Fouzia Dastango, as her name suggests, is an artist of the 16th century oral storytelling art, Dastangoi. She developed a deep interest in the field of arts and theatre since her early school days. She continued learning and participating in her school plays, but couldn’t pursue the art full time. Later, she got trained as an educator and worked several years, developing educational curriculum and supporting herself and the family. However, it took one performance in 2006 when she visited Dayal Singh College to watch a Dastangoi performance and she fell in love with this art form. She has dedicated, since, to learning and practicing this art form and quit her permanent job as a Lecturer at the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to pursue her passion of being a Dastango (story-teller) full time. In this process, she has also become India’s first female Dastango.

Fouzia has had deep interest in and love for the Urdu language…