Open week at PGCW: Satire and comedy highlight second day

The winning college will be given a shield at the end of the competition.

ISLAMABAD:

Students proved their mettle and penmanship with evocative skits portraying political issues at the Post Graduate College for Women (PGCW) Rawalpindi.

A salad competition was also part of the five-day open week continuing here on Wednesday.

A series of short Urdu skits were performed by various all-girls colleges of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, where the prerequisite was to perform from a selection of works by Mushtaq Yousafi, Ibn-e-Insha and Shafiqur Rehman. Each skit lasted anywhere from five to seven minutes, limited because of the number of colleges performing (16).

Though the comical skits, with a mix of occasionally witty dialogue and slapstick comedy, had many in stitches, some also became targets of friendly taunts and jeering. When one actor asked another what would be on a calendar if the Taj Mahal had not been built (Ager Taj Mahal na banta toh calendar pei tasveer kiss ki chapti?), an audience member quipped “[Bollywood actress] Ashwariya Rai ki”.

But perhaps the strongest performance was by Khadija Omer College Rawalpindi, whose play was a not-so-subtle jibe on the current political situation. A group of smart aleck students harass their teachers in a classroom by giving twisted answers to her questions. The political satire of the play was strengthened with witty dialogues and had the audience laughing, partly at the irony of the situation the play was representing.

Islamabad Model College for Girls F-7/2 took home the first prize while Khadija Omer College and Bilquis Khanum College of Education Rawalpindi came in second and third respectively.

In tandem to the skits, a salad competition was held in a separate block of the college where two student representatives from each college competed to present salads, complete with salad dressings and cutlery settings. The principal criterion was the taste; however, presentation and effective use of space were also contributing factors in the final decision.

“We are completely unbiased and have cut marks for unnecessary presentation and improper usage of space,” stated Mona Mehmood, one of the judges. Russian, oriental and pineapple salads were among those presented to judges for tasting. Some had the foresight to include cocktails with their salads.

The open week will continue until March 3 where the college with the most number of trophies will be awarded a shield. Each day has been divided into various activities, which are marked by outside judges invited by the PGCW.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2012.