Story-telling is not everyone’s forte; to keep the audience hooked onto a story for more than an hour requires extraordinary talent and dedication to the art of dramatic reading. Without losing their lines or the listeners’ interest, Zambeel Dramatic Readings did just that on Saturday March 23 for a large group at The Second Floor (T2F), as they read Taoos Chaman Ki Mayna by Naiyer Masud.
The masters of story-telling Saife Hasan, Asma Mundrawala and Mahvash Faruqi call their project Zambeel Dramatic Readings — which has gained popularity over just a few years. They work towards reviving Urdu literature and recite works of notable writers with the use of dramatic readings, gestures and background music.
While most people would prefer to spend their weekend nights elsewhere, a large number of guests were seated in the open hall of T2F to hear the story of Taoos Chaman Ki Mayna read by Ehteshamuddin along with the trio of Zambeel. The hall was fully occupied by enthusiastic listeners from ages 10 to 65, waiting for the story Taoos Chaman Ki Mayna — which lasted 90 minutes.
The tale is based in Lucknow, during the last years of Vajid Ali Shah’s reign in the mid-19th century. The main character Kalay Mian (Ehtishamuddin) is a single parent raising his daughter, who wishes that her father would bring her a mayna when he returns at night. To fulfill her wish, Kalay Mian took several days to plan and steal one of the 40 maynas from the king’s royal garden where he was employed. The story is full of wit and beautiful dialogues penned by Masud, narrated as a first-hand account by Kalay Mian.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2013.
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