The untold story of Layla-Majnu’s haunting love– Neha Bansal creates Magic

Though the story of Layla Majnun has been told umpteenth number of times since the 12th century, it still haunts. There is some supernatural power in the story of Laila-Majnu that fascinates those waiting to fall in love, tingles those already struck by Cupid’s arrow, and resonates with ones who lost in love. No one’s spared. 

Well, I had very faint memories of the Laila Majnu movie that starred Rishi Kapoor and Ranjeeta I had watched in my childhood, and some folklore. But when I heard that Neha was doing a story session on Laila Majnu, I got really excited and instantaneously booked my space. 

Neha Bansal is a storyteller, well known in Gurgaon circles for her uniquely curated platform, Stories of Asia, that brings to life tales from across the continent. Neha brings oodles of knowledge and wisdom of Asia through her experience at the United Nations, where she was exposed to Asian culture. So, storytelling came very organically to her, rooted in childhood experience, rich education, international exposure, and instinctive curiosity about people, places, and the myths that shape them. A mix of history, folklore, and mysticism. 

Coming back to the Layla- Majnu story… 

It would be very special, my instinct told me, somehow. 

Stories are for experience. For memories to be cherished. 
 
My childhood memories of story time with my mum, nani (grandma), and Dadaji came alive. Dadji’s were extra special. During summer vacations, we all cousins would gather around him on the terrace under the open sky after dinner. While he told us stories of Vikram and Vetal, we would hold each other’s hands, imagining “vetal (ghost)” around us. We would count stars, locate constellations, and sing. Those were fun times, bonding times that got forever etched in my heart.  

So, I went with childlike expectations. 

I and Alok, my better half, arrived just in time and stepped into the hall filled with curious Gurgaon story lovers who sat around Neha, ready to be swept into the Stories of Asia. The sweet and salty aroma of scented candles, rich perfumes, wine, and popcorn mingled to set the stage. It felt like being welcomed into a cozy secret world. We took our wine glasses and found ourselves a place to sit, waiting for the much-anticipated show to begin. 

Neha leaned forward and introduced us to Layla and Majnun, not just as characters from a centuries-old legend, but as flesh-and-blood souls aching with love, madness, and mysticism.

Thoroughly researched, intricately woven characters who together created the timeless Layla Majnun saga, from the doomed lovers to the poet Nizami Ganjavi who immortalized them, from Layla’s husband to sufi mystics, the donkey and Majnu’s companions in the desert, all came to life. 

As Neha spoke, I travelled through the 7th Century, guided by the verses of Nizami Ganjavi’s 12th-century epic poem, Leyli o Majnun. I found myself in the schoolyard where their eyes met for the first time, felt the dust of Banu Amir, Laila’s tribe, wandered the lanes and by lanes of Najd and followed Qays (Majnun) as he went around in the desert muttering poems for his beloved, and finally died next to his beloved’s grave. 

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

This was the story of Layla and Majnun. Eternal, tragic, unforgettable. 

Layla, who resigned to hope, perhaps destiny, and Majnu, whose love travelled from possessive to obsessive and finally transcended to liberating love.   

The story ended, and we sat there quiet, awestruck, in a state of transcendental meditation. The post-story time discussions and cultural dissection followed. 

Stories well told stay with you. And the one who told them remains the anchor, forever. A good storyteller is someone who has the story deep in one's heart, feels it before it can become a reality for others. Neha is one of those rare ones, believe me. 

I asked Neha Bansal why she told stories, and she told me this -  

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From Neha Bansal on “Why I tell stories…” in her own words. 

Each of our lives has been influenced by something or the other. Mine had two important ones. 

One, was my grandmother whom I was very close to. She and my Nana would pray two times a day. Their way of prayer was different. It was to exchange stories with each other.  So, daily and twice a day, they would tell each other stories from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and other epics. Owing to the fact that my Nana had been a Captain at sea, these stories often had snippets of a shared history and reality across our oceans. More importantly, these stories for me were not a bedtime ritual to help me sleep. Instead, an activity marked by a deep sanctity and reverence to the diversity and also commonalities of humankind, especially those in our neighborhood. 

Two, was the simultaneous interplay of a Western and Asian culture. I was born in the United Kingdom, but to a family that was deeply Indian. My citizenship is British, while my origins are Asian. My work with the United Nations, an international body deeply influenced by institutions and frameworks of the Washington consensus, but on the other hand, one that also took me across many countries of the Asia region. 

Owing to the two juxtapositions of both these cultures in my life, I was able to see in tangible ways the innate wisdom in both. No one way was better.

But it bothered me that we had had an education that idolized the west, at least when I was growing up in Asia and benchmarked it as a standard to achieve, ignoring the deep wisdom of many regions of the world. 

So, whilst a master’s student at Harvard University studying Public Policy, I aimed to draft policies and develop programmes that reflected this wisdom. And I founded ‘Asianism Retold’, an initiative I’m currently building on development pathways from Asia that the world can learn from. 

Around the same time, being a student at Harvard University, I had the chance to visit Chile and the home of Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature.

In his home, now a museum, is a table where actual wine is served and refilled every day. Why did I ask? Pablo Neruda always built his homes by the sea. It was the imagination of humankind across the oceans and their stories. To understand better, celebrate, and create space for all the immense differences and wisdom they bring, every evening was an open invitation to come share a glass of wine with him. Just like the stories from my grandparents, it was Pablo Neruda’s reverence for the many ways people were different but also common that inspired him to write. No one way was better. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1971. 
 
Therefore, when I travelled across Asia for work for work, I took it upon myself to read their classic stories and epics as a way to understand these countries better in addition to my study of their policies. It's then that I understood the treasure I had stumbled onto. Beautiful gems that provide an understanding of fascinating tales, and with that also foreign policy, national strategy, and people’s daily choices.  

I could not keep this wisdom and knowledge to myself. And thus started the initiative of telling these stories to adults over an evening and over a glass of wine, and recreate the magic of my grandparents and Pablo Neruda. 

This initiative has coincided with US President Trump’s shutting of USAID and with that, perhaps the end of an era of foreign aid. A Eurocentric, Bretton Woods system of foreign aid era that many resisted owing to one unwanted aspect-  it seemed to come with a development agenda that didn’t adequately reflect the ‘people’ it was for. Therefore, I hope that these stories open more spaces and needs for us as Asians/ Indians to legitimize who we really are and build a world around us that reflects that. And what better way than through stories…

So far, these have been Epic stories like that of a story from 17th century Vietnam, 15th century China, 11th century Japan, and in fact the first novel ever written, or 15th Century Korea. And with each, I weave in foreign policy, trade, and national policy choices that these countries have made and why. The last one was from the 12th century Persia, and with that, the political, economic, and cultural relations between the Middle East and South Asia.
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That evening wasn’t just about listening to a tale, it was about surrendering to it. Neha Bansal, with her innate wisdom, international lens, and deep reverence for storytelling, didn’t just narrate Layla and Majnun—she resurrected them. With every word, she bridged centuries, cultures, and hearts, reminding us that stories, when told with authenticity and passion, can transcend time. As the last echo of her voice faded, we weren’t just an audience anymore; we were part of the legend, carrying a piece of Layla and Majnun within us.

I am sure you won't like to miss her next session - You can get in touch with her at Asianismretold@gmail.com.