About
Darain Shahidi is a New Delhi-based dastango (oral storyteller in the Dastangoi tradition), listed in the Dastangoi Collective's practitioner corpus. He is trained in the tradition revived by Mahmood Farooqui in 2005. [Data Not Publicly Available -- detailed biographical information, career timeline and performance history not publicly documented. Profile created for Atlas completeness; artist invited to claim and enrich.]
The artistry
Darain Shahidi practises Dastangoi, the Urdu oral storytelling tradition revived in 2005 by Mahmood Farooqui, which involves two narrators performing classical and contemporary stories through voice, rhythm and Urdu literary embellishments.
Repertoire
Dastan-e-PartitionOriginal IPDuoOral
A telling of Partition built from folk tales and literature; originally co-performed with the late Ankit Chadha.
Shahzaadi Chauboli KiAdaptationSoloOral
A recounting of Detha's tale of Princess Chauboli.
Dastan Raag DarbariAdaptationSoloOral
The award-winning Hindi novel recast as dastan.
Performance
SoloDuo
Mahmood Farooqui
Frequent co-performer; Dastangoi Collective founder
Duo
Danish Husain
Co-performed the Manto dastan (Mantoiyat)
Duo
Poonam Girdhani
Co-performed Dastan-e-Chauboli, Jashn-e-Adab 2016
Duo
Ankit Chadha
Co-performed the partition dastan Dastan-e-Taqseem-e-Hind, Jashn-e-Rekhta 2016
Duo
Publications & productions
Mantoiyat
Dastangoi tribute to Saadat Hasan Manto, with Danish Husain
2013
Dastan-e-Raag Darbari
Adaptation of Shrilal Shukla's novel, with Mahmood Farooqui
Dastan-e-Taqseem-e-Hind
Partition-themed dastan, Jashn-e-Rekhta
2016
Festivals & appearances
Indian PSU Achievers' Award
Performed a Crisis Management-themed dastan - confirms continued active practice
Dastango · 2025
Lineage & training
Mahmood Farooqui
Training in the revived Dastangoi tradition
Guru
[Atlas Assessment] Went from a near-empty profile to substantially documented through festival and Collective archives rather than personal media - his public presence lives entirely in institutional/festival channels, which is normal for Dastangoi but means his profile depends more on the health of those third-party archives than on his own self-promotion. A 2025 performance confirms continued active practice.
Darain Shahidi's significance is as a core, long-tenured member of the Dastangoi Collective itself - frequent direct collaborator with Mahmood Farooqui across a wide range of subject matter (Manto, Partition, Raag Darbari), suggesting sustained trust within the form's central circle rather than peripheral participation.