Once Upon a Classroom - The Power of Storytelling in Early Learning

Janaki Sabesh is a storyteller, educator, actor, author, and TEDx speaker who uses narrative as a tool for learning, leadership, and transformation. Janaki Sabesh writes, performs and lives through stories. Her passion for stories began way back in her childhood when she turned a teacher for her imaginary class of students in her balcony every day after returning from school! 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 and P. Jayendra & P.C.Sreeram. 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, Vijay, Surya and directors like Shankar, Mani Ratnam, & Rajiv Menon among others. A graduate in Political Science from Lady Sriram College, Delhi, with a Masters in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi, Janaki has more than 20 years of experience in the media and communications space as part of Goldwire communication, JS films and Qube Cinema. Janaki’s engagement with children began with “The Learning Train” (1995), an album that simplified math through stories and songs. The engagement evolved over the years into ‘Golpo Tales’ (Golpo, meaning story in Bengali), which she founded in 2014, dedicated to sharing the magic of stories with children and adults. Janaki’s sessions are highly interactive, authentic and a unique blend of narration, music, drama and movement. She curates and facilitates workshops on effective story-telling techniques in communication and marketing, for educators, corporates and many professional networks. She is a visiting faculty at Great Lakes Institute of Management, where she teaches storytelling as part of Corporate Learning and Development. Her work integrates storytelling with leadership, pedagogy, and organisational culture, helping individuals and institutions transform how they communicate, learn, and lead.