Follow up to the Delhi Workshop--- Only for those who attended it earlier.
Sunday, 20th June, 4 pm.
A-1, Second Floow, Gulmohar Avenue, Tikona Park,
Jamianagar, N. Delhi-25
Friday, June 18, 2010
Thursday, June 03, 2010
The Preview of the Wokshop in MINT, Delhi
“You perform and learn” : Mahmood Farooqui on dastangoi
Posted by Himanshu Bhagat on Thursday, June 3, 2010
SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
Farooqui (left) with Danish Husain
Farooqui (left) with Danish Husain
Credit Mahmood Farooqui for making something as exotic sounding as “dastangoi” a familiar word for many. Over the past five years, Farooqui and his fellow dastangoh Danish Hussain have held many dastangoi performances in India and overseas, spinning fantastic yarns in chaste Urdu, and trying to revive the lost art of Urdu storytelling. The response has been enthusiastic and now Farooqui is training others in this fascinating art to carry the tradition forward. He held a dastangoi workshop in Mumbai and will be conducting one in Delhi from today. We had a quick chat with Farooqui ahead of the workshop.
Can the art of Dastangoi be taught?
We are not teaching the art. The workshop will be a way of interacting with people and telling them about what we do. There is no rocket science behind it. It might look daunting and the language is a problem, but then any literary language would be a problem. That just needs to be surmounted.
We did a workshop in Mumbai and 5-6 people who attended have done about 10 shows so far. This workshop too will culminate in performance by two new people. The point is if people want to do it, they can. I rehearsed with people in Mumbai for 2-3 months. It’s basically about working with stories and working with a partner. It is different from other forms of storytelling—one reason being because it evolved over two-three centuries of telling.
Who did you learn Dastangoi from?
I began by reading the tales to my uncle SR Farooqui, the noted Urdu critic and scholar, who corrected us and directed us how to read them. Then Himanshu Tyagi and I rehearsed and worked on it, basically learning on the job. You perform and learn. What kind of art form it is and where it can go is open—something that needs to be seen.
But how many people have working knowledge of Urdu today?
In India many are familiar with the language. Many Muslims for instance don’t know how to read and write Urdu but are familiar with the words and idioms. A lot of people are avid followers of Urdu poetry. So there are people with some working knowledge of Urdu and that is the point. Of all the people who have performed dastangoi, including Danish and Naseeruddin Shah, I am the only one who can read and write Urdu. So it is possible to do it, I guess.
How many people have signed up for the workshop?
About 25 people from various backgrounds—teachers, media people, theatre veterans, NSD graduates. Oddly enough, many haven’t seen a dastangoi performance before.
Do you see dastangoi surviving on its own, without any institutional support?
Survival means what—shows, performances? That’s the challenge of the art form. For performers to survive financially—that’s a different problem. Dastangos need to do other things to survive.
The workshop for aspiring Dastangos will be conducted at the Attic,36 Regal Building, New Delhi Tel: 23746050. It is supported by the India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore
Timings:
Friday, 4th June, 10am – 5pm
Saturday, 5th June, 10am – 4.30 pm
Sunday, 6th June, 12.30 – 5 pm
For details, write to mahmood.farooqui@gmail.com, and visit www.dastangoi.blogspot.com
Posted by Himanshu Bhagat on Thursday, June 3, 2010
SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
Farooqui (left) with Danish Husain
Farooqui (left) with Danish Husain
Credit Mahmood Farooqui for making something as exotic sounding as “dastangoi” a familiar word for many. Over the past five years, Farooqui and his fellow dastangoh Danish Hussain have held many dastangoi performances in India and overseas, spinning fantastic yarns in chaste Urdu, and trying to revive the lost art of Urdu storytelling. The response has been enthusiastic and now Farooqui is training others in this fascinating art to carry the tradition forward. He held a dastangoi workshop in Mumbai and will be conducting one in Delhi from today. We had a quick chat with Farooqui ahead of the workshop.
Can the art of Dastangoi be taught?
We are not teaching the art. The workshop will be a way of interacting with people and telling them about what we do. There is no rocket science behind it. It might look daunting and the language is a problem, but then any literary language would be a problem. That just needs to be surmounted.
We did a workshop in Mumbai and 5-6 people who attended have done about 10 shows so far. This workshop too will culminate in performance by two new people. The point is if people want to do it, they can. I rehearsed with people in Mumbai for 2-3 months. It’s basically about working with stories and working with a partner. It is different from other forms of storytelling—one reason being because it evolved over two-three centuries of telling.
Who did you learn Dastangoi from?
I began by reading the tales to my uncle SR Farooqui, the noted Urdu critic and scholar, who corrected us and directed us how to read them. Then Himanshu Tyagi and I rehearsed and worked on it, basically learning on the job. You perform and learn. What kind of art form it is and where it can go is open—something that needs to be seen.
But how many people have working knowledge of Urdu today?
In India many are familiar with the language. Many Muslims for instance don’t know how to read and write Urdu but are familiar with the words and idioms. A lot of people are avid followers of Urdu poetry. So there are people with some working knowledge of Urdu and that is the point. Of all the people who have performed dastangoi, including Danish and Naseeruddin Shah, I am the only one who can read and write Urdu. So it is possible to do it, I guess.
How many people have signed up for the workshop?
About 25 people from various backgrounds—teachers, media people, theatre veterans, NSD graduates. Oddly enough, many haven’t seen a dastangoi performance before.
Do you see dastangoi surviving on its own, without any institutional support?
Survival means what—shows, performances? That’s the challenge of the art form. For performers to survive financially—that’s a different problem. Dastangos need to do other things to survive.
The workshop for aspiring Dastangos will be conducted at the Attic,36 Regal Building, New Delhi Tel: 23746050. It is supported by the India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore
Timings:
Friday, 4th June, 10am – 5pm
Saturday, 5th June, 10am – 4.30 pm
Sunday, 6th June, 12.30 – 5 pm
For details, write to mahmood.farooqui@gmail.com, and visit www.dastangoi.blogspot.com
Saturday, May 22, 2010
A workshop for aspiring Dastangos
Dastak Announces -
A workshop for aspiring Dastangos
At the Attic,
On 4th, 5th and 6th of June.
From
Mahmood Farooqui’s attempts at reviving this lost art of Urdu story telling have completed five years this month. He is now looking to invite more people to take the story forward.
Only those interested in pursuing the art of Dastangoi and those who
have a working knowledge of Urdu and of Theatre should attend. Please
write a mail to mahmood.farooqui@gmail.com and state your background
and reasons for attending the workshop in order to register. Please
also visit the blog www.dastangoi.blogspot.com to learn more about
this lost Art of Urdu Storytelling and its revival.
A Note on the Workshop:
The workshop is NOT going to conduct general theatre exercises of
voice, improvisation and movement. It is going to concentrate on the
history and nature of the form and how best to perform the traditional
stories in today's context. Participants are expected to devote
themselves to learning and performing the stories which are currently
in the repertoire of the Dastangoi performances. The workshop will be
conducted free of cost to the participants.
The workshop is supported by the
|
|
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
TIMES NEWS NETWORK REVIEW OF FTII, Pune Show
Reviving the lost art form of Dastangoi
Laxmi Birajdar | TNN
Pune: The stories of Amir Hamza,paternal uncle of Prophet Muhammad,came alive through Dastangoi,the lost art form of story-telling.On Monday,Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain,recounted the epic narratives of Hamza at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and gave an insight into this rich art that involves complex Urdu poetry and oral recitation,interwoven with the rich strains of classical music.
Created and directed by Farooqui,who has been guided by S R Faruqi,Urdus renowned critic and writer,the performance is an attempt to recreate Dastangoi as it was performed in the 16th century,during the rule of Akbar.
The word Dastangoi is a compound of two Persian words,dastan and goi,which means to tell a dastan or epic,often oral in nature.
The Dastan-e-Amir Hamza is a highly important chapter of our literary history.Our maiden performances were at the India International Centre in Delhi in 2005, said Farooqui,also a thespian.
It was while devising a lecture-demonstration for this art form in 2005 that I first explored the possibility of actually performing the text.The best way to demonstrate its prowess was to actually let the text speak.Traditional Dastangoi was restricted to a single performer.The innovation I made was to rope in another actor so that we would alternate our recitations and participate as listeners to each others stories, said Farooqui.
Stories of Hamzas life and exploits have been collected in the Hamzanama,which came to India through Persia.It began to be recounted in Urdu in the 18th and 19th centuries and a structure was acquired through its form,oral recitation,Urdu poetry and classical music.
The shows executive director,Anusha Rizvi,recognised the scope of this art form once the initial performance was lapped up by the audience.Thats when we thought of pursuing it seriously and began delving deeper into it.We realised people were taking a genuine interest in this lost art of story-telling and were reacting positively to our performance,wanting to know and see more of Dastangoi, said Rizvi.
Farooqui has been training artists for the last four years.There are only about 10 people who can perform Dastangoi today.Being a theatre artist myself,I find it a very fulfilling art form, said Farooqui.
Actor-poet Danish Husain has been assisting Farooqui.He will be seen next in the film,Peepli Live, produced by Aamir Khan and directed by Farooqui and Rizvi.
The dastan or epic narrative of Amir Hamza was brought alive through oral recitation,classical music and Urdu poetry by artistes,Danish Husain (left) and Mahmood Farooqui at a performance at the FTII recently
Laxmi Birajdar | TNN
Pune: The stories of Amir Hamza,paternal uncle of Prophet Muhammad,came alive through Dastangoi,the lost art form of story-telling.On Monday,Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain,recounted the epic narratives of Hamza at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and gave an insight into this rich art that involves complex Urdu poetry and oral recitation,interwoven with the rich strains of classical music.
Created and directed by Farooqui,who has been guided by S R Faruqi,Urdus renowned critic and writer,the performance is an attempt to recreate Dastangoi as it was performed in the 16th century,during the rule of Akbar.
The word Dastangoi is a compound of two Persian words,dastan and goi,which means to tell a dastan or epic,often oral in nature.
The Dastan-e-Amir Hamza is a highly important chapter of our literary history.Our maiden performances were at the India International Centre in Delhi in 2005, said Farooqui,also a thespian.
It was while devising a lecture-demonstration for this art form in 2005 that I first explored the possibility of actually performing the text.The best way to demonstrate its prowess was to actually let the text speak.Traditional Dastangoi was restricted to a single performer.The innovation I made was to rope in another actor so that we would alternate our recitations and participate as listeners to each others stories, said Farooqui.
Stories of Hamzas life and exploits have been collected in the Hamzanama,which came to India through Persia.It began to be recounted in Urdu in the 18th and 19th centuries and a structure was acquired through its form,oral recitation,Urdu poetry and classical music.
The shows executive director,Anusha Rizvi,recognised the scope of this art form once the initial performance was lapped up by the audience.Thats when we thought of pursuing it seriously and began delving deeper into it.We realised people were taking a genuine interest in this lost art of story-telling and were reacting positively to our performance,wanting to know and see more of Dastangoi, said Rizvi.
Farooqui has been training artists for the last four years.There are only about 10 people who can perform Dastangoi today.Being a theatre artist myself,I find it a very fulfilling art form, said Farooqui.
Actor-poet Danish Husain has been assisting Farooqui.He will be seen next in the film,Peepli Live, produced by Aamir Khan and directed by Farooqui and Rizvi.
The dastan or epic narrative of Amir Hamza was brought alive through oral recitation,classical music and Urdu poetry by artistes,Danish Husain (left) and Mahmood Farooqui at a performance at the FTII recently
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Indian Express Review of the FTII show in Pune
Tales of storytellers
Sound of energetic Wah Wahs resonated in the main theatre of Film and Television Institute of India. The stage was set, perfectly suiting the era of the Dastangoi- the ancient art of storytelling. The 50 year golden jubilee celebration at FTII was the apt occasion to celebrate this ideal blend of poetry and drama.
Marked by dramatic, loud hand gestures and set on varied pitches, this performance by Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain was a visual delight as well. Farooqui has been involved in the revival of this art since 2004. Talking about his first encounter with this art form he says, “In August 2002, I first encountered the Dastan-e Amir Hamza and I was asked to help out somebody who was making a film. Though the film never got made, I got interested in Dastangoi.”
Dastangoi is the art of narration of Dastan (epic narrative) recited by a Dastango (performer)- a compound of two Persian words Dastan and goi which means to tell a Dastan. These were often oral in nature, stories of adventure, magic and warfare read out loud. This art form dates back to the 16th century; in fact legend has it that Emperor Akbar himself would recite them. It involves rigorous practice to perfect every aspect of the performance. Farooqui adds, “We work together on lengthy rehearsal sessions trying to memorise pages of script. We improvise, edit and present it in a form that is enjoyable for the audiences.”
The palpable chemistry between both the artists left the audiences completely engaged in the performance. They time traveled through the pages of history and the audiences attentive throughout the length of the act. “The audiences are kept attentive through techniques like sound of language, illustrations on the stage and so on,” adds Farooqui. Most of Indian and Islamic cinema is influenced by Parsi theatre that uses the same elements of the theatrical forms of nautanki, swang, naqqali.
This art form has an illustrous history and an equally interesting way of presentation. In one of the Dastans about the escapades of Amir Aiyyaar, Husain quickly changes into a role of a beautiful woman. His graceful movements match the masculine performance of Farooqui creating a visual imagery in front of the audiences. With minimal props, they bring to life some of the greatest epics of Persian and Arabic literature. Traditional Dastangoi was restricted to single performer, but Farooqui made improvisations and introduced the system of two performers, to make it more contemporary.
The second part was based on the partition of 1947, drawing attention to the battle through poetry, folk sayings and literature. It was an intricately woven tale of separation, longing and trauma of the partition, something that is so close to our hearts.
Farooqui has studied at the University of Oxford. He has worked over the last four years to revive this lost art of storytelling under the guidance of S R Faruqi, eminent critic and writer. Husain, has been involved with this endeavour for over four years. Farooqui says, “Our Dasatngoi performance is a tribute to these storytellers who lived 200 years ago and are hardly remembered by anyone today.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)