India, July 13 -- Waiting excitedly for the show to begin in the cozy and intimate indoor auditorium of the Akshara, the somewhat young-looking audience spent most of their time taking pictures of the beautiful set-up on the small wooden stage, under dulcet lighting. A divan covered in a white sheet accompanied by two white bolsters sat in between two tall white candles, which heightened the intensity once the show began. Two decorative silver bowls had been placed on either sides of the divan, which all three pairs of Dastangos (narrators) drank water from, regularly. An enthusiastic and responsive audience helped the story-tellers gain confidence with occasional laughs and applause. What seemed to be a mixed audience, in terms of age, e...