We didn-t choose Amir Khusrau; he chose us. As we hail from an arts and music background, he fit right into our lives," says actor and playwright Ajitesh Gupta, while explaining how he and theatre practitioner Mohit Agarwal stumbled upon the works of the 13th century Sufi saint in 2018. Born out of their extensive research, which included visiting the shrine of Khusrau-s mentor Nizamuddin Auliya, was their first dastangoi, Jo dooba so par — based on the poet-s couplet — in 2019.

"We did numerous shows. When the lockdown started, I moved from Mumbai to my hometown in Uttar Pradesh. Mohit and I were itching to do something creative, which is when actor and director Shivani Tanksale approached us. She had loved the dastangoi, and suggested that we adapt it to an online format," Gupta shares. The result of this collaboration is Qissagoi-Kahaniya Khusrau Ki, "a musical dastangoi" that Gupta and Agarwal will present this weekend.