We’re eager to welcome you to Austin and be a part of the fifth Varta storytelling festival. It will come to Austin for the third time! This event programming is supported in part by the Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment.
We are grateful to our partners Austin Public Library, Burrow Library, artists, and writers who are for helping us put together the event.
The South Asian storytelling festival will be held at the Austin Public Library’s Central branch (Demonstration area) from 1:30pm to 4:30pm. RSVP is free.
RSVP FOR VARTA
FREE South-Asia-inspired storytelling festival for the third time in Austin
Storytelling Performances
1. Storytelling Performance
Rituparna Ghosh is a world-traveled storyteller, author who grew up on a healthy diet of “2 stories & 2 stories” every night — feeding the story monster inside her. Rituparna has just carried her story bag all the way from India to New Jersey, and is hungry for new listeners in Austin at Varta!
2. Bento – We’re All Stars
This year’s Varta theme is Weave. We will talk about how heritage cultures merge lived experiences to make a third identity. Participants will get access to free resources available via the Zubaani podcast (season 4). We will share the latest Bento with stories on how we’re all connected. This issue will be available at the event as well.
3. An Ode to the Leading Ladies of Bollywood
Hindi Cinema, also known as Bollywood, has wowed diaspora audiences for 100+ years. We will share stories of its leading ladies with Kathak dancing on some of their incredible songs. Kathak dancers are bringing their art with the help of Sunaina Rao from Kathak Rythyms. The stories will be told in English by Austin-based tellers. The script for this story has been developed by Upasna Kakroo.
4. Blockprinting your postcards – art workshop: Learn about South Asian block printing techniques and make your own postcards. This art workshop is facilitated by illustrator Anushua Sinha. All materials will be provided at the event. Adults and kids can participate.
Meet the creatives and find signed books!
South-Asian creatives will be present at Varta and many of them are able to sign books. The Burrow Library Shop will be at Varta with books. Come along and immerse yourself in stories and creative spotlights.
1. Salma Hussain, Saadia Faruqi, Khushboo Patel in conversation with Upasna Kakroo: Meet award-winning authors, as they talk about their writing journeys. The session will be facilitated by writer Upasna Kakroo. This year, you can reserve signed copies in advance to avoid lining up.
2. The Artist’s way – How do we show love: Artist and author Anoosha Syed with lead an art workshop on how we show love. She will share her process for the recent picture book “Love in Every Language.”
3. Books for signing and purchase: The Burrow Library Shop will be at Varta through the day for books and signings. Please come and enjoy!
Music and Dance
1. Houston-based Iniya Rajan will be performing a Bharatnatyam dance.
2. Kathak dance performance in the event is facilitated by Kathak Rythyms (Austin and Dallas).
Storytelling Festival Podcast and South-Asian Heritage
1. Peerbagh will launch videos with a digital archive of South-Asian folk storytelling during the event.
2. Zubaani, Season 4: Co-hosted by Salma Hussain and Upasna Kakroo, info about the Zubaani podcast will be shared on the day of the event! Season 4 is themed, “weave” and will talk about South Asian children’s literature and parenting tips.
Who is attending?
Saadia Faruqi Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author of the Yasmin series and many award-winning books for children. She is editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret. She lives in Houston.
Khushboo Patel is the author of the picture book Stolen Colors and the middle grade novel-in-verse All That Chandni Knows. She was born in Vadodara and currently lives in Florida.
Salma Hussain writes poetry and prose in literary magazines. Her YA debut, It’s Not Over Yet is a funny, poignant and tender coming-of-age novel dealing with a health crisis. She lives in Toronto.
Anoosha Syed, is a Pakistani-Canadian author, illustrator based in Dallas. She has illustrated over 40 picture books including the award-winning That’s Not My Name!, Lost Stick, and The Salt Princess.
Anushua Sinha is an award-winning illustrator and designer from Seattle. Her work has been published by HarperCollins, Slate, Bento, Manjul Publishers, Tadoba Tiger Reserve, Crossword, and more.
Iniya Rajan is a dancer and senior at Carnegie Vanguard High School, Houston. She started learning Bharatnatyam from Dr. Sunanda Nair at the age of 5. Iniya also learns Mohiniyattam from Dr. Sunanda Nair.
Upasna Kakroo leads Peerbagh and is the author of Loal, a book of Kashmiri folk. Her upcoming YA book, Notes of Freedom will release in spring 2027.
Rituparna Ghosh founded Your Story Bag. She tells stories in English, Hindi, and Bengali — and has just carried her story bag from India to New Jersey, hungry for new listeners.
Sunaina Rao was born in Mumbai and raised in Texas. She has been a Kathak dancer for over 20 years and leads Kathak Rhythyms in Dallas and Austin.
Prizes and Awards!
1. We will offer some free gifts (art kits) to kids and families (after activities).
2. We will announce a donation of FREE books to Austin school libraries.
3. The Ash Rose Michael 2026 readers choice honors will be announced and some free copies will be available for our audience.
The photography during the event will be produced by Majed Imran, a Houston based artist. DJ Solanki will be hosting the event as its emcee. The artwork for the event is created by Chandrima Chatterjee. The research assistants for the project include Kanupriya Dhawan. Tiffany Reichenbacher and Sana Meghnani will be helping you during the event with questions, sharing prizes, and more.
Please share, connect, and meet with us on Dec 5th from 1:30 pm to 4:30pm. We can’t wait to bring this storytelling experience to you!
This beloved South Asian storytelling festival and event programming is supported in part by the Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment.
