Press Release
A spellbinding performance of Urdu story telling, ‘Dastangoi’ was witnessed at Rangayan at Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK). It seemed like the Mahabharata came alive by Fouzia Dastango and Firoz Khan through ‘Dastangoi’. As a part of the cultural programmes, ‘Qadeem Daur Main Dastangoi’ and ‘Dastan-e-Mahabharat’ were organized at JKK. As a part of 12 day cultural festival ‘Virsa 2019’ this performance was organized by JKK in association with Rajasthan Urdu Academy, Jaipur. ADG, JKK, Mr. Furkan Khan was present on the occasion.
It is to be noted that entry to the exhibition and cultural programmes being organized as a part of ‘Virsa 2019’ is free for the visitors.
The event began with a paper presentation on ‘Qadeem Daur Main Dastangoi’. The assistant professor at Dayanand Girls P. G. College, Kanpur, Dr. Hina Afshan threw light on the fact that it is human nature to listen and tell stories. In the modern times movies and television serials have become the source of story telling and listening. In the ‘Qadeem Daur’ which means ancient times there were no modern devices and people did not know how to read and write. However, people still knew how to make and tell stories and incidents. Thus, it will be inappropriate to say that ‘Kissagoi’ and ‘Dastangoi’ are a gift of the civilized society. In the ancient times, people used to hire servants and story tellers who would narrate them stories at night. These stories consisted of super natural elements like ghosts and ‘Jinn’. During these times, writers were not given prominence rather the focus was on the stories. This way ‘Kissagoi’ and ‘Dastangoi’ lived forever in our literature.
After the paper presentation, a captivating performance ‘Dastan-e-Mahabharata’ was presented by the first female ‘Dastango’ of India, Fouzia and Firoz Khan. This performance was written and directed by Dinesh Iqbal. The stories beginning from Rishi Vedvyas and King Janmajay till the victory of ‘Pandavas’, complete Mahabharata was presented in the form of ‘Dastangoi’ in this performance. The various episodes from this epic were converted into ‘Dastangoi’ in Urdu language. Listening to the episodes of this timeless war in the form of ‘Sher’ turned out to be a unique experience for everyone.
Hindi-Urdu comedy play ‘Ghalib in New Delhi’ on 21 July.
On the concluding day of ‘Virsa 2019’ the Hindi – Urdu comedy play ‘Ghalib in New Delhi’ by Pierrot’s Troupe will be staged. This rip-roaring comedy has the great erstwhile Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib, revisiting his beloved ‘Dehli’, now ironically ‘Delhi’, in 2017 to witness and relish his posthumous fame.
About ‘Virsa 2019’
‘Virsa 2019’ is an endeavor of JKK to cross reference the various genres of art, culture and heritage as well as connect the future to our heritage values. The exhibition of rare and historic documents is on till 21 July from 11 am to 7 pm. The cultural programmes are being organized at Rangayan at 7 pm.