Husain explains that the storyteller, through the text and the performance, live every emotion and tragedy of the characters of the tale. “We are just the narrators, yet one can feel everything the character does, through us, “making it sound like a beautifully bound string of pearls”.

Not surprisingly, Husain and Farooqui are the only living dastan-gohs, the last one alive was in 1928. Based out of Delhi, the duo travels extensively to metropolitan cities for these performances, and have even been to Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan with their stories. “The response was fabulous as the country is more familiar with the language,” explains the artiste.

The duo last performed in Mumbai at the Kala Ghoda Festival in February 2007. However, they will not be participating in the ongoing festival. About their forthcoming event in the city, Husain says they’re excited and the audience’s knowledge regarding the art has definitely improved over their last few visits but is still limited to the theatrical circles. “But by the time our event is over, we’ll have improved everyone’s Urdu in Mumbai,” he laughs.