Key Points
- 'Daastaan-E-Guru Nanak' is a 70-minute musical storytelling act in Punjabi and English.
- The performance highlights the idea of "Oneness" that Guru Nanak taught through his verses.
Artists from Atelier Repertory use Dastaan, a centuries-old traditional storytelling art form, to recite the idea of "oneness" that Guru Nanak promoted through his teachings.
Kuljeet Singh, the director of the act, told SBS Punjabi that the performance is an attempt to encapsulate and share Guru Nanak's contributions to humanity and articulate his basic teachings of oneness -"kirt karna" (honest & diligent living), "vand chhakna" (sharing what you possess); and "naam japna" (meditating upon the name of the Almighty).
"Dastaan is an old traditional Urdu art form of storytelling performed through narration, poetry, music and recitals," he said.
Kuljeet Singh.
Gaurab Suri, Mansi Grover and Guneet Kaur are the lead performers.
"We came to Australia on an invitation from Adelaide Fringe – the biggest art festival in Australia and have already staged six shows in Adelaide," Mr Singh said.
Atelier Repertory was established in 2004.
"In the last 19 years, the group has produced 50 shows with around 1200 performances in and outside India," he said.
The group is next heading to Japan to perform 'Daastaan-E-Guru Nanak' at the Tokyo Fringe Festival.
Click on the audio player to listen to this interview in Punjabi.
LISTEN TO
Interview with Kuljeet Singh.
13:23
