Dastangoi for li’l ones

Neha Kirpal

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Dastangoi is not usually associated with children, but there are those who feel they should not be denied a taste of the 16th century art of Urdu storytelling. As a result, several dastans are being created with this audience in mind.

There is Dastan Amir Hamza aur Amar Ayyar Ke Bachpan Ki from the corpus of the traditional dastans of Tilism-e-Hoshruba. In the story, Amir Hamza and Amar Ayyaar are sent to a madrasa at the tender age of five. Amar, the naughty one, unleashes a series of pranks on his teacher. The performance is a hilarious narration of the series of pranks by the two boys, who repeatedly cause trouble until the question of their separation emerges. “It is a dastan that any child can relate to,” say performers Usman and Amina Syed.

Poonam Girdhani and Rajesh Kumar have adapted the 1943 French classic The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry into Dastan Little Prince Ki. Here, the author weaves a poetic tale from his aviation experiences in the Sahara desert, where he meets a young prince who has fallen on earth from a tiny asteroid. Commenting on the grownups and their ways, the story moves to a stage where the prince meets a fox and realises the meaning of love. Mahmood Farooqui, the brain behind the dastan, says he wanted to present dastangoi shows that grownups can enjoy with their children. “I chose such stories to begin our work for children as the adventures are magical in nature and the flavour of fantasy is similar to what we find in traditional dastans,” explains Farooqui.

One of Farooqui’s famous works is Dastan Alice Ki based on Lewis Carroll's Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It is interactive and abounds with incredible adventures, magical beings and rib-tickling humour. “Our team went through folktales like Hatimtai and Panchatantra and came to the conclusion that we should do a story like Alice, which is tilismi and connects with the kids instantly,” he says.

A key element of dastangoi is interaction with the audience. So, is it easy to engage children, we wonder... Farooqui says Alice’s first show was staged at his home in Delhi for which a group of bright eight year olds had been invited. “A conversation between Alice and the caterpillar was going on and the dialogue went like ‘Abki baar’. Suddenly, a boy said out loud, ‘Caterpillar sarkar!’ That’s how involved people are with a dastan,” smiles Farooqui.

Girdhani, who has done multiple shows of Alice along with the late Ankit Chadha, says the big reward for a dastango is to be able to transport the audience to another world through mere words.

In order to educate children about the craft, workshops are held in schools from time to time. Nusrat Ansari and Ainee Farooqui have conducted multiple workshops across Delhi. The interactive sessions were attended by children from six to 18 years of age. During the workshops, the dastangos demonstrate what dastangoi is and how it can be used as a tool for creative teaching in schools. Earlier this year, after the conclusion of a two-day workshop at the Indian School, the school authorities decided to include dastangoi in its co-curricular activities.