Himanshu Bajpai

Himanshu Bajpai is a storyteller, author and journalist. He writes about the society and culture of the city of Lucknow. He is a well-known artist of dastangoi—the medieval form of oral storytelling in Urdu. He famously brings alive Lucknow through tales of its people, its history, its syncretic culture, traditions, festivals and even the famed mangoes in Daastan-e-Aam. Himanshu performs much acclaimed dastan on Majaz Lakhnawi, Abdul Rahim Khanekhana, Amir Khusrau, Chandrakanta and Sagar Khayyami among others. Himanshu believes that stories keep alive the character of a city and he passionately tells these tales in his unique storytelling style. He is a walking treasure of Urdu and Hindi poetry. He has done a PhD and his doctoral thesis was on the Naval Kishore Press of Lucknow which was India’s largest printing press of the 19th and 20th century, which printed the biggest classics of Hindi and Urdu literature. Himanshu’s first book Qissa Qissa Lucknowwa, published by Rajkamal Prakashan, is about the stories of common people and everyday life of the old city of Lucknow. It became an instant best-seller.