Ret-Samadhi, the Booker Prize (2022)-winning novel in Hindi by well-known author Geetanjali Shree, came alive with all its nuances when Dastangos Mehmood Faruquii and Poonam Girdhani transformed it into an aural treat. Presented jointly by Rajkamal Publications, and the Dastangoi Collective at Stein auditorium in India Habitat Centre; the performance was as riveting as the novel.
Dastangoi is the art of Urdu storytelling that reached the zenith of its popularity during the reign of Akbar. But with the demise of Mir Baqar Ali, the last known exponent of the art form, in 1928, Dastangoi also became extinct.
The credit for the revival of this ancient art form goes to Janab Shamsur Rehman Faruqii, a noted Urdu litterateur, and his nephew Mahmood Farooquii. Mehmood finished his graduation in history from St. Stephen’s College Delhi and received the Rhodes Scholarship to continue his studies in History at St. Peter’s College, University of Oxford. He began reinventing Dastangoi and conceived the modern format of the art form in 2005. Since then, he has performed thousands of shows across the world.
The unique feature of Dastangoi is that there is no prop or music to support the performance | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for Dastangoi, Mehmood trained many Dastangos including Poonam Girdhani, and created many new narratives or Daastans for the modern stage such as Daastan-e-Taqseem-e-Hind on the Partition, Dastan-e-Chauboli from Vijay Dan Detha’s adaptation of a Rajasthani folk tale, Dastan-e- Raag Darbari on the satirical novel by Shrilal Shukla, Mantoiyyat — a performance on the life and times of Saadat Hasan Manto and to Dastan-e-Karn az Mahabharata, a retelling of the life of the great Karna based on Urdu, Persian, Hindi, and Sanskrit sources.
‘Dastan-e-Ret Samadhi’ was trans-created, directed, and performed by Mehmood Faruquii and was produced by Anusha Rizvi, the Delhi-based writer and film director, whose first feature film as writer-director was the acclaimed Peepli Live.
Poonam Girdhani, who performed along with Mehmood in ‘Ret Samadhi’, is a theatre and film actor with multifarious engagements with performing arts.
Geetanjali Shree said, “I’m a fan of Mehmood’s art. He has made us laugh and cry and inspired us to think. He takes threads from our shared culture and weaves a beautiful tapestry out of it.“
Mehmood shared the daastan (story) behind the making of this daastan. “When Ashok Maheshwari, Head of Raj Kamal Publications, talked about this project, I was a little apprehensive. The way it is written felt a bit challenging. The author doesn’t want to disclose the story easily. She intends to keep the suspense till the end whereas Dastangoi is an art that needs to open the story first. It demystifies the secrets and suspense in its flow. The challenge was to attain a balance between the two.”
Mehmood Farooqui in his Lucknawi angarakha and dupalli topi and Poonam Girdhani in her gharara, kameez, and dupatta with delicate Chikankari took the stage there was anticipation in the air. The audience looked forward to this novel attempt. The setting was simple — a diwan covered with white chandar, two gaav-takiyas, and a pair of naquashidar (carved) silver raquabis (cups) filled with water kept on either side of the performers.
Mehmood and Poonam took turns in taking forward the storyline of Ret Samadhi, that revolves around a mother and a daughter. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Like an auchaar, the introductory aalap of a raga, before the vocalist sings the bandish, Mehmood and Poonam created an aura with their imaginative inputs of Urdu and Farsi ashaar (couplets) and a Sanskrit subhashit here or a shloka of Kalidas there. They took turns in taking forward the storyline of Ret Samadhi, which revolves around its two female protagonists, a mother and a daughter.
The mother loses interest in life after the death of her husband and is always lying on the bed staring at the wall. Her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren persuade her to get up and participate in the daily chores, but she refuses. It’s only after the daughter takes her along to her house, and showers her with care and love, that the mother gradually starts coming to terms with the reality of her life. She decides to cross the border and visit Lahore, the place still alive in her memory.
Poignant narration
Mehmood and Poonam took the audience along on the journey. Their chiselled accent, the dramatic modulation of voice, the alliterations and expansion of the story with anecdotes, and heart-warming couplets such as ‘Mil hi jayega kahin dil mein yaqiin reheta hai/Woh isi shaher ki galiyon mein kahin reheta hai. Jiski saanson se mehekte the dar-o-baam mere/Ai makaan bol kahaan ab woh makiin reheta hai.’ Their narration conveyed the emotions of the 80-year-old mother trying to connect with her childhood.
In the second half, when the story reached its climax, Mehmood recreated the scenes of brutality and bloodshed of the Partition with just the power of his voice and facial expressions, reciprocated by Poonam in the same vein.
The unique feature of Dastangoi is that there is no prop or music to support the performance. The performer has to create the magic. Here as the audiences experienced the humour, anguish, pain, and compassion in the novel, the dastangos showed how words have a life of their own.
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