THE STORYTELLER'S TALE
Omair Ahmad
But in the many chambers of music and dance in Delhi the word ‘love’ was spoken of in many ways, it was nothing but a currency of exchange, of looks and glances, and promises that were never truly what they pretended to be. Here, love was a thing to be done many times.
In the tradition of Arabian Nights this one, when a story well-told is the mooldhar of the experience, of higher value than the story itself. But then, can one separate the content from the form?
Located in Delhi of the 1700s, at a time when Ahmad Shah Abadali’s men have ransacked the city, a poet, in his attempt to leave the asinine traders behind, finds himself at an isolated casbah. He’s invited by the Begum of the casbah to stay and he shares a story in return for this hospitality. A fantastic, emotional tale about two brothers, Taka and Wara - one human, one wolf – the poet evokes many feelings in the Begum, provoking her into thinking about trust, relationships, fear and love. There is an-ever-so-slight exchange of glances between them, before she decides to respond. With a story of her own.
Read it for Delhi, for lost poets (and how it is their business to be lost), and for a deft treatment of the story-within-story device.
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