Background: In the traditional undergraduate curriculum, majority of the hours is dedicated to passive lectures where students are mere listener. Emphasis on self-learning is restricted to reading some of the topics from the book and Internet. With reference to this, storytorial was introduced as an innovative learning method mainly concentrating on self-learning, communication skills, and retrieval of concept. A story was illustrated and enacted to a topic in physiology during tutorial hour, hence the name storytorial. Methods: This method of learning was introduced to the I MBBS 2018–2019 batch, comprising 200 students. They were divided into small groups; topics and list of students to perform storytorial were displayed in the notice board 15 days before the session. On the day of session, the selected 10 students performed a story that illustrated the physiology topic assigned to them. Time allotted for the presentation was 20–30 min. The students enacted the story, and one of them narrated how the story is linked to the topic. Later, a case study related to the topic was given, and the students solved the case in the presence of an in-charge teacher for that batch. The session lasted for 1 h. Likewise, all the students were involved in the performance with a different topic in separate sessions according to the time table. At the end of all the sessions, subjective feedback of storytorial from the students was taken using 5-point Likert scale and computed. Results: The analysis of feedback on 5-point Likert scale with point 5 as strongly agree and 1 as strongly disagree was as follows: increased confidence and learning – 4.468, better understanding of concept – 4.058, better memory retention and retrieval – 4.28, and enjoyed and liked the sessions – 4.37. 90% of the students recommended storytorial for the next batch. Conclusion: This innovative method is an extended role-play where the concepts are illustrated in the form of story which helps the students to understand and remember the medical concepts by self-learning approach.

Background: Mental illness is multifactorial in its occurrence varying from place to place, thereby listing different opinions among communities. Religious, cultural beliefs play an important role in the perception of mental illness. This study aims to understand the community perceptions of urban, rural, and tribal areas and associate with sociodemographic factors. Aims: (1) To explore the knowledge, attitude, cultural beliefs, and practices with regard to mental illness among urban, rural, and tribal population of Mysuru. (2) To compare the knowledge, attitude, cultural beliefs, and practices with regard to mental illness among urban, rural and tribal population of Mysuru. Materials and Methods: Study design: It was a cross-sectional study conducted between January 2021 and March 2021 in urban (n = 100), Rural (n = 100), and Tribal (n = 100) field practise areas in Mysuru district among participants aged >18 years. A semi-structured questionnaire regarding their attitude, beliefs, and understanding about mental illness was drafted, and data were obtained from participants after taking their informed consent. Ethical clearance was obtained from the institute. Statistics: Chi-square analysis was done to see the association between sociodemographic variables and perceptions. Results: Participants held different opinions across three different zones. A significant association was seen between their age, place, education, occupation, and type of family with their perception about mental illness. Conclusion: We can conclude that age, place, education, and occupation play an important role in the varied perception regarding mental illness. Continuous and focused interventions have to be done among the community for a positive acceptance and reducing stigma toward mental illness.