Direction : Pritesh Sodha Cast : Alpana and Mehul Buch, Alpesh Dixit, Bhamini Oza, Ojas Rawal, Pratap Sachdeo, Preeta Pandya, Rinku Patel, Sanchi Peswani, and Sejal Pondaa
DASTANGOI GUJARATI Review
DASTANGOI - the ancient art of storytelling, only on the fringes of the modern mind. Utopia Productions gives a new lease on life to this dying labour of love, in Gujarati.
The job of a dastango is not a small one. In this labour, the body is a canvas screen and words are puppets. We have nothing to lean on - no towering sets, no spectacular costumes, no brilliant music.
Just words. There is only the dastan, the go, and the aashiq of theatre. The audience looks to the dastango and a world unfolds before them.
The performance consists of ten monologues by popular Gujarati writers. The likes of Jhaverchand Meghani, Jyotindra Dave, and Dhoomketu. Our children may not have heard of them but on this stage, it would be impossible not to revere them. Under the directorship of Pritesh Sodha, actors Alpana and Mehul Buch, Alpesh Dixit, Bhamini Oza, Ojas Rawal, Pratap Sachdeo, Preeta Pandya, Rinku Patel, Sanchi Peswan, and Sejal Pondaa bring forth the compelling voices of a defrauded sister, a grieving mother, a fretful traveller, a local Schindler, a connoisseur of umbrellas and others.
And how the puppets danced!
In the characteristic Gujarati of our grandparents' day, each performance comes through with authenticity, relatability, and gravitas. The aashiq finds themselves in tears and splits of laughter, and perhaps also in the memory of their childhood, sitting at the foot of a grandparent, wrapped in their dastaan. Watching DASTANGOI is to escape into a childlike wonder at the power of shabd.
The actors leave nothing wanting except an encore. In a world where Gujarati literature may have lost its aashiq, I hope audiences today and tomorrow will allow themselves to be stirred by DASTANGOI. For now, Utopia Productions can rest assured that they've made an aashiq of me.
*PH Acharya is a certified Life Coach, Author and Social Impact Mentor. Her works include Tat Tvam Asi (her memoirs), the acclaimed Bald Is Beautiful (a chemo patient's guide to hope and strength), and the very recent I'm Thoughting (the journey of raising a dyslexic).
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