The Dying Art of Dastangoi: A Discussion with Dr. Himanshu Bajpai

Dastangoi refers to the ancient art of storytelling. It is a compound of two Persian words ‘Dastan’ and ‘Goi’ which refers to telling a story.

Dastans were epics, often oral in nature, which were recited or read aloud and were essentially like medieval romances. Telling tales of adventure, magic and warfare, Dastans mapped new worlds and horizons, encountered the unseen and protected the hero through many travails and lovers as he moved on his quest.

In the process of telling the story, narrators freely borrowed tropes and themes from other stories. Thus, Rumi’s Masnavi and Arabian Nights both came to contain many stories from the Panchtantra tradition. While Dastans had many principals and many stories, the story of Amir Hamza, the uncle of Prophet Mohammad, began to stand out early on.

Marked out by fairies, djinns and prophecies, Hamza travels to different lands in his infancy and even as a young child shows great physical prowess and daring. His fame spreads far and wide and he is called by the chief minister of the King of Persia to aid the latter in his troubles, encountering many adventures, beings, species and realms Hamza remains triumphant and unvanquished, right to the end.

Indian urban anthropologist Ghaus Ansari ascribed the origin of dastangoi to Pre-Islamic Arabia, and detailed how the eastward spread of Islam carried dastangoi to Iran and then to Delhi. From Delhi, dastangoi made its way to Lucknow in the 18th century, aided by the Indian Rebellion of 1857, during which several artists, writers and dastangos moved from Delhi to Lucknow.

In Lucknow, dastangoi was popular across all classes, and was regularly performed at diverse locations including chowks (city squares), private households, and afeem khana (public opium houses).

MEET DR. HIMANSHU BAJPAI

Dr. Himanshu Bajpai is an up and coming dastango, or story-teller, and writer from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. His book, Qissa Qissa Lucknowaa, is a collection of stories and tales of the general public of the city. According to him, the real beauty of the city lies not in its historic roots or the Nawabi heritage, but in the stories of the masses. Instead of focusing on the several sources available for the history of the Nawabs, he collected the scattered histories of the common people of the city that make Lucknow, Lucknow.

Asides from being a journalist and published author, Dr. Bajpai is also the recipient of the President’s Award which was awarded to him in February 2020 at the Rashtrapati Bhawan for his contribution to the arts. He has a number of national and international events to his credit, including ones in Dubai and Turkey.

Earlier this month, he represented India at the 4th Annual Worldwide Week at Harvard University. He enthralled a global audience with tales on the Sufi poet-philosopher Amir Khusrau titled Khusrau’s River of Love: Cosmopolitanism and Inclusion in South Asian Traditions. He was also accompanied by international singer, Ali Sethi, in the musical storytelling session. The performances were interspersed with analysis and commentary by Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Murray A. Albertson and Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures at Harvard University, Ali Asani.

Bajpai said it was a matter of pride that the world-renowned university had chosen him for the program. “Through my art, I have also tried to highlight the great culture of Hindustan and especially my city Lucknow, and I am looking forward to doing it from Harvard’s platform,” he said in an interview with the Indian Express.

A SPECIAL DISCUSSION

Recently, The Juvenescence was bestowed with the honor of having a special one-on-one discussion about the dying art of Dastangoi and the importance of keeping this form of art, among many others, alive and thriving. Despite his busy schedule, Dr. Bajpai agreed to have this discussion with us via Zoom for he strongly believes in mentoring the youth and serving as a source of guidance and inspiration for the generation.

Before we delved into the topic of discussion, he explained that growing up, he experienced a lack role models and motivators so while he isn’t always able to accommodate meetings with other professionals and adults into his schedule, he always makes time for teenagers and young people looking to quench their thirst of curiosity. For this specifically, The Juvenescence is eternally grateful.

As for the discussion itself, Dr. Himanshu Bajpai briefly explained the history dastangoi, its emergence and significance in India and its eventual disappearance from not only theater and arts but the public as well.

While historical records allowed for nominal mouth-to-mouth publicity about the art of storytelling, over time people forgot about the prominence of dastangoi in the Indian society, especially Lucknow’s. Although people had heard of it, they hardly knew anything about it. Then came along the contributions of Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, one of the most eminent figures in Indian poetry. He is an Urdu critic, theorist, recipient of the Padma Shri, and has formulated fresh models of literary appreciation.

In 2005, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi’s nephew Mahmood Faruqi, revived the art of storytelling in Northern India and even mentored Dr. Bajpai as his Ustad. He also owed his success to his late friend, Mr. Ankit Chaddha – writer, story-teller, oral narrative performance artist, researcher and educator – who motivated him to enter this art field. He inspired and impelled him to make use of his PhD, his journalistic background, and Lucknowi roots to take part in dastangoi.

In order to improve Urdu, Dr. Bajpai suggested a period of three years; the first to learn the script, the second to read various books, and the third to write and speak in the language. According to him, reading is the most important step among the three; scripts, books, poems, and proses in Urdu provide a good contrast between the old dastangoi and the new, modern-era dastangoi. When the topic about translations of Urdu work came up, he explained that the true essence of the language get lost in translations and they should only be used for the purpose of furthering understanding and that too, by beginners.

He also recommended several books to improve reading, writing, speaking, and understanding Urdu. Some of them are:

• - The Mirror of Beauty & The Sun that Rose from the Sun by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi;

• - The Story of a Widow, Between Clay and Dust, & Tik-Tik, The Master of Time by Musharraf Ali Faruqi.

It was an honor to be able to discuss this art form with such a prominent figure in the field and The Juvenescence looks forward to having such meetings and conversations with about languages, cultures, and art forms in the near future!

Stay safe. Stay informed.