The lights come on at Delhi’s LTG Auditorium, revealing solely a white mattress on the stage. Two girls, every wearing white salwar kameez, are seated on it. A quantity of youngsters 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 — typically damaged by a number of laughs from the gang.
Dastangoi is an historical Urdu storytelling tradition that developed across the adventures of Amir Hamza, recognized for his valour and mentioned to be the uncle of Prophet Muhammad. The artwork kind (‘dastan’ means story and ‘goi’ means to inform), which originated in Persia, grew to become widespread within the Indian subcontinent within the nineteenth century. However, with the dying of famend Dastango Mir Baqar Ali in 1928, the shape pale 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 kind in India, learn his works. “His multi-volume research material helped me understand these medieval tales and the linguistic world they inhabited,” remembers Mahmood. It prompted him to conceptualise the primary modern dastangoi efficiency, alongside along 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 a substitute of one, and it was a proper stage present. Since then, Mahmood has travelled throughout the globe performing for brand spanking new audiences. This 12 months, the trendy revival of Dastangoi completes 25 years. It has now advanced 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 based mostly on the Jallianwala Bagh bloodbath. Veteran dastango Namita Singhai has lately written a dastan on Jawaharlal Nehru, and Poonam Girdhani wrote Dastan Haroun Ki based mostly 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 youngsters, similar to 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 kind alive. The challenges vary from lack of funds and sponsorships to logistical constraints of reaching a wider viewers. As Mahmood factors out, Dastangoi isn’t just 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 kind will not be financially viable, the workforce 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 may resonate with the modern viewers. Thus, through the years, the Dastangoi Collective has tailored a variety of folktales similar to Dastan-e-Chouboli and Dastan Raja Vikram Ki, to literary works similar to 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 number of. Even epics have been introduced into the Dastangoi format, similar to Dastan-e-Karn from the Mahabharata and Dastan Jai Ramji Ki based mostly on A.Ok. Ramanujan’s 300 Ramayanas.
Poonam Girdhani and Nusrat Ansari in Dastan Alice Ki based mostly on Alice in Wonderland
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy: Dastangoi Collective
There have additionally been some distinct dastans, similar to Dastan-e-Billi as a tribute to artwork critic and historian B.N. Goswamy, based mostly on his e-book 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 standard issue to all dastongois. But the writing course of for every could 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 educational engagements, their outreach has prolonged to colleges and faculties throughout India. Currently, the Collective is growing dastans on numerous 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.
