engage better with your audiences, especially little ones.

We round off this wholesome episode by quizzing FEAST Director Jeeva Raghunath on bilingual telling and collaborating with native storytellers.

Featured Storytellers

DR. JONGKIT WONGPINIT 

Jongkit Wongpinit, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Surindra Rajabhat University, is a collector and researcher of local folktales. Inspired by her teacher Associate Prof. Dr. Wajuppa Tossa and professional international storyteller, and Jeeva Raghunath who gave her opportunities to tell stories, Dr Wongpinit began telling stories of her land, incorporating local folk tunes into her narrative. She tells children's stories throughout Vietnam, India, Malaysia, and Thailand. Her cultural exchange experiences have taken her to a variety of nations in Europe, America, and Asia.

M.Q TAQARRABIE 

Bie loves to tell stories in oral-telling, books, and films. She is a member of Ayo Dongeng Indonesia, a storytelling movement and community in Indonesia and one of the co-founders of The Nest, a storytelling movement for teenagers and adults by Ayo Dongeng Indonesia. 

She also loves costume parties if you’d like to invite her to one.

PRITI MODYIYER

Priti Modyiyer is an enthusiastic, engaging storyteller in Singapore. She uses stories as a medium to inspire change in her workshops, at schools, in libraries and storytelling festivals. She is a Certified Coach with diplomas in training and development as well as a number of degrees in Management.

Guests

WAJUPPA TOSSA

Wajuppa Tossa, holda a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey, USA. A retired associate professor from the Western Languages and Linguistics Department, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mahasarakham University, Wajuppa is a full-time storyteller trained under Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald. She has been telling stories since 1995 to revitalize the use of Isan dialects and folktales among young people to engender pride in local cultural heritage. She has also successfully used folktales and storytelling in her teaching of English and literature. She was a featured storyteller in several International Storytelling Festivals in many countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, USA, Norway, Scotland, UK, Iran, South Korea, Italy, to name but a few. She has also produced several International Storytelling Festivals in Thailand with Mahasarakham University, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Ban