RAWALPINDI: In March, when Amad and Waleeya Mian arrived in Pakistan from Dubai for their wedding, little did they know that the coronavirus would not only strand them in the country for months to come but also land them their best idea yet.
Around the world, including in Pakistan, theaters, cinemas, music halls and art galleries have been forced to shut their doors to the public as a result of tough new restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Marooned in Pakistan, Mains began to think of ways to satisfy Pakistanis’ cultural needs during the lockdown.
Amad and Waleeya Mian host the first session of the Zoom storytelling Platform 'Dastaangoi' from their home in Islamabad, Pakistan, July 26, 2020. (AN Photo)
Three weeks ago, they launched Dastaangoi (which means oral storytelling in Urdu): a platform where people from around the world can come together on Zoom and share positive stories about Pakistan through the power of music, dance, art and much more.
On Sunday night at 8pm Pakistan time, over 500 people logged in for the platform’s first session, a night th kicked off with a sitar performance, followed by artists, stylists and dancers performing and sharing their stories.
“[Being here] made us realize one, we don’t know much about Pakistan, two after watching TV and just hearing the stories we started to see a pattern of there never being any positivity,” said Amad Mian, the founder of Karavan, a community-driven venture capital platform that helps build and scale innovative startups in Pakistan.
Shahrez Syed, who produces original classical sitar compositions using inspiration from his work as a biologist, speaks to Arab News from his home in Kentucky, United States, on July 26, 2020. (AN Photo)
“We launched the concept [of Dastaangoi] three weeks ago after reaching out to some people ... with the idea to tell stories that have to be positive and have something related to Pakistan,” Amad added.
“This event would ideally have been in-person, held in homes around the world to bring in more of a community storytelling atmosphere, but given the circumstances we are all placed in, Zoom is our go-to platform,” he said.
Among the performers on Sunday night was US-based biologist and musician Shahrez Syed who played original sitar compositions and Lahore based art director Hashim Ali who spoke about the history of puppetry and its little known foundations in Pakistan’s vast Punjab province. Bharatanatyam dancer Amna Mawaz Khan zoomed in from the Murree Hills and performed to a song by Sufi singer Abida Parveen and the show closed with storytelling by artist Yousaf Qureshi from his home in Karachi. Each performance was followed by a music video by South Asian artists living around the world.
Artist Yousaf Qureshi performs in the first session of the Zoom storytelling Platform 'Dastaangoi' from his home in Karachi, Pakistan, on July 26, 2020. (AN Photo)
“I never got the chance to attend events like this having lived in Jeddah most of my life,” said Lahore-based stylist Maryam Raja. “It’s kind of beautiful. I was able to connect and learn alongside so many other people while not being able to physically head out — something we have all been missing.”
“I hope that more people similarly innovate and bring forward ideas on how to collect together in the new normal,” said fashion editor Mehek Saeed.
The Mians say they intend to host a Dastaangoi session once a month and hope to go global.
“We would ideally like to open this up and have chapters all over the world,” Amad said, “to host mini-events and tell stories that are positive and about Pakistan.”
