The word Dastangoi refers to the art of storytelling, it is a compound of two Persian words Dastan and goi
which means to tell a Dastan. Dastans were epics, often oral in nature,
which were recited or read aloud and in essence were like medieval
romances everywhere.
Telling tales of adventure, magic and warfare,
Dastans mapped new worlds and horizons, encountered the unseen and
protected the hero through many travails and lovers as he moved on his
quest. The hero’s adventures could sometimes parallel the mystic quest,
at other times the story narrated a purely profane tale. In the process
of telling the story the narrators freely borrowed tropes and themes
from other stories, thus it was that Rumi’s Masnavi and
Arabian Nights both came to contain many stories from the Panchtantra
tradition.
While Dastans had many principals and many stories, the story
of Hamza began to stand out early on. Beginning with an unknown Arabic
version the Persian versions of the story narrated the life and
adventures of Amir Hamza, supposedly an uncle of the Prophet Mohammed.
Marked out by fairies, djinns and prophecies, Hamza travels to different
lands in his infancy and even as a young child shows great physical
prowess and daring. His fame spreads far and wide and he is called by
the chief minister of the King of Persia to aid the latter in his
troubles, encountering many adventures, beings, species and realms Hamza
remains triumphant and unvanquished, right to the end.
This unique art form of
storytelling would be revived here at Patna on August 26 by a group of
art lovers and professionals. A city based cultural outfit 'Navras
School of Performing Art' and department of art, culture and youth
programme, government of Bihar, would be jointly organising this first ever unique event in the city
'Dastangoi' is now being revived and popularized by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Hussain would be star attraction of the concert in the city. Farooqui is a Rhodes scholar, historian, author of 'Besieged voices from Delhi 1857' and director of 'Peepli Live'.
"Reviving a vanished tradition by actually performing the dastans is a challenge, as no living person has seen a dastango in action and records of performances are scarce. " said its main organiser Dr Ajit Pradhan.
Modernity and influence of the western way of life and language took its toll on "Dastangoi" popularity till it slowly faded out of the popular perception mainly due to lack of patronage and cultural politics of that time. Unlike folk forms or plain storytelling, Dastangoi is a formal style bound by his own conventions, characters and huge field of play, says Dr Pradhan who is a noted cardiac surgeon in the city.
"Its an art of composition and performance, wovering extemporaneously as one is narrating it and Dastangos perform without leaving their seats - trading costumes, music and stagecraft for sheer poetic jugglery. It's a battle of wits; a storytelling qawwal".
In the process of telling the story the narrators freely borrows tropes and themes from other stories, thus Rumi's 'Masnavi' and Arabian Nights may contain stories from Panchatantra tradition. "The 'Dastans' have every element of a modern Masala film. They speak of everything from whoring to trickery and betrayal. The usual stage with its music, cast of characters, fancy lights and costume is dispensed with and herein 'Dastangoi' relies entirely on wit, storytelling skill, energy and charisma of the story teller and above all how effectively he is able to rally the imaginative and visual faculty of the audience ultimately", Pradhan said.
Another attraction of the concert would be Rajasthani folk tale. 'Dastan - e - Chouboli' is a Rajasthani folk tale presented in the Dastangoi style. It's a tale of a beautiful princess who has vowed to marry only a man who can make her speak four times in a single night, the 'dastan' featuring imprisoned princess, proud Rajput Thakur's who shoot arrows through their wives nose rings, and cleaver women who outwit their menfolk, incorporates many stories within stories. - that will take you into realm of fantasy and leave you intoxicated.
'Dastangoi' is now being revived and popularized by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Hussain would be star attraction of the concert in the city. Farooqui is a Rhodes scholar, historian, author of 'Besieged voices from Delhi 1857' and director of 'Peepli Live'.
"Reviving a vanished tradition by actually performing the dastans is a challenge, as no living person has seen a dastango in action and records of performances are scarce. " said its main organiser Dr Ajit Pradhan.
Modernity and influence of the western way of life and language took its toll on "Dastangoi" popularity till it slowly faded out of the popular perception mainly due to lack of patronage and cultural politics of that time. Unlike folk forms or plain storytelling, Dastangoi is a formal style bound by his own conventions, characters and huge field of play, says Dr Pradhan who is a noted cardiac surgeon in the city.
"Its an art of composition and performance, wovering extemporaneously as one is narrating it and Dastangos perform without leaving their seats - trading costumes, music and stagecraft for sheer poetic jugglery. It's a battle of wits; a storytelling qawwal".
In the process of telling the story the narrators freely borrows tropes and themes from other stories, thus Rumi's 'Masnavi' and Arabian Nights may contain stories from Panchatantra tradition. "The 'Dastans' have every element of a modern Masala film. They speak of everything from whoring to trickery and betrayal. The usual stage with its music, cast of characters, fancy lights and costume is dispensed with and herein 'Dastangoi' relies entirely on wit, storytelling skill, energy and charisma of the story teller and above all how effectively he is able to rally the imaginative and visual faculty of the audience ultimately", Pradhan said.
Another attraction of the concert would be Rajasthani folk tale. 'Dastan - e - Chouboli' is a Rajasthani folk tale presented in the Dastangoi style. It's a tale of a beautiful princess who has vowed to marry only a man who can make her speak four times in a single night, the 'dastan' featuring imprisoned princess, proud Rajput Thakur's who shoot arrows through their wives nose rings, and cleaver women who outwit their menfolk, incorporates many stories within stories. - that will take you into realm of fantasy and leave you intoxicated.
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