BackA poet of the masses
There is no stage or prop, only the story of a maverick writer to hold your attention
PremiumNEW DELHI :
Imagine being seated under the stars on a moonlit night beside a great stretch of flowing water. Add to this a man enthralling you with tales long forgotten.
Welcome to Dastan Khusrau-e-Shireen-Sukhan Ki, a story on the life, time and works of a phenomenon called Amir Khusrau Dehlavi. Directed by Mahmood Farooqui, the story will be performed by Ankit Chadha on the banks of the Yamuna.
Chadha’s performance will introduce you to Dehlavi—a courtier of the Delhi Sultanate, poet of the masses, and most importantly, the follower of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.
The performance is part of the Dilli ki Yaadein festival, organized by the Centre for Community Knowledge, Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar University, Delhi. It will be followed by a traditional Yamuna aarti by Pandit Prem Chand Sharma, a resident of the Nigambodh Ghat.
The dastan, scripted by Chadha as part of a project supported by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, is based on a nine-month-long research. The lack of any performance paraphernalia is sure to intrigue a first-time viewer of the world of dastangoi. There are no props, no entries or exits, no proscenium, no moving around the stage. It’s only words and gestures that keep the audience engaged for the entire duration. The narrative aims to acquaint audiences with the relatively less accessible littérateur, whose poetry is more popular as qawwali.
Chadha hopes to go beyond the celebration of Khusrau through music, and explore the untouched parts of the cultural icon in a narrative interspersed with Khusrau’s poetry.
Who doesn’t love to hear a good story? And what better than a forgotten story revived on the banks of history itself?
The Dastan Khusrau-e-Shireen-Sukhan Ki, 6pm, will be performed on Friday at Ghat No.15, Nigambodh Ghat, Delhi. Attendees are advised to come with mosquito repellent. Click here for details.
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