On a pleasant Tuesday afternoon, as a gentle breeze blew across the amphitheatre, celebrated dastango Mahmood Farooqui took the stage to deliver a recitation of the Mahabharata — primarily in Urdu, Dastangoi style.
He held the audience in rapt attention from the start, taking them through the well-known text presented in a manner it has rarely been delivered.
What made the performance unique was that it did not take place at a popular performance hub in the Capital but inside Tihar Central Jail No. 1. The audience, prisoners of Tihar, were entertained by Farooqui, who till a few months ago was an inmate of the same prison and wrote the dastan while incarcerated.
The performance, Dastan-e Karn Az Mahabharat, drew upon the original Sanskrit Mahabharata; its Persian translation Razmnama, which was commissioned by Emperor Akbar; several other Urdu translations; Shivaji Sawant’s bestselling novel on Karna called Mrityunjay; Rabindranath Tagore’s poem on Kunti and Karna, and several other influences.
The 90-minute performance, which used Sanskrit, Hindi, Farsi and Arabic along with Urdu, is considered very long by Dastangoi standards.
Compiled in jail
The text of the dastan was compiled by Farooqui while he was incarcerated.
It was through the prison library that he had access to the original texts of the Mahabharata and was encouraged by prison officials to work on it during his time there.
The prisoners said they were experiencing such a performance for the first time and although they were familiar with the Mahabharata, they had never experienced a Dastangoi.
The chief guest at the event was Border Security Force Director-General K. K Sharma, while Tihar jaal Director-General Ajay Kashyap presided over the function.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sharma said, “Tihar inmates live in a good atmosphere, where they can develop skills and start a new life in a dignified manner after they are release .”
Mr. Kashyap said the prison administration worked hard to provide a better atmosphere to inmates so they did not feel frightened during their incarceration.
