Budding Dastango Ankit Chaddha's Thoughts on Dastangoi

Dastangoi: There is no end to believing
It is quite strange how such an evident characteristic of storytelling never struck me before. But then, I did not have an experience with dastangoi. During a workshop conducted by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Hussain, one of the fundamental truths was realized – what you believe is what you see.

What is Dastangoi?
The word ‘Dastangoi’ is the amalgamation of Persian words for epic (Dastan) and telling (goi). These dastans, coming from an oral tradition, were medieval romantic tales full of magic, adventure and warfare that were recited aloud for audience.
Dastangoi: Don’t Stop Believing
“Yahaan wahi hai jo aitbaar kiya,” says Mahmood. If a dastango (the storyteller) can make the audience believe in everything that he creates, then all of it is happening. When his performance makes things/events look plausible, the storyteller is no longer questioned on the basis of facts.

Dastangoi: Because there is no end
Recently, I was telling one of the episodes from Dastan-e-Amir Hamza to a six year old girl. She was listening to each and every word very carefully. As the episode ended, I told her how that part of the story was over. She asked, “So, does the story end?” “No,” I replied, “stories never end.” She smiled and said, “Yes, that’s the way it should be. Stories are not supposed to have an ending. Continue.” And then, I moved on to the next episode. Here is hoping that the story of dastangoi continues.