DASTAN-e-KARN az MAHABHARAT

Dastan-e Karn Az Mahabharat is one of the most ambitious solo storytelling performances in contemporary India, stretching over two hours and reviving a tradition rarely attempted — the retelling of the Mahabharata in Urdu. Unlike the Ramayana, which enjoys a long-standing oral performance culture, Mahabharata narratives are scarcely heard in this form, making this Dastan a unique artistic undertaking.

The performance draws richly from multiple sources: the Razmnama (Akbar’s Persian translation of the Mahabharata), Tota Ram Shayan’s 300-year-old Urdu verse translation, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s Rashmi Rathi, writings by Shivaji Sawant, Intizar Husain, Irawati Karve, Urdu renderings of the Gita, the Quran, and various other interpretations across Sanskrit, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, and Marathi.

At its heart lies the timeless, tragic, and heroic figure of Karna. As he lies dying in Krishna’s lap, Karna asks whether he will ever be as celebrated as Arjuna — to which Krishna promises that his glory will outlast even Arjuna’s. This Dastangoi presentation explores that promise, bringing to life the struggles, conflicts, loyalties, and moral grandeur of one of Hindustan Jannat Nishan’s greatest heroes.