Ask an eight-year-old what he would like for his birthday-a book or a superhero toy-and the answer would be obvious. Fed on a sumptuous diet of cartoons on television, he will even give you half-a-dozen reasons why a miniature Superman or Spiderman is "cooler" than a book. But what about general knowledge? Not to worry, he will say. The world is at his fingertips, he can find out anything he wants to at the click of a mouse. Books, in other words, are passe.

TRAPPING MINDS: The Storytellers with their spellbound audience

Daleep Kakkar, a theatre actor, understands the feeling. So do Mira, his wife, Kajol Sengupta, a retired English professor of Presidency College, and Arundhati Gupta, a public relations consultant. Shaken by the destruction of the World Trade Center in the US, the Kolkata-based friends could not help but reflect on how the visual impact of such incidents had degenerated and desensitised the global consciousness. But far from merely debating on the issue, they decided to do something about it. United by a common cause and confronted with the same problem, they found the answer in books.

Inspired in particular by the Westcar Papyrus, which dates back to 1800-1700 b.c. and is one of the earliest recorded Egyptian documents, they called themselves the Storytellers. And much as the sons of King Cheops in the document, who entertained their father with stories, the four began regaling those whom they met with simple tales of the righteousness of Ram, the adventures of Hercules, the moral values in the Panchatantra and so on. Their main objective, as Mira points out, was to revive the magic of stories and inculcate the habit of reading. "Modern life has taken away the child's innocent laughter," rues Sengupta. "His sense of joy has gone, his imagination is curled up in a corner."

The Storytellers now aim to undo this damage. And this, to them, means freeing impressionable young minds from the constraints imposed by the "terrible television, the cunning computer and the horrid homework". It is a frontal fight against the choking effects of cartoon networks, the raucousness of MTV, the "jhatkas and matkas" of music videos and the time-gobbling chat rooms on the Internet. Significantly, children are not the only ones they are targeting. As Sengupta points out, even parents and grandparents are not what they used to be. They are also addicted to television soaps and need to be reminded of the pleasures of reading.

The Storytellers started their mission in November last year and are going about their task by narrating stories in verse or in prose. Musical and pictorial accompaniments are used, but not always. Whether it is the mentally and physically challenged children at the Institute of Cerebral Palsy in Kolkata, private birthday parties or adult groups, the Storytellers only perform live before an audience. In keeping with their expectations, children are showing interest. Like six-year-old Vinayak Kamal Ghosh. The Class I student attended a tale-spinning session of the Storytellers and was so fascinated that he wanted his mother to take him to the next one as well.

"When children listen to stories, they often identify with the characters' experiences," explains Sengupta. "It teaches them the right behaviour, values and ethics in an entertaining way." Little wonder then that the Storytellers are flooded with invitations from bookstores, montessories, schools and NGOs to help boost their attempts to promote reading. Although the foursome has decided to take money at commercial dos and private parties, Gupta is quick to add that they will not charge the NGOs working with children. "It is a question of commitment," she says. "It's about igniting young minds, firing their imagination."

With offers pouring in, the quartet may have to extend its weekend performances to other days of the week as well. They are not averse to the idea of enlisting the services of other raconteurs when required. In fact, a number of like-minded people, from businessmen to teachers, have shown keenness to be part of the team. "We even had a golfer ringing us up to find out if she could join us," says Mira. While the core team will remain intact, the extended help would enable the Storytellers to reach out further. What matters, ultimately, is that their book club gains momentum. A sure indicator of that will be the time, hopes Daleep, when more and more children want books, not video games or superhero toys, as gifts.