Apt reflection: Ajoka play mocks present socio-political situation in the capital

‘Lo phir basant ayee’ reiterates call for holding annual spring festival.

ISLAMABAD: Not too faraway from the resounding dharna, a theatre play mocking the current socio-political situation of the country was staged at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts auditorium on Saturday evening.

Organised by Ajoka Theatre in collaboration with Heinrich Böl Stiftung and the PNCA, the play “Lo phir basant aaye” is a political satire that reflects the prevailing state-of-affairs in an ambivalent vein.

Written by Shahid Nadeem and directed by Madeeha Gauhar, the play portrays a small but lively city, where people go about their lives with the belief that within the boundaries of their city, they are protected from marauding invaders at all times.



But when the insidious enemy stealthily breaks in, the gates disappear and the city is held hostage from within by an enemy which is now robbing them of everything they hold dear --- their valuables, values, culture and identity.

Among the bewildered citizens is Ustaad Mauja (Arshad Durrani), whose family has been making delicate and colourful kites for centuries, a professor (Abbas Hussain) who is being dictated on what to teach and what not to, free-spirited young lovers Ruby (Nayab Faiza) and Kami (Usman Raaj) who cannot sit on the same bench in college and a child, Guddu (Bilal Mughal) who sees the ‘raani’ kite in his dreams and wants to fly up with her into the blue sky.

But with the ‘Rok Thaam Committee’ underfoot and keeping close watch on them, spring has arrived and one wonders if basant (spring festival) will ever be celebrated again in this besieged city?

The full-house audience responded with palpable fervour, whistling and clapping throughout successive acts of the performance, which entailed brightly-coloured kites as props, energetic bhangra moves and silent moments of reflection.

“It [the play] raised a very important issue of the cultural and traditional ways of celebrating the spring festival, which is not alien to our culture and should not be destroyed in the name of religion. Everything around us is being stifled and that is what it draws attention to,” said Khawar Mumtaz, chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women, who was in the audience.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Ajoka Theatre has been part of the struggle for a secular, democratic and egalitarian Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2014.