Ret-Samadhi , the Booker Prize (2022)-winning novel in Hindi by well-known author Geetanjali Shree, came alive with all its nuances when Dastangos Mehmood Faruquii and Poonam Girdhani transformed it into an aural treat. Presented jointly by Rajkamal Publications, and the Dastangoi Collective at Stein auditorium in India Habitat Centre; the performance was as riveting as the novel. Dastangoi is the art of Urdu storytelling that reached the zenith of its popularity during the reign of Akbar.
But with the demise of Mir Baqar Ali, the last known exponent of the art form, in 1928, Dastangoi also became extinct. The credit for the revival of this ancient art form goes to Janab Shamsur Rehman Faruqii, a noted Urdu litterateur, and his nephew Mahmood Farooquii. Mehmood finished his graduation in history from St.
Stephen’s College Delhi and received the Rhodes Scholarship to continue his studies in History at St. Peter’s College, University of Oxford. He began reinventing Dastangoi and conceived the modern format of the art form in 2005.
Since then, he has performed thousands of shows across the world. The unique feature of Dastangoi is that there is no prop or music to support the performance| Photo Credit:Special Arrangement A recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for Dastangoi, Mehmood trained many Dastangos including Poonam Girdhani, and created many new narratives or Daastans for the modern stage such as Daastan-e-Taqseem-e-Hind on the Partition,.
