Stories are Janaki Sabesh’s passion – performing, writing, living them. Janaki began her career telling stories on screen, through documentaries, tele-serials, corporate films and advertisements assisting directors like Rajiv Mehrotra, Simi Garewal, Sridhar Kshirsagar, P. Jayendra & P.C. Sreeram (JS Films). A graduate in Political Science from Lady Sriram College, Delhi, with a Masters in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi, she has more than 20 years of experience in the media and communications space as part of Goldwire communication, JS films and Qube Cinema. An accomplished actor, her body of work spans films across all South Indian languages and several modelling assignments. She has worked with stalwarts like Aishwarya Rai, Kamal Hassan, Madhavan, Mani Ratnam, Rajiv Menon & Shankar, among others. Janaki’s engagement with children began in 1995, when she produced an audio cassette, ‘The Learning Train’, that simplified the world of numbers through stories and songs. She founded her story telling initiative ‘Golpo - Tales Unlimited’ in 2014, ( Golpo, meaning story in Bengali) aimed at taking stories and storytelling to children and adults. She collaborates with Tulika Books, Karadi Tales and other publishers, to take their stories to various audiences and events at schools, colleges, corporates, and Lit Fests. Some of the Lit fests she has performed in, are; Bangalore Lit Fest, Bookaroo Lit Fest in Kohima, Delhi, Varanasi, The Hindu Lit Fest, Ooty Lit Fest, Vizag Junior Lit Fest, Kitaabo Lit fest in Jodhpur, Disha Lit fest in Kanpur to name a few. She has brought many a character to life on screen, as a successful voice-over artiste for cartoons. She has also lent her voice for commercials and documentaries. She has also worked on a Spotify original podcast series ‘Talking Tales from Tulika’, produced by Tulika Books. She works with Educators, Corporates and other Professional networks on using effective story telling techniques in communication and marketing. Janaki is a visiting faculty at Chennai Business School and conducts a course titled “ Lead yourself through Storytelling”. She is also The Chief Ideator at Lil Trails, an initiative to build a community among parents and children. Her sessions are highly interactive and a unique blend of narration, music, drama and movement. Janaki plays an active role in Chennai’s live performance community, experimenting with monologues, stand-up comedy and theatre. A simple question from a child during one of her sessions prompted her to write her first picture book ‘The Jungle Storytelling Festival’ published by Tulika Books, available in 9 languages . Her second picture book, released recently is titled ‘Paati’s Rasam’ which she has co-authored with her daughter and published by Karadi Tales. Janaki Sabesh believes : “A story told from the heart will always win more hearts”

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