Praised by PM, storyteller says it may help art of Dastangoi thrive

  • | Monday | 29th November, 2021

Lucknow, Nov 29 (PTI) Words of praise from PM Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will help the art form of Dastangoi reach more people, storyteller Himanshu Bajpai said here on Monday. Lucknow-based Bajpai and Pragya Sharma were in for some praise for their Dastangoi on Rani Durgavati by the prime minister on Sunday during his monthly radio broadcast "Mann ki Baat". Later, the defence minister, who is also an MP from Lucknow, took to social media to heap praise on the duo. "With Prime Minister Modi mentioning our Dastan and Defence Minister Singh also tweeting about us, we were quite convinced that the art form of Dastangoi will reach more and more people," Bajpai, also known as “Lucknauwa” in poetic circles, told PTI. Bajpai said he and Sharma hope Dastangoi, an oral storytelling form popularised in the medieval era especially in Urdu, would find more takers after the acknowledgement from highest echelons of politics in the country. During the medieval era, Lucknow in north India was one of the most important locations where Dastangoi thrived, 34-year-old Bajpai said. "Lucknow has produced Dastangos who were known worldwide among connoisseurs of the art, like Mohammad Hussain Jaah, Ahmad Hussain Qamar, Amba Prasad Rasa and Tasadduq Hussain," he said. "It was the city of Lucknow only which introduced publication of Dastans with Naval Kishor Press bringing into books in print what were earlier long form stories shared orally," he added. Dastangoi, however, lost its space as a popular medium of storytelling eventually but has again come to finding feet in Awadh with young proponents like Himanshu Bajpai and Pragya Sharma. After PM Modi"s "Mann ki Baat" on Sunday, Defence Minister Singh took to Twitter to thank him for acknowledging the Lucknow"s artists. "I would like to thank the prime minister for discussing the works of Himanshu Bajpai and Pragya Sharma, who grew up and settled in the land of Lucknow. Also, I send my warmest wishes to Himanshu and Pragya," Singh had tweeted. PTI ABN RDK RDK


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