Asst VP to a storyteller, Aditi Dewra uses teabags and chewing gum to tell artsy tales

Five minutes into our conversation and Aditi Dewra confesses the one problem she has never been able to get rid of. “I am an ardent follower of my heart; it has a strong hold over me,” says the 30-year-old, who followed her heart’s advice and quit her job as the Assistant Vice-President of an IT company. That’s when she decided to go by ‘Ady’ full time.

Quirky art: A mouse turned into a teapot in the hands of Ady the storyteller

Ady the storyteller is the handle she goes by on Facebook, where she unleashes her creative prowess with everyday mundane material like chewing gum, tea bags and more, and turns them into art. Building a story around these things is what Ady is all about. The Hyderabad-based youngster simply says, “All I try to do is find art in routine,” as simply as she reimagines a tea bag as a flying lantern and a computer mouse as a teapot.

Work talk: Dewra conducts workshops on Creative Thinking, Storytelling, Creative Hindi Writing Workshops, Finding Art in Routine workshops and more

Sounds simple, but isn’t simply what we struggle with in our complex lives? — This is the thought that runs through our mind as we scroll through Aditi’s page and see how she uses material, draws around them, turns them into art and weaves a story. And she is gaining popularity by conducting workshops, where she trains kids and adults to imbibe the same simplicity. “I tell them that I’m not going to teach them anything new and that this is just a fun activity,” she says.

I teach people something ordinary that they already know and help them find joy and art in routine

Aditi Dewra

In October, she conducted her first workshop at the co-working space, Jxtapose. She has another three to four workshops lined up this month and has conducted several at Our Sacred Space in Secunderabad already. “Once I even had students of Hamstech (a design institute) attend the workshop upon the recommendation of their faculty. I was so nervous and though they told me that it helped them immensely, I was just glad that they did not walk off midway,” the St Francis alum jokes, remaining grateful for the several requests she receives on her FB page to conduct workshops.

Pin perfect: Aditi has studied at De Montfort University in the UK and has worked in the US

Another thing Aditi is grateful for is that she receives no nasty comments, “which could also mean that people may just be ‘liking’ my posts, but not necessarily be reading them,” she thinks out loud. But all this aside, she is surprised by the reach of her page. “Statistics show that a lot of people from Nepal view my work, guys like my posts more than girls, and teenagers like my work the most,” she shares.   

Ice breakers: Before she conducts her storytelling workshops, she conducts simple exercises like blowing soap bubbles just to refresh their minds

Aditi’s future plans are to start her own stationery brand by the same name, conduct more workshops and try to experiment more with various products. And as of now, she remains grateful for all that’s happening, and thanks to her heart’s sound advice, she has no regrets whatsoever.

Right track: One of Aditi'sartworkk for her page Ady the story teller

Check her work out at facebook.com/adystories/