Kabir Panth Chaturvedi

May 5, 2021

Toh Hazireen Hua Yun..

Ankit Chadha (21 December 1987 – 9 May 2018) was an Indian writer, story-teller, oral narrative performance artist, researcher and educator. He specialized in research-based narratives performed in the centuries-old Dastangoi form of storytelling.His writing varied from biographical accounts of personalities like Kabir and Rahim to Dara Shikoh and Majaz. He had spoken on Dastangoi globally, including at Harvard, Yale and University of Toronto. Ankit had worked with non-profits to weave modern tales on sustainability, technology and hunger. Additionally, Ankit had innovated the form of 'Musical Dastan', uniquely bringing together stories and music. Ankit had also worked on Dastangoi performances for children, adapting classics including Alice, The Phantom Tollbooth, and The Little Prince.He was the author of the award-winning books "Amir Khusrau - The Man in Riddles" and “My Gandhi Story”. His latest book “Toh Hazireen Hua Yun.. Dastan-e-Ankit Chadha” tells Ankit's story through his work. It is a collection of 16 Dastans written and performed by him over the last seven years.The book includes ‘Praarthanaa’, a musical dastan which is based on Ankit's years of continuing research on the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Undeniably, this dastan was very close to Ankit's heart and was the last dastan completed and performed by him. As mentioned in a statement released by the Kabir Festival Mumbai, “Ankit was out for a walk near Kamshet lake, outside Pune, when he and his friend slipped and fell into the water. His friend managed to get to safety and scream for help, bringing local villagers to the spot. Since it was past sunset, it was difficult to locate him in the dark water. When they did manage to retrieve him two hours later, it was too late.