JOIN USPakistani plays pushing for peace
Four Mughal historical plays by award winning playwright Shahid Nadeem from Pakistan will be presented in Delhi under the banner of ‘Humsaya’, a Pakistan Theater Festival. Nadeem has adapted significant plays of Bertolt Brecht and Saadat Hasan Manto in his career and presently heads the Ajoka Theatre in Pakistan Television Academy.
Routes2Roots, a non-profit organisation which has been working towards building bridges of peace by promoting people to people contact through art, culture, heritage and education, is bringing the inter-country festival to Delhi.
“The festival is to promote theatre for peace and all the plays have a message of peace in them,” says Rakesh Gupta, founder of Routes2Roots.
The plays include Dara, Bullah, Kaun Hai Ye Gustakh and Lo Phir Basant Ayee. Dara is about the less-known but extremely dramatic and moving story of Dara Shikoh, eldest son of Emperor Shahjahan, who was imprisoned and executed by his younger brother Aurangzeb. Dara has a very relevant message for our contemporary times and includes live qawwalis and songs based on the lyrics of Amir Khusrau, Sarmad, Bhagat Kabir and Dara Shikoh.
A play based on Bulleh Shah’s life, Bullah, is about the beacon of hope and humanism. His powerful voice called for tolerance and love, while there was bigotry and hatred all around. The play is a tribute to the great mystic. It is broadly based on the events of his life, as communicated through his poetry, historical records and popular myths.
Kaun Hai Ye Gustakh, directed by Madeeha Gauhar, will mark the birth centenary of great short story writer Saadat Hassan Manto. The play focuses on Manto’s life, works and events after his migration to Pakistan in 1949.
Lo Phir Basant Ayee is the story of a beautiful city where people believe that the walls built around the city would protect them from marauding invaders for all times.
Setember 18 will be a day-long seminar from 10 am to 5 pm, where eminent theatre personalities, contemporary and classic, like Pran Nevile, Usha Ganguly, Bansi Kaul, Asghar Nadeem, Gauhar and Shahid Nadeem will come together to discuss the nitty-gritty of theatre as a tool.
Subjects like theatre cooperation between India and Pakistan will be discussed by the panel.
Humsaya, is scheduled for September 14 to 17 at Kamani auditorium, Copernicus Marg. Timings: 7 pm to 9 pm. For free by passes contact Routes2Roots at 011-41646383.