After creating a niche for itself across the country, the patiya tehzeeb of Bhopal is now romancing with the theatre industry. The age-old Patiya Tehzeeb of Bhopal is back in theatre form as ‘Pataiya Goi’.
Being adopted from century old theatre forms Dastan-e-Goi of lucknow and Kissa Goi of Delhi, ‘Patiya Goi’ is purely based on Bhopal and its tales. Introduced in Bhopal theatre industry Patiya Goi is adorned with the chaste Bhopali dialect and the Bhopali tradition of patiyaz.
With the introduction of Patiya Goi, in theatre industry, the art form has found new destination. It has not only brought back those golden times of old Bhopal but it is also spreading awareness about the historical tales of the State capital.
Patiya Goi has been introduced by the artists of Adakar theatre group in Bhopal theatre industry. Here the artists sit on the stairs and talk about those rare and fascinating tales and legends related to Bhopal’s history. The artists then discuss about the culture and tradition which was followed during those times the way the old Bhopalites used to have night talks outside their houses.
While talking about this art, a renowned city playwright and founder of Patiya Goi, Rafi Shabbir told The Pioneer, “We have adopted this form from Dastan-e-Goi of lucknow. Notably, the word Dastan goi refers to the art of storytelling, it is a compound of two Persian words Dastan and Goi which means to tell a Dastan. Similarly is the Patiya Goi where the artists tell the heroic and historical stories of Bhopal.”
The tradition of Dastaan-e-Goi is years old. It is being followed from the times when Parsi theatre came into being. The narration of tales was loved by the theatre buffs even then also. Even Prithvi Raj Kapoor had staged his two productions ‘Deewarien and Pathan’ in the form of Dastaan-e-Goi.
Interestingly, these stories are epics, oral in nature, which are recited or read aloud and in essence, were like medieval romances everywhere. Telling tales of adventure, magic and warfare, Dastans mapped new worlds and horizons, encountered the unseen and protected the hero through many travails and lovers as he moved on his quest.
The hero’s adventures could sometimes parallel the mystic quest, at other times the story narrated a purely profane tale. In the process of telling the story the narrators freely borrowed tropes and themes from other stories. But Patiya Goi tells the legends of nawabs, artists and even the simple lifestyle of Bhopal century ago.
Shabbir, while further informing about it, said, “We have tried to connect the traditional Patiya Goi with the Bhopali tehzeeb and tradition. Blending the theatre form with the night talk (patiyaz) of old Bhopal we have innovated the idea of public performance in a way.” He further informed that even Bhopali language has different dialects and the group has tried to bring that innovation. Recently, the artists performed Patiya Goi on Taj Bhopali and the first female qawwal Shakila Bano Bhopali, he added.
With the adoption of western form in theatre industry these forms have become the lost art, but Patiya Goi will make the theatre buffs relive the history of Bhopal in a mesmerizing way.