Lead Dastango
Mahmood Farooqui
Creator & Director
"In August 2002, I had my first encounter with the Dastan-e-Amir Hamza."
داستان گو
The Tellers
The Dastangos
The teller is the whole theatre. Meet the voices who carry Dastangoi forward, from the last master of the old line to a new generation trained over two decades.
The Collective
An apprenticeship, re-established
For centuries Dastangoi passed from master to pupil by ear and example, a living chain that fell silent when the last classical teller, Mir Baqar Ali, died in 1928. When Mahmood Farooqui revived the form in 2005, joined early on by the actor Danish Husain, he did more than perform: he began to teach, rebuilding the very apprenticeship that had once kept the art alive.
Two decades on, more than fifty Dastangos have been trained. They come from theatre, journalism, scholarship and the law; they tell the classical Hamza cycle and bold new Dastans alike; and together they have carried the form to more than a thousand stages across India and the world.
In Focus
Featured Dastangos
The last of the old line, and the maker of the new.
The Ensemble
Meet the Dastangos
In their own words
Lead Dastango
In Memoriam
Mir Baqar Ali
Last Classical Dastango · 1850 to 1928
"The last great Dastango of Delhi."
Darain Shahidi
Dastango
"It's the tradition of creating and telling stories that defines the Indian subcontinent."
Rana Pratap Sengar
Dastango
"I can perform Dastans 365 days a year. I love it."
Rajesh Kumar
Dastango
"Dastangoi has given me a purpose to believe in myself."
Poonam Girdhani
Dastango
"I enjoy my Dastans for the purity of its language and intentions."
Namita Singhai
Dastango
"Dastangoi for me is a journey to the lost world of Urdu stories."
Ainee Farooqui
Dastango
"Dastangoi is a lyrical storytelling in verse. It connects with one and all."
Nusrat Ansari
Dastango
"Dastangoi is an amazing journey of learning the art of storytelling."
Amina Sayeda
Dastango
"I love the way a Dastangoi performance connects with the audience."
Meera Rizvi
Dastango
"I am fortunate that I have witnessed the revival of this lost art form."
Syed Shadaab Hussain
Dastango
"The beauty of language ignited my interest in Dastangoi."
…and many more among the fifty-plus tellers trained since the revival.
Invite a Dastango to your stage
From intimate gatherings to grand festivals, the tellers travel where the story is wanted.