The lights come on at Delhi’s LTG Auditorium, revealing solely a white mattress on the stage. Two ladies, every wearing white salwar kameez, are seated on it. A quantity of kids within the viewers wait excitedly to observe an hour-long present of Dastan Alice Ki on a sultry Sunday night. As the ladies take turns retelling Lewis Carroll’s well-known basic, Alice in Wonderland, in pure Urdu, there’s full silence — usually damaged by a couple of laughs from the group.
Dastangoi is an historical Urdu storytelling tradition that developed across the adventures of Amir Hamza, recognized for his valour and stated to be the uncle of Prophet Muhammad. The artwork type (‘dastan’ means story and ‘goi’ means to inform), which originated in Persia, grew to become standard within the Indian subcontinent within the nineteenth century. However, with the demise of famend Dastango Mir Baqar Ali in 1928, the shape light into oblivion.
First efficiency
The nice Urdu critic and author Shamsur Rahman Faruqi had labored extensively on Tilism-e-Hoshruba and Dastan-e-Amir Hamza. In the early 2000s, Mahmood Farooqui, who revived the artwork type in India, learn his works. “His multi-volume research material helped me understand these medieval tales and the linguistic world they inhabited,” recollects Mahmood. It prompted him to conceptualise the primary modern dastangoi efficiency, alongside together with his writer-director spouse Anusha Rizvi, in 2005. Paying cautious consideration to units, costumes and efficiency components, the landmark present, which was held in New Delhi, had Farooqui presenting an excerpt from Tilism-e-Hoshruba with theatre artiste Himanshu Tyagi.
The present made two important improvements. Two performers have been introduced in as an alternative of one, and it was a proper stage present. Since then, Mahmood has travelled throughout the globe performing for brand new audiences. This 12 months, the fashionable revival of Dastangoi completes 25 years. It has now developed right into a collective with devoted practitioners (dastangos), many of whom are distinctive theatre artistes.
“Being a dastango isn’t as simple as memorising a script. They must research, draw from multiple sources, weave together stories, improvise during a performance, and engage the audience,” says Mahmood.
From Dastan-e-Manto
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: Dastangoi Collective
So, Ainee Farooqui, a Ph. D. scholar at Princeton University, has written Dastan Shahid-e-Azam Bhagat Singh and Dastan-e-Jallian primarily based on the Jallianwala Bagh bloodbath. Veteran dastango Namita Singhai has not too long ago written a dastan on Jawaharlal Nehru, and Poonam Girdhani wrote Dastan Haroun Ki primarily based on Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories in addition to dastans on the lives of B.R. Ambedkar and the Buddha. Mahmood has now gone a step additional and written dastans particularly for kids, reminiscent of Dastan Alice Ki and Dastan Little Prince Ki. “The idea is to introduce young audiences to Dastangoi, making the art form inclusive, engaging and sustainable across generations,” he provides.
It shouldn’t be straightforward to maintain a conventional artwork type alive. The challenges vary from lack of funds and sponsorships to logistical constraints of reaching a wider viewers. As Mahmood factors out, Dastangoi is not only leisure, however a robust medium for political and social commentary. “In today’s political climate, expressing dissent or raising provocative ideas can be fraught with challenges,” he says. While the artwork type might not be financially viable, the crew continues to carry out ardour. “Our reward lies in the connection we form with our audiences, in their smiles and tears,” provides Mahmood.
The Collective additionally felt the necessity to create new dastans that will resonate with the modern viewers. Thus, through the years, the Dastangoi Collective has tailored a variety of folktales reminiscent of Dastan-e-Chouboli and Dastan Raja Vikram Ki, to literary works reminiscent of Ghare Bhaire, Dastan-e-Ret Samadhi and biographical narratives like Dastan-e-Irfan-e-Buddh, Dastan-e-Gandhi, Dastan-e-Ambedkar and Mantoiyat to call a couple of. Even epics have been introduced into the Dastangoi format, reminiscent of Dastan-e-Karn from the Mahabharata and Dastan Jai Ramji Ki primarily based on A.Ok. Ramanujan’s 300 Ramayanas.
Poonam Girdhani and Nusrat Ansari in Dastan Alice Ki primarily based on Alice in Wonderland
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: Dastangoi Collective
There have additionally been some distinct dastans, reminiscent of Dastan-e-Billi as a tribute to artwork critic and historian B.N. Goswamy, primarily based on his ebook Indian Cats. Says Mahmood, “While we’ve tried to preserve the traditional fabric of the Dastan, it’s admittedly challenging to recreate the fantastical imagery and grandeur of Tilism-e-Hoshruba. That said, the traditional Dastans remain particularly special for connoisseurs of the Urdu language.”
According to Mahmood, poetry is a typical issue to all dastongois. But the writing course of for every might differ. Essentially, the subject or the topic dictates the character of the writing. For occasion, within the Mahabharata there are tales inside tales; therefore, the epic lends itself to poetry and many renditions and translations. On the opposite hand Dastongois on Bhagat Singh or Ambedkar includes an easy narration. It’s all about making them accessible and entertaining,” he provides.
Through workshops and tutorial engagements, their outreach has prolonged to colleges and faculties throughout India. Currently, the Collective is creating dastans on various themes including one on Guru Dutt and Kabir. “With each new work, the idea is to explore, innovate and deepen the form, ensuring that Dastangoi remains a living, breathing art in the contemporary world,” says Mahmood.
