“Yes, many years ago when I was fond of going for night shows at Delite Cinema,” replied the commentator. Now it is all in the past though the Delhi Urdu Academy has rendered a signal service in recording the tales of the dastangoh in three or four volumes. The dastangoh was akin to a gup-baaz in some respects because his tales too were leavened with gossip and anecdotes. Mullah Asad occupied the post of Gup-Baaz during his reign and he honoured him with the title of Mahfuz Khan. ‘‘As I was returning disappointed, I passed by a ber tree; there were several growing then even on the roadside.

Source: The Hindu April 10, 2017 00:56 UTC