Gurugram gets back its cultural hub after 5 years

It will reopen with ‘Dastan-e-Chouboli’, a story telling in Dastangoi tradition

After a gap of around five years, Gurugram will get its cultural hub back in Apparel House that once housed Epicentre, the auditorium.

It will again buzz with performing arts, bringing people together to enjoy evenings of theatre, music and dance.

For the inaugural show on June 12, Arts and Literature Foundation will present a classic, “Dastan-e-Chouboli” by Mahmood Farooqui and Darain Shahid.

Chouboli is a Rajasthan folk tale adapted by Mr. Farooqui to the 5th century Dastangoi tradition of story-telling. Like all folk tales it is a story within a story — tongue-in-cheek and hilarious — of a clever manipulation by a Thakur’s wife of his consuming ego. There are several twists and turns in the plot that will keep the audience enthralled.

Mr. Farooqui’s rendering is spellbinding. He has performed thousands of shows across the world and is constantly innovating Dastangoi.

“I am absolutely delighted to present our evergreen hit the Dastan-e Chauboli at the Apparel House auditorium in Gurugram, which is being made active again thanks to the tireless efforts of the Arts and Literature Foundation. This is fabulous news for all arts lovers in Gurugram and Delhi NCR”, said Mr. Farooqui.

‘Just a beginning’

Anjali Singh, co-founder, Arts and Literature Foundation, said that Gurugram cannot be about swanky shopping malls, pubs and huge commercial spaces alone, there is equally a need for space for arts and culture lovers as well. “The “Dastan-e-Chouboli” is just a beginning. We hope it will be followed by more such performances at the auditorium like before,” said Ms. Singh.

Lease expired in 2017

The lease for Epicentre, the culture and convention destination located at Apparel House in Sector 44, had expired in January 2017 and was not renewed.

It was managed by Old World Hospitality, which also runs Habitat World at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

Epicentre hosted cultural programmes, art exhibitions, film shows, concerts and plays and its closing down was a big blow to art and culture lovers in the city.