Mahmood Farooqui revives Dastangoi in Kolkata with Dastan-e-Karn az Mahabharata

Kolkata witnessed a rare evening of oral storytelling as Mahmood Farooqui, credited with reviving Dastangoi, performed Dastan-e-Karn az Mahabharata to a packed audience. Accompanied by Darain Shahidi, Farooqui’s two-hour solo performance delved into the life of Karna, weaving together elements of Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi, Farsi, and Arabic in a narrative drawn from diverse literary and historical sources.
The event, Dastan Suni Sunayi, was curated by Vivek Saraogi, Rachna Khemani, and Mudar Patherya, who described themselves as “Urdu-loving citizens.” Speaking about the initiative, Patherya said, “We invited Mahmood Farooqui to perform a Dastangoi, an Urdu-based storytelling tradition that has been passed down for centuries. Mahmood Sahab recreated the ambience of bygone eras—no background music, just the sheer power of words holding the audience in rapt attention, as storytellers have done for generations.”
The performance traced Karna’s journey through the Mahabharata, referencing texts such as the Razmnamah—the Persian translation commissioned under Akbar—the 300-year-old Urdu verse translation by Tota Ram Shayan, as well as Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s Rashmirathi, Shivaji Sawant’s Mrityunjay, and Urdu versions of the Gita and the Quran.
Held in a simple, open-seating format with no tickets or formal invitations, the event attracted over 200 attendees. The focus remained on the storytelling itself, a practice that has largely faded from contemporary performance spaces.
Farooqui, who was awarded the Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar by the Sangeet Natak Akademi for his work in reviving Dastangoi, has previously staged similar performances across the country. His Kolkata recital underscored the enduring appeal of this centuries-old tradition, prompting discussions on the need for more such literary and cultural initiatives in the city.