He would leave his audience enthralled with his enigmatic narratives. For Ankit, storytelling was a way of life and he’d been working passionately towards reviving the 13th century Urdu storytelling art form called ‘Dastangoi‘.
He was only 30 and unfortunately, he’s no longer with us.
Author, performer, artist, a compassionate thinker and most importantly a storyteller, Ankit Chadha was seen as peerless in his ability to create a magical world through his engaging style of storytelling.
He’d also authored two books, titled Amir Khusrau – The Man in Riddles and My Gandhi Story.
A graduate in History from Hindu College, at Delhi University, he was one of the handful of Dastango (storytellers) in India. He worked as a brand manager in a digital marketing agency before leaving his job and pursuing his passion for storytelling.
Here’s remembering the young artist through some of his impeccable performances.
Through this amazing little story, Chadha, who’d been working towards reviving the art of Dastangoi since 2010, gave us an important lesson in humanity.
With this short, yet impactful story, Ankit Chadha explained why we all should keep sharing our stories.
Through Saqinama, or praising the one who’s serving the drinks, Chadha beautifully narrated the legendary exploits of Amir Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad.
This video from the Kabir Festival 2015, held in Bandra, Mumbai, shows Ankit Chadha and others singing poems of Amir Khusro, giving themselves to the sole meditation of the divine being.
This captivating tale will take you back to 1947 when lakhs of people died during the Partition of India-Pakistan.
Here, the incredibly talented storyteller and writer gave an insight into the art of Dastangoi, the ancient art of storytelling and how it provides one of the most incredible methods of aesthetic contemplation.
Ankit Chadha was unmistakably one of the most talented storytellers of our time and his demise has left a gaping hole in the hearts of Dastangoi lovers.
Rest in peace.