Youth festival: Grammarians get a standing ovation

Play staged by Lahore Grammar School students on the last day of the Youth Performing Arts Festival.

LAHORE: How often does a Punjabi woman, married to a cowardly man, take up the lead for her family?

The protagonist in Naang Waal (The Knot), a play staged by the Lahore Grammar School girl’s junior branch students on the last day of the Youth Performing Arts Festival, found herself in a similar situation. Her husband, a timid farmer, is threatened by a tiger and a snake to surrender his cattle, including the woman’s favourite buffalo. Being the coward he is, the farmer lets go of the cattle.

On hearing that, the woman pushes the farmer to muster up courage and stand against the tiger and the snake. On his failure to act, she takes the matter in her own hands. She puts on a disguise and after a successful attempt overpowers the tiger and his sidekick.

The play was written by the LGS teacher Huma Safdar. Through several comic scenes, including the farmer’s encounter with the tiger, the play successfully passes on the message, “Don’t tie your tail to cowards”, the slogan written underneath the poster outside Hall No 1 of Alhamra Cultural Complex where the performance was staged.

The performance of the LGS students was applauded with a standing ovation as the play came to a close.

Saad Siddiq, a member of the audience, said that he was pleasantly surprised to see “LGS girls conversing so well in Punjabi”.

The set design was creative. Wrapped in bright orange and green cloth, it provided ample space to the actors. Several students sang several Punjabi poetry in the background to add to the overall effect.

In his speech following the play, Faizan Peerzada, the Rafi Peer Theatre head, said that he was very impressed by the LGS students. “It’s very pleasant to see these kids handle a play in Punjabi so well,” he said. He praised the LGS teacher, the writer of the play, for encouraging her students to act a play in Punjabi.

After the play, the audience was escorted by volunteers to the amphitheatre for musical performances.

Bands from several colleges tried their hand at Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s classics.

These included Sanu Ek Pal, The Face of Love and Dam Mast Qalandar.

Zarb, a band from the University of Engineering and Technology, played metal tunes. The performance of a National College of Arts band included several Hindi folk songs.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2010.