Dastan Dhaai Aakhar Kee
Ankit Chadha | Dastango
Ankit Chadha: an evening of Dastangoi: the lost art form of Urdu storytelling
The programme will start with Ankit Chadha giving an introduction to Dastangoi, along with an insight into its history and demonstration of the form. The main section of the event is the performance of Dastan Dhaai Aakhar Kee - a story on Kabir - the poet and the lover. Composed and performed by Ankit Chadha under the direction of Mahmood Farooqui, the story takes you on a journey about finding the Kabir who is around you, in you.
Ankit Chadha is a Delhi-based writer and performance artist. At Hindu College, where he earned his Honours in History, he began his journey from scripting street plays. Ankit became a known name in the Delhi University theatre circuit for the productions written and directed by him. He started professional storytelling in 2010 and has, since then, been working with Mahmood Farooqui to
revive Dastangoi. Ankit has also successfully experimented with creating new content to be performed in the dastanic format. These self-written solo performances including his satirical piece on mobile phones, which was selected among the top plays at the Short and Sweet Theatre Festival. Apart from giving a TEDx talk on this art form, he has lectured and trained the students of prestigious institutions like National School of Drama. At his venture - Heptullha, (heptullha.in) he is conducting workshops, telling stories and writing stories. In addition to training teachers and students, he is collaborating with schools, NGOs, authors and illustrators towards using storytelling as a
medium to enhance learning experiences.
