Experience the art of ancient storytelling in Hyderabad at Dastan-E-Chouboli

Dastangoi, the centuries-old art of Urdu storytelling, is enjoying a remarkable revival on contemporary stages. Once thought to be lost entirely, the form is now being reimagined by modern performers who bring it to audiences across the world.

Dastan-e-Chouboli is a Rajasthani folklore about a princess

One such adaption coming to town is Dastan-E-Chouboli, a folk story collected and reworked by the Rajasthani writer Vijaydan Detha. “Vijaydan would collect stories from illiterate, under-privileged people as well as old women — people who had traditional stories to tell. Then he would rewrite those stories in Rajasthani, a language which did not exist as a literary form before Vijaydan came on the scene,” explains Mahmood Farooqui, the performer.

The show is one of Vijaydan’s stories, Chouboli, which tells the tale of a princess Chouboli who only responds when a recitation of a witty story is performed in front of her. “It’s a story-within-stories format. It’s about how clever and sharp women are, and how they always make men face the consequences of their actions. It pokes fun at masculinity, making it entertaining and hilarious,” adds Mahmood.

Dastan-e-Chouboli’s resonance lies in the power of oral tales, stories that have travelled across languages and continents. Several pieces like Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana, Intizar Hussain’s adaptations, and German writer Hermann Hesse’s work speak to the universality of these folktales.

Originally written in Rajasthani, the translation from the source language to Urdu came naturally to Mahmood. “Urdu has been the lingua franca for India for 200 years. Parsi theatre was in Urdu, our films are in Urdu. Poetry is always recited aloud — you don’t read it off the page. There is a participatory public performance culture deeply ingrained in Urdu,” he says.

What makes folk narratives special is their fluidity. “In oral traditions, the word we use is ‘tellings’. Every time it is told, it is alive, and it is authentic. As Mir Taqi Mir once said, ‘Yeh tabassum ka karkhana hai, yahan wohi hai jo aitbaar kiya’. (In performance, for a story to have an impact, you have to believe what you see),” Mahmood concludes.

Tickets at INR 899.

August 23, 7 pm.

At The Park, Somajiguda.

Email: anshula.u@newindianexpress.com

X: @indulgexpress

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