| “There are no props, no entries or exits, we can’t even move around on stage. It’s only words and gestures that keep the audience engaged for an hour,” points out Rajesh Kumar, as he explains the thrill of being a Dastango, a storyteller. Rajesh had been an active part of the Delhi theatre circuit. Rajesh was among the many enthusiastic participants who had signed up for a Dastangoi workshop by Farooqui in 2009. He realized quickly that this was unlike any other theatrical experience they had had. He immersed himself into learning the text, however difficult it might be. He partnered with his friend Rana for quite a few performances. “We stayed quite far away from each other so we would meet in a garden midway to learn our lines and rehearse. Ped-patton ko dastan sunaya karte the,” Rana recalls the initial days. As for Rajesh, he did not even make it to the entire workshop, reaching the venue only on the last day. Details : Dastan Azar Jadu : Story from the original Dastan - Tilism-e-Hoshruba Dastan - e - sedition: Dastan amar aiyyar ke bachpan ki: |
“I took up Dastangoi as a challenge.” From the group that attended the workshop, only a handful have remained faithful to Dastangoi. In the mid-nineteenth century, Sharar wrote that Dastangoi ’rested on descriptions of four phenomena, war, romance, trickery and magical artifices.’ “I was most scared about remembering the text and more so the sequence of the events that we have to narrate. This is not like a regular play. If you forget anything you can’t improvise. Dastangoi has nothing contemporary. There are jadugars (magicians) and ayyars (tricksters) – aap kahan se improvise karoge?” Rajesh asks earnestly. With utmost sincerity, Rajesh ups the melodramatic quotient even more: “I struggled for almost seven years to get some work but I wasn’t getting any acting assignments. I took up Dastangoi as a challenge that had to be completed and I knew I’d get a good result. Dastangoi has given me a purpose to believe in myself.” |
