Dr Swetha Raghunathan (Swetha Prakash)
Who She Is
Dr. Swetha Raghunathan (also publishing as Swetha Prakash) is an author and educator whose work focuses on story‑based meaning‑making in schools. Her profile highlights:
- A background in traditional storytelling methods to support comprehension and retention.
- Author of multiple books, including Storytelling in Education, which explains why stories deepen understanding and engagement in the classroom.
- Founder of several initiatives:
- School Story Curriculum (est. 2023)
- Story Practices (a positive‑psychology and storytelling initiative for children)
- Learn Curve for Girls (storytelling and positive psychology for girls’ education)
What the School Story Curriculum Is
The School Story Curriculum is an educational framework that uses storytelling as the primary mode of teaching. Its core idea is that children:
- Learn better when content is embedded in narrative
- Retain concepts more deeply when they can connect emotionally
- Engage more fully when lessons feel like stories rather than abstract information
This approach draws from traditional story structures to help students make meaning, improve comprehension, and build long‑term memory.
How the Curriculum Works
The curriculum typically includes:
- Story‑based lesson plans for subjects like science, history, and language
- Narrative frameworks that help children connect ideas across topics
- Activities that turn students into storytellers, not just listeners
- Positive psychology elements, especially in the Learn Curve for Girls initiative
Teachers use stories as the backbone of instruction, then layer skills—critical thinking, vocabulary, creativity—on top of the narrative.
Why It Matters
Story‑based learning is powerful because:
- It mirrors how the human brain naturally organizes information
- It increases motivation and emotional connection
- It supports diverse learners, especially those who struggle with traditional instruction
- It builds empathy, imagination, and reflective thinking
Dr. Raghunathan’s work sits at the intersection of education, psychology, and narrative practice, making it relevant for modern classrooms seeking more holistic, child‑centered approaches.
(Profile Credits – Copilot)
Dr. R Lakshmi Priya
Dr. Lakshmi Priya
Dr. R. Lakshmi Priya, is Founder and CEO of Pachyderm Tales, a creative platform that facilitates translation, editing, compiling, cover designing and publication. She has worked with more than 200 books in 14 languages. Her ardent love for voicing women’s rights has led her to campaign for a global networking platform for women from all walks of life, cutting across spatial zones. She spearheads the campaign for recognising and arranging award shows as a part of women empowerment program. She is also passionate about translating Tamil literary works to English and vice versa, which feeds her passion for literature. She has translated Bava Chelladurai’s (Kathai Solli) Pangu Kariyum Pin Iravugalum into English, Swetha Prakash’s How Eland Twisted its Horns into Tamil and at present she has translated Haruki Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart into Tamil, for Ethir publishing house. At present she is working on translation of Abdul Razak Kurnah along with 4 other writers. She has published an anthology of Horror short stories published by Ukiyoto, a Canadian based publishing house. She is a visiting professor in Jenderal Soedirman University, Indonesia and Royal University of Bhutan. She has delivered lectures in more than 30 universities in India and abroad. She received a doctorate from Bharathidasan University on the title Decanonizing the sleuth: An Analysis of Postmodern Anti-Detective fiction, she is working on its publication at present.
Uma Aparna
Uma Aparna
Uma Aparna is CMO of Pachyderm Tales, who is a storyteller, editor and Tamil book compiler. She has worked in 200 book projects, including 5 books on transgender writers and gender dysphoria. She has unique experience of working with people who are above 50 years old. So far she has worked with geriatrics in motivating them towards creativity and published around 20 books. She works with grandparents and facilitates their communication to future generation through their stories. She conducts regular events and contests for children with various institutions including government bodies. Recently she worked on poetry and painting contest for school and college students with municipality. She has won Thai Ullam Award and Global Citizen Award for her community development activity. She has actively conducted Tamil Nadu Women Achiever’s Award and brought in around 30 civil services officers to be a part of the women empowerment campaign. Her book Kannadi, which translates into mirror belongs to tamil feminist collection comprising of stories of women from 5 to 80.
She has recently won prestigious cash award by Suvadu, Tamil Publication house for her short story on Body Shaming titled ‘Kundu Thevathai’. She is vocal about students education and had taught painting to differently abled students. She is a painter and a designer, who has done saree and jewellery designing before she joined Pachyderm Tales. She has also performed a long stint as journalist for ‘Om Shakti’ as a temple journalist, visiting various temples in Andhra Pradesh. Her articles on Lepakshi, Haimavathi and Penukonda were published and garnered positive reviews leading to many visiting these temples. This experience of interacting with women of India influenced her and she is at present writing a feminist narrative of different states that she visited during her travel.
Learn Curve for Girls 