Syed Sahil Agha

Syed Sahil Agha
Born1982 (age 42–43)
Delhi
CitizenshipIndian
EducationNational School of Drama
Bachelor of Arts (Jamia Millia Islamia)
Diploma in Acting (Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts)
Years active2010-present
Known forDastangoi

Syed Sahil Agha (born 1982) is an Indian storyteller, actor, writer and car collector, who is specialised in the verbal art of Dastangoi, a 13th-century art of oral storytelling in Urdu language. He discovered the old form of QissaKhwani and revived it by naming it QissaGoi and also reintroduced Jumlebaazi, a 13th-century wit and Wordplay oral storytelling art form .[1][2] He is known for his role as Shibli Nomani in the Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: The Messiah, a web-series released on Apple TV.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and education

Syed Sahil Agha was born in 1982 in Delhi to Sayyed Mansoor Agha, a writer and senior journalist.[7][8] He belongs to the Delhi Gharana originated from Amir Khusrau's Silsila of Sufism.[9][10]

He learnt and did his training at National School of Drama and he completed his Bachelor of Arts from Jamia Millia Islamia and then started to perform as a Dastango in events.[7][11] Later, he did Post Graduate Diploma in Acting from Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts, Delhi.[12]

Career

Agha gave his first professional Dastangoi performance in 2010 at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, when he was pursuing Bachelor of Arts there.[13][14] He claims his grandfather was the inspiration for his work.[11][15][16]

He has also come up with a new idea of 'Musical Dastangoi' which has an amalgamated storytelling with Indian Opera and Indian classical music.[17]

Agha is the writer of Dastan-e-Hind (2010), a collection of his dastans and Indian folklore, has inspired performances by many artists around the globe.[18][13] He perform solo rather than as part of a pair. His dastans include Nairang-e DastanGoi, Dastan-e-Awadh, Dastan-e-Dard, Dastan-e-Taqseem,[19] Dastan-e-Dastangoi,, Dastan Mehboob-e-Ilahi, Dastan-e-Amir Khusrau,[20] Dastan-e-Shoaib Akhtar,[21][22] Jashn-e-Javed Akhtar,[23] Dastan-e-Chiragh, Dastan-e-Mahatma,[24][25] Dastan-e-Vikram-Betal and Tughlaqnama, Dastan Dilli Ke Shayron ki[26] which have become a hit amongst his audiences.[27][28] His musical storytelling includes Dastan-e-Duvidha, Jashn-e-Virasat, Dilli Durbar,[29][30] Dastan Ishq-e-Meera, Dastan-e-Sahir and many others.[29][30][31][32][33]

He has been a part of Bharatmuni Rang Utsav, Gaatha: Mumbai International Story Telling Festival, Udaipur Tales International Storytelling Festival, Jahan-e-Khusrau, Shimla International Literature Festival, Sahityotsav Cultural Karvan, Jashn-e-Rekhta and Adbi Forum.[9][1][34][35][36][37][38]

Vintage car collection

Agha, collecting vintage cars is a passion.[39][40] In the past 25 years, he has collected several high-end British and German cars.[41][12]

Filmography

Television

Year Show Role Channel Ref
2018 Mirza Ghalib Umrao Begum Writer DD Urdu [1]
2019 Dastangoi Writer and Performer Zee Salaam [9]

Filmography

Year Film Role Channel Ref
2019 Pari Khana Writer Sood Films [9]
2020 Sanam Khana Writer Netflix [9]

Awards and honours

In 2022, National Museum, New Delhi honoured Agha with The Grace of Dastangoi and also displayed his costume Angrakha at the Chitram Vastram.[42][43][44]

  • Pradesh Jouhar Award 2017
  • Hafeez Merathi Award 2017 [45]
  • Delhi Minorities Commission Award 2019 [46][47][48]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Syed Sahil Agha". Shimla International Literature Festival. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  2. ^ Jaipur, Rajesh Asnani (13 January 2025). "Udaipur storytelling festival: A celebration of oral tradition". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Special screening of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: The Messiah held at AMU | December 19, 2024". Aligarh Muslim University. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  4. ^ Maniar, Prakruti (30 November 2019). "On the art of storytelling: Dastango Syed Sahil Agha". www.purplepencilproject.com. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  5. ^ Sahana lyer (29 February 2020). "Udaipur Tales Brings Alive the Art of Storytelling". outlooktraveller. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  6. ^ Raza, Danish (7 December 2018). "The long and Short of Storytelling in India". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  7. ^ a b Habib, Waquar (26 February 2024). "Dastangoi Artist Syed Sahil Agha On Mastering A Fading Art". Outlook Traveller. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  8. ^ Phukan, Vikram (21 November 2019). "Diamonds in the rough". www.thehindu.com. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Syed Sahil Agha: Featured Teller at Gaatha Festival". www.gmisf.org. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  10. ^ Hasan, Shah Imran. "ماضی اورمستقبل کا پل ہے داستان گوئی ۔ سید ساحل آغا". www.urdu.awazthevoice.in (in Urdu). Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  11. ^ a b Saha, Pracheta (21 November 2018). "Dastaan-E-Dastangoi: The Lost Art Form Of Story Telling". www.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Meet Sahil Agha who owns over 50 vintage cars". ummid.com. ummid. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  13. ^ a b Sharma, Purnima (9 September 2017). "Medieval Art, New Interest". Deccan Herald.
  14. ^ Vibor (1 November 2017). "noida literature festival highlight 2017". www.noidaliteraturefestival.com. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  15. ^ "Storytelling from a cross-cultural perspective". www.norway.no. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  16. ^ "An enthralling collage of plays". Sohaila Kapur. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  17. ^ Eba, Syeda (8 February 2020). "Dastangoi: Bringing stories alive". Millennium Post. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  18. ^ "DastanGoi, Dastan-e-Amir kusrow". karmpatr.com. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  19. ^ "Bazm-e-Urdu Dubai, Presidents 'Nairang-e DastanGoi'". web desk. thefinancialdaily.com.
  20. ^ Ahmed, Tufail (13 May 2024). "Dastangoi: Timeless tales of Urdu luminary Amir Khusro". Pravasisamwad.com. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Pakistan's bowling Great Shoaib Akhtar to Grace Sharjah International Book Fair 2022". Daily Pakistan. webdesk. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  22. ^ Mazhar Farooqui. "SIBF 2022: Shoaib Akhtar to attend show depicting his life story". klyoum.com. khaleej Times. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  23. ^ Nilanjana G. Javed. "Indian poet Javed Akhtar's story mesmerises audiences in Dubai". gulfnews.com. Gulf News. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  24. ^ Jeelani, Gulam (31 October 2018). "A glimpse of Mahatma Gandhi's life through the art of Dastangoi". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  25. ^ Diwan Singh Bajeli. "The making of Mahatma". thehindu.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  26. ^ Rana Siddiqui Zaman (15 March 2019). "Dilli Durbar 2019: A modern attempt at celebrating classical music and more". nationalheraldindia.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  27. ^ Gulf News Report. "Meet Pakistani cricket legend Shoaib Akhtar at Sharjah International book fair". gulfnews.com. Gulf News. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  28. ^ Dipanita Nath. "One Hundred Per Cent". The Indian Express. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  29. ^ a b "Dilli Durbar Introducing youngsters to classical Indian music". Team MP. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  30. ^ a b "Introducing youngsters to classical Indian music". Team MP. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  31. ^ "Tales of Urdu Heritage and Hindu Muslim unity". Karmpatr. 1 November 2018.
  32. ^ Reem Khokhar (5 December 2018). "Curtains down at Udaipur's international storytelling festival". thehindu.com. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  33. ^ Danish Raza (1 November 2018). "The long and short of storytelling in India". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  34. ^ Bharat, E. T. V. (22 November 2024). "Udaipur Storytelling Festival Returns With Its 6th Edition; Check Details". ETV Bharat News. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  35. ^ PTI (17 December 2023). "Storytelling festival 'Udaipur Tales' set to make grand return on January 12". ThePrint. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  36. ^ "Adbi Forum celebrates Legacy of 'Dastangoi' storytelling art - The Financial Daily". 29 May 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  37. ^ "Sahtyotsav Cultural Karvan Ignites Dehradun with Melodies and Tales | Entertainment". Devdiscourse. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  38. ^ "Bharatmuni Rang Utsav 2024: A solo and duet drama festival". The Patriot. 20 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  39. ^ TOI (6 April 2022). "Delhi's vintage car lover who restores iconic beauties, watch!". timesofindia. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  40. ^ Muttabi Ali Khan. "This Delhi man owns over 50 vintage cars". munsifdaily.com. munsifdaily. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  41. ^ TOI (7 April 2022). "Delhi's vintage car lover who restores iconic beauties, watch!". the economic times (Panache). Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  42. ^ IANS (17 December 2022). "How India dressed up: National Museum recreates saga from old manuscripts". Business Standard. business-standard.com. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  43. ^ "वस्त्रों और परिधानों की कहानी, पांडुलिपि चित्रों की जुबानी". www.newstodaynetwork.com/.
  44. ^ dailychhattisgarh news desk (17 December 2022). "वस्त्रों और परिधानों की कहानी, पांडुलिपि चित्रों की जुबानी". IANS. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  45. ^ "Storytellers Of 2020". Udaipur Tales. 8 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  46. ^ viewswall. "Sahil Agha, a distinguished Dastango, honored by DMC". www.viewswall.com. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  47. ^ "Delhi Minorities Commission announces Awards in various fields". theindianawaaz.com. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  48. ^ "DMC 2019 AWARDS". Delhi Minorities Commission. Retrieved 17 June 2020.