Roopa Mohan presents Kasturba Gandhi

Our Storytelling Festival continues, as Roopa Mohan shares a Chautauqua performance as the wife of Mahatma Gandhi.

More than just the wife of the famed political and spiritual leader, Kasturba Gandhi was herself an activist, freedom fighter, and an inspirational figure. Roopa Mohan’s performance will capture Kasturba Gandhi’s trials and triumphs in her journey from child bride to freedom fighter in South Africa and India.

A Chautauqua-style performance has three components. First is the character sharing her tales in monologue, second the character answers questions from the audience, and third the presenter steps out of character and comments about things the character might not or could not have known.

About Roopa Mohan:

In addition to her performances as a Chautauqua Scholar, Roopa Mohan shares stories internationally with audiences of all ages, telling personal narratives, tall tales, myths and legends she heard growing up in South India. As a storyteller and docent for school groups at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, she tells folktales around objects in the museum’s extensive collection.

Roopa serves on the Board of the Storytelling Association of California, leading a project to bring storytelling to underserved schools, and performs with Asian American Storytellers in Action.

This free event received funding support from the Friends of the Menlo Park Library.

This is one of nine events in the 11th Annual Menlo Park Storytelling Festival. Join us for one event, or the whole series!

| Sun. Sept. 27 | Clara Kamunde: Afri-Crafty Tales | Belle Haven Library | All ages |
| ------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------- | -------- |
| Sat. Oct. 3 | Roopa Mohan presents Kasturba Gandhi | Menlo Park Library | Adults & teens |
| Sun. Oct. 18 | Hana Baba: Folktales from Sudan | Belle Haven Library | 6-Adult |
| Tues. Oct. 27 | Storytelling Meetup | Menlo Park Library | Adults & families |
| Thurs. Nov. 5 | John Weaver: Pumpkin Tales | Menlo Park Library | 4-Adult |
| Thurs. Nov. 12 | StoryFest! | Zoom | 6-Adult |
| Sun. Nov.15 | Storytelling Workshop | Menlo Park Library | 10-Adult |
| Mon. Nov. 16 | Jeff Gere: True Supernatural Tales of Hawaii | Menlo Park Library | 9-Adult |
| Sat. Nov. 21 | Tellabration! ™ | Menlo Park Library | 5-Adult |

About Storytelling:

• Storytelling is telling stories--without using a book.
• It's an ancient art form that predates libraries, and books, and writing.
• It's not necessarily for children!
• Traditional-style storytelling creates unique images in the mind of each listener.
• According to the National Storytelling Network, "storytelling is the interactive art of using words and actions to reveal the elements and images of a story while encouraging the listener’s imagination. In storytelling, the listener imagines the story.”
• According to the Storytelling Association of California (an organization dedicated to promoting storytelling as a living art form), storytelling is “orally passing on adventures, wisdom, experiences, surprise, history, laughter, beliefs and imagination.”

Saturday, October 03, 2026 | 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma St., Menlo Park, CA

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