Dastan-e-Kabir by Fouzia Dastango and Ritesh Yadav, written by Danish Iqbal || Our first exposure to the traditional art of Dastangoi at the Mahindra Kabira Festival 2022

The Mahindra Kabira festival at Benaras in November 2022 was also the occasion where we experienced our first Dastangoi. Dastangoi is a traditional Indian storytelling art form that was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. It involves the recitation of epic tales and legends, usually in Urdu, by a professional storyteller known as a "dastango." The stories typically feature fantasy and folklore elements and are often accompanied by music and sound effects. The tradition of dastangoi fell into decline in the early 20th century, but it has seen a resurgence in recent years with the efforts of revivalists and practitioners.

Some famous Dastangos from the past include:

• Mir Baqar Ali (1742-1810) who was considered the greatest dastango of his time, and is credited with popularizing the art form.
• Mirza Raza Sahib (1820-1880) who was a prominent dastango of the 19th century and was known for his skill in reciting long and complex stories.

In recent years, there are some notable figures who have taken up the art of Dastangoi as a passion and have been instrumental in keeping the tradition alive such as:

• Mahmood Farooqui, a well-known Indian writer and director who has been involved in the revival of dastangoi since the early 2000s.
• Ankit Chadha, who is one of the leading Dastangoi artist in India and has performed extensively in India and abroad.
• Danish Husain, an Indian actor, director and storyteller, who has been actively performing Dastangoi and working to popularize it.

The Dastango who performed the Dastangoi at the Mahindra Kabira Festival was Fouzia Dastango. Fouzia Dastango is a Indian Dastangoi artist and performer. She is one of the very few female Dastangoi performers in India. She learned the art form from Mahmood Farooqui. Fouzia has been performing Dastangoi since 2010 and has performed in various parts of India and abroad. She has also conducted workshops and training sessions to spread awareness about the art form. Fouzia has been working to break the stereotype that Dastangoi is a male-only art form and is an advocate for the inclusion of more women in the field.

She was accompanied by theater artist Ritesh Yadav. Dressed in spotless white, chikankari angrakha style suits, both of them performed dastangoi about Sant Kabir. The script was written by Danish Iqbal. Since this was our first dastangoi experience, we do not really know how to rate it, but we enjoyed listening to it. It was a visually pleasant experience at the very least.