Theatre veteran Nadira Zaheer Babbar is back on stage after a 2-year hiatus to bring Mumbai audiences a new play that sees a narrator weave a tale using little else but narrative and music. This weekend Mumbai plays host to a Dastan Goi-style performance
Theatre veteran Nadira Zaheer Babbar is back on stage after a 2-year hiatus to bring Mumbai audiences a new play that sees a narrator weave a tale using little else but narrative and music. This weekend Mumbai plays host to a Dastan Goi-style performance
In a performance without the help of lights or music, a storyteller weaves his tale for an audience. He is the anchor and showman, capturing audience attention through his narrative prowess alone. The performance, almost always in Urdu, centres on tales of magic and the supernatural. This is the art of Dastan Goi, a storytelling tradition that lost patronage over the years, and inspiration for Nadira Zaheer Babbar's Hum Kahein Aap Suney which premiers at Prithvi Theatre today.
Performance within a performance
Hum Kahein Aap Suney is a performance within a performance, tracing the lives of three storytellers as they narrate tales in Dastan Goi style. Babbar, who is directing the play and acting in it says, "I watched the famous Dastan Gos Mahmood Farooqui and Danish Husain and was mesmerised by their art. I have been waiting to use
the style for a while and finally approached my sister, Noor Zaheer to write this play." Babbar and Zaheer researched and observed the performers before latter scripted the final performance.
The 90-minute play will take the audience through the journey of a disillusioned young Dastan Go, played by Bharat Jha. Although the art was passed down to him by his father, a famous storyteller, he shrugs his role as heir to the tradition and wishes to take up a more lucrative job. An older Dastan Go played by Ananth Mahadevan tries to revive his interest by taking him to an exemplary storyteller, the best of all Dastan Gos Nadira Zaheer Babbar.
On meeting the maestro, they realise that she has given up her art and doesn't perform anymore. She remains detached from the world, having denounced fame and recognition at the peak of her career. It's when these three storytellers come together, that each narrates one story, and the account of their individual lives unravels simultaneously before the audience.
Music from across India
The play relies heavily on music. Rajoshi Vidyarthi has used traditional folk and instrumental music to aid the narrative. "As each storyteller's piece is set in a different place from Rajasthan to Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim I have used a wide range of soundtracks to set the tone for each story. The music works like a visual in the play, creating a soundscape for the audience," she says.
She's back after a hiatus
It has been two-and-a-half years since Nadira took to stage. This month, she is back with two premier shows: Footnotes of Life and Hum Kahein Aap Suney. Eager to judge audience response, the theatre veteran is aware of the risks that accompany introducing a new style of performance. Co-actor Mahadevan admits that the script is a demanding one. "Dastan Goi is a difficult form because you have to hold audience attention through an eight-page monologue," he says.
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At: Prithvi Theatre, 20, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road.
On: May 30 and 31 at 6 pm and 9 pm. Tickets: Rs 200. Call: 26149546
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