In this episode, we speak to Danish Husain, storyteller, actor, poet and theatre director, who has been instrumental in reviving Dastangoi, the lost art of Urdu storytelling.  He is the founder of Qissebaazi, a platform that promotes storytelling in diverse languages. His love for poetry has manifested in the Poetrification project with actor Denzil Smith, and he also runs his own theatre company, Hoshruba Repertory, under which he has produced some brilliant plays like Chinese Coffee, Guards At The Taj and Qissa Urdu Ki Aakhiri Kitaab Ka. His acting repertoire includes films such as Newton, Dhobhi Ghat and Peepli Live, amongst others. 

In this episode, Danish revisits some books that have fundamentally moulded his ideas of belonging and identity, from Dr. Rahi Masoom Reza’s Aadha Gaon, to Edward Said’s Out of Place, to Attia Hussain’s Sunlight on a Broken Column. We explore the legacies of revolutionary writers such as Saadat Hasan Manto and Ismat Chughtai, and the importance of writing that unsettles the status quo and makes you question the way things are. Throughout the conversation, Danish invokes the poetry of stalwarts such as Ghalib and Faiz, and brings out the deeply syncretic nature of our cultural roots and everyday existence. 

This is the third of the six episodes of the The Inclusive Bookshelf series. Keep a lookout for more episodes in the coming months.