Niniti and the Storm
by Shilpa Shah
I am recently back from my annual trip to Iceland, volunteering with Orca Guardians. It took nine days of boat trips with not a single sighting of orcas before I got to see my favourite cetaceans. One of the first families we spotted was Aurora and her offspring, including young Niniti. It was a surprise to see them in the summer, as they usually visit much earlier in the year! It was a calm bright day, the kind where the sky melts effortlessly into the horizon. The sun was glinting off the lapping waves and the orcas were mostly resting, moving slowly and coming up to breathe one by one in a regular pattern.
I had just finished writing and recording a children’s story featuring Niniti, a story of courage and overcoming fear… to see Niniti and family unexpectedly was absolutely magical. At one point I got to see Niniti turn sideways and swim alongside the boat and it brought tears to my eyes.
Here is the story – enjoy!
Where the story came from:
The coronavirus pandemic seems to have largely spared small bodies, but with worries about loved ones, school routines turned upside down and a restricted access to the outdoors and play, the impact on children and young people’s mental and emotional wellbeing has been significant. Stories have been used traditionally to help us, whatever our age, to process how we feel.
I originally wrote Niniti and the Storm to soothe and delight children (aged 7+) and families during this pandemic time. However, we feel the themes facing fear and uncertainty and the importance of togetherness have a timeless quality. At Orca Guardians, we see how the bond between young orcas and their mothers and families is at the heart of how orca societies function. Whilst the story is fictional, the details included about how orcas live around Western Iceland are real and inspired by Orca Guardians’ important work. You can read about the time I first met Niniti, Aurora and family in this blog from May 2017.
Thank yous!
Thanks to Helen Iles for helping me edit the story and the initial recordings with enthusiasm and courage. Helen is an author and film-maker and she supports women to write from their deepest knowing. Thanks to Paul Herrington for the beautiful original music and for patient and creative sound editing. Paul is a musician and producer who supports wellbeing and positive mental health through creativity. The video creation for Youtube is by Marie Mrusczok of Orca Guardians, featuring her own stunning photographs.
Thanks to friends in Iceland, especially to Marie, Gísli, Jo, Karl and Sara of Orca Guardians and Láki Tours. Thanks to the children who first listened to this story in March 2020; Trishul, Theeran, Hari, Lucy, Azra, Yusuf, Rafi and Charlie. Thanks to everyone who read and offered feedback on the first draft – especially my niece and nephew Akashi and Shivum.
We’d love to hear from you
Whatever your age, we’d love to hear what you feel when listening to the story and what you think about it. Please email info@orcaguardians.org.
If you want to support Orca Guardians’ work (all led by volunteers), you can consider ‘adopting’ Niniti’s mother Aurora or another Icelandic orca!
Niniti and the Storm © Shilpa Shah, 2020. Original music © Paul Herrington, 2020. All rights reserved.
