an oral art form’s identity rooted in traditions of writing
Dastangoi (Urdu: داستان گوئی): dastan (story) + goi (to tell).
Dastangoi is an oral storytelling art form that originated in Persia and travelled to Delhi, India with the Mughals. Dastangoi reached its peak in the 19th century but saw a rapid decline in the waning years of Mughal rule, to the point that it was declared extinct.
Our client, noted historian, filmmaker and writer, Mahmood Farooqui revived Dastangoi and established the Dastangoi Collective in 2005, performing & producing shows for the last 20 years. Mr. Farooqui invited Itu Chadhuri to design the identity of Dastangoi Collective to commemorate this remarkable revival’s two decade journey.
histories of writing
The logo’s design recalls asianate traditions of writing, the calligraphy and lettering traditions that reached their own zenith under the patronage of the same Mughal rulers who brought Dastangoi to India.
bridging the tensions that bring Dastangoi to life
The logo tries to bridge the many dualities that animate the Dastangoi art form. Dastangoi is improvised but perfected, the logo’s strokes have the imperfection and discipline of lettering. The dress of Dastangos is white and plain, but the performance is multicoloured. Likewise, the logo is finished in white but the form is anything but plain. The Dastangoi stage is bare but the language employed is ornate and rich. Similarly, the logo’s form is frugal and ornate in the same instant.
custom typeface as second identity layer
The idea for a custom Dastangoi typeface took shape as Itu Chaudhuri designed the logo. It extends the logo’s grammar into a coherent and contained set of letters. The letters are expressive enough to establish a full typeface based identity for the collective.
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