Dastangoi: The forgotten art of Urdu storytelling
Since time immemorial, India has had a rich tradition of telling stories through various formats. Be it epics and folklore or moral storytelling through drama, music and dance and art, the form has grown and evolved over the years. One such tradition of storytelling is Dastangoi. Derived from two Persian words, ‘Dastan’ which means ‘tale’ and ‘goi’ which means ‘to tell’, Dastangoi is done in Urdu language. In parts of the Arab world countries as well as Persia and India, traditional bards known as ‘Dastango’ performed out these oral tales.
How and when did Dastangoi start?
A 13th century Urdu oral storytelling art form, Dastangoi has its origins in pre-Islamic Arabia. The Persian style of this art form flourished during the 16th century. Dastan-e- Amir Hamza, a 19th century work containing 46 volumes of Amir Hamza's adventures, is one of the oldest printed references to Dastangoi. Performed by one or two people, the technique relies on the storyteller’s voice. Dastangos often adopted themes and topics from other stories like the Panchtantra and narrated stories to enthral the audiences with their antics and voice modulation.
How is Dastangoi performed?
Usually performed in a silver moon setting, during a Dastangoi performance, a throne is kept on a crystal clear marble floor, with a pan-daan and thick cushions on both sides. The throne is adorned by a person dressed in velvety white robes. With a small gesture, a guy brings Dastango water in a gleaming silver bowl. He or she drinks a few sips of water, clears the throat, and then starts spinning yarn while narrating the story.
How did Dastangoi come to India?
Around the 16th century, the Dastan as an artistic genre arrived in India. It is thought to have arrived in the Deccan region of southwestern India first, with Mughal emperor Humayun returning from Iran. The Dastangoi slowly began to assimilate Indian culture and heritage, and artists began to perform in Urdu. Emperor Akbar, Humayun's son, was noted for his aim of uniting Hinduism and Islam into one world religion and for his promotion of the arts and literature in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His efforts led to an increased popularity of the art from.
It became popular especially in Delhi and Lucknow during the 19th century. Dastans grew into an adventure including djinns, exotic monsters, demons, parees (fairies), princesses, magicians, wicked kings, and wizards after being heavily influenced by the verse epic, Shahnamah. At least one of these four arts is used by a good dastan: razm (warfare), bazm (elegant gatherings, elaborate feasts, and merriment), tilism (magic), and ayyari (music) (trickery). A great one, such as Amir Hamzah's dastan, uses all four as needed to relate the account of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, Hamzah ibn Abd-ul Muttalib.
Who revived Dastangoi in India?
The efforts of eminent Urdu poet and critic Shamsur Rahman Farooqi, his nephew, writer and filmmaker Mahmood Farooqui, and his pupils, revived Dastangoi in 2005, else it would have been lost to Indian memory. Since the beginning of this revival movement, Mahmood Farooqui and his fellow actors have performed in locations all over India and overseas. The steps of the iconic Jama Masjid in Old Delhi and the Mohatta Palace in Karachi, Pakistan, have been used as locations for performing Dastangoi in the past.