‘Let’s go to school’: Play at Nishtar Hall propagates education

Highlights on equal importance of schooling for girls and boys.

PESHAWAR:

To highlight the importance of education in an effective and inspiring manner, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Culture and Takhleeq Foundation arranged a stage drama, Razai che school ta zu (Let’s go to school) on Friday.

The theme of the production revolved around Palwasha who is eager to get an education but her father Babu, played by new actor Irfan Durrani, is not in favour of his daughter’s aspirations. He often quarrells with her mother, played by Ainee Khan, for sending her to school. All of a sudden, Babu also stops his son, Mashal, from attending school.

It is the character of Maulvi, played by Abid Gumeryani, which brought about a turning point in the story. He emphasises the role of education, saying it should be imparted on equal basis to both girls and boys. The character that stands against Maulvi is Khan, played by Batin Farooqi. Khan is a feudal lord and is also against education. The central idea of the play is the debate between Maulvi and Khan on education.

The drama kept the audience engaged since there was light comedy and some sarcastic criticism directed at the existing political system.

The script of the 60-minute-long drama is written by Faridullah Shah Hasas while the production arrangements were made by Takhleeq Foundation in collaboration with the directorate of culture. The play was directed by Arshad Hussain.

Batin Farooqi’s negative performance was appreciated by the audience, while the role of Maulvi as a propagator of education, in contrast to the general view that religious leaders are against formal education, was also well-received.

“The maulvi (or a religious leader) is a key figure in a society and should play a positive role for change,” said Hussain. “This is a community drama and we can stage it in every district and village as it sets forth a constructive debate on an important issue, education.”

According to officials of the directorate, entertainment is an effective way to shed light on the importance of education. Besides education, the drama was also aimed at showing how women can play an active role in making society progress.

The drama is the second one to be staged at Nishtar Hall in the last few days. Earlier, ‘A tale of Peshawar’ was also performed there.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2015.