A simple stage with two artistes who told stories of magic and mystical tales in Urdu. That was the artform Dastangoi, which flourished centuries back, but with time fell into oblivion.
In a bid to restore the artform, writer and director Mahmood Farooqui brought back Dastangoi a few years ago and this week Hyderabad witnessed a performance by artistes Rajesh Kumar and Rana Pratap. Dastangoi has no props, just two artistes in white clothes and a simple set-up, telling stories.
Rajesh Kumar says, “This was a very important artform back in the days because it made literature accessible to the common man, But somewhere down the line, people’s tastes changed.”
So, why the popularity now? Artiste Rana says, “People are always looking for something new and when Dastangoi was re-introduced, people were intrigued. Urdu is such a beautiful language that even if you don’t understand the meaning, the way it sounds is enough to grab your attention. People do find traditional stories interesting, but we also have contemporary stories,” explains Rajesh.
Talking about their early struggles Rana says, “When we started, it would take us at least two months to get the hang of the script as we had to grasp many new Urdu words. But we have improved with time.”
