Bridging the idiom

Ajoka has successfully managed to hold its third festival comprising regional and international theatre groups

By Sarwat Ali

Ajoka's just concluded third festival in as many years, 'Beyond Borders', has met the expectation that the theatre festival 'Zanani', organised by it three years ago, had raised. It was expected then that 'Zanani' would be the beginning of a tradition of holding festivals that comprise regional and international theatre groups. Taking advantage of the easing of visa and other restrictions a few years ago, Ajoka has not only staged a third festival in Pakistan, but, building on the initiative, has also performed in Indian Punjab in similar festivals.

The groups from India that participated in 'Beyond Borders' were Rangakarmee from Calcutta, The Company from Delhi, Rangtoli, Manch Rang Manch, Adakar Manch, and Chandigarh School of Drama from the Punjab.

Now that three festivals have been held and some of the directors have presented their productions regularly in these festivals, it is possible to trace the distinct style of production of these directors. It appears that Kewal Dhaliwal prefers to work on some folk tale or legend from the past which gives him ample scope to treat the entire play in larger than life dimensions. This was very obvious in the verse play 'Loona' written by Shiv Kumar Batalvi directed by Kewal Dhaliwal and staged in the first festival. Based on the famous legend of Puran Bhaggat, it was a charged poetical larger than life reenactment of the folk tale. The play had dance and a bit of music and plenty of colour, but actually the language proved to be the real strength of the production. Shiv Kumar Batalvi, a major poet of Punjabi when he died at the young age of thirty-six, has left as his legacy the facility of bridging the idiom of the classics with contemporary expression.

In 'Dhamak Nagare De', a play based on the life and death of the Punjabi hero Dullah Bhatti, he meted out the same larger than life treatment, but the Gursharan Singh's script left a lot to be desired. It was not possible to figure out whether the rebellion of Dullah came from personal motivation -- his grandfather or father were executed by the Mughals -- or the interest of the people and his community made him take up arms against a sea of troubles. But Dhaliwal displayed his versatility in his second production of 'Gaddi Charran Di Kahal Bari Si', based on the experiences the Indian immigrant community faces in its eagerness to go to the promised land -- the West. It was a very gripping production because the language of the characters matched their ordinary and less-than-heroic experiences. These plays were adapted from short stories by Baldev Singh Dhinsa, Jaswinder Singh, Harpeet Sekha and Veena Varma.

Usha Ganguly, the moving spirit behind Rangakarmee, presented a one-person performance, 'Antrayatra', based on a number of well known roles that she had done in her career as an actress, which included a role, Shanichari, from her famous play Rudali. This time round she brought Rudali and staged it at the festival. A very powerful play, it pointed to the chasm that has developed between genuineness of personal grief and the fakeness of ritualised emotion. The leading character, who had plenty of personal grief, could not afford to grieve for herself, but she did grieve for the well-to-do because she got paid for it.

When a Neelam Mansingh play was shown, one waited for the water to be splashed on stage, fires to be lit and flour to be thrown all over -- for this is what one remembers from her earlier productions like 'Kitchen Katha'. She did not disappoint in 'Nagamandla', a play by the famous Grish Karnard, because it had water splashed, a fire lit and flour or powder strewn all over the stage. It seems that the hallmark of her production is playing around with water and fire and the very exaggerated movement of the characters as they climbed ladders, stairs and moved violently up and down as if in great agitation. This play afforded more scope for all this, as it revolved round the fantasy of a young married loveless wife who conjured up situations from the mythological and folk legends that she had been exposed to in the years of her growing up, in her yearning for physical and sexual gratification.

'Prinde Jaan Hun Kithey', based on the account of Gurbex Singh Preetlari by Adakar Manch, was adapted and directed by Sahib Singh. It recounted the forced separation of people by the circumstances of partition, when love took a back seat in contrast to the religion that one followed. 'Natak Munshi Khan Da' on the same theme was written and directed by Gursharan Singh. This was Gursharan Singh's first visit to Pakistan since he had to flee from Multan in nineteen forty-seven, and he was visibly overawed by the experience. He has been a very active theatre person and has performed in villages and other far-away places. His style of production does not rely on sets and props and other paraphernalia of production, but focuses on the human dimension of the problem. His plays are simple and so is their production, but they always pose questions that leave an uneasy audience.

In 'Third War' and 'We Promise' by Alternate Living Theatre, written and directed by Prohir Guha, the non verbal aspect was very prominent. Dance and mime seemed to be the ruling form in the productions which were constituted round the destruction that technological advancement has brought through the upgradation of the military machine.

The main concern of Indian theatre seems to be the striking of a balance between its traditional forms and the contemporary sensibility. It appears to be a general consensus now that the peculiarity of Indian theatre, both in its script and in its production, lies in its links with the theatre of the past. This may sound platitudinous, but from what one has seen of the theatre of the various groups it seems to be more than a mere eventuality. The approach is much more focused and specific.

The plays staged by Pakistani groups in the festival were 'Surkh Gulab ka Mausam', 'Bullah', 'Dukh Darya', 'Toba Tek Singh' by Ajoka, 'Zikre Nashunida' by Tehreek e Niswan, 'Sassi Pannu' by Bahawalpur Saraiki Theatre, 'Sawan Raen Da Supna' by Pakistan National Council of the Arts Workshop, 'Alfo Paerni Di War' by Human Safdar's Group, 'Violence Against Women' by Interactive Resource Centre's Hameeda Shaukat Ali Group, Gujranwala, 'Nawey Patter' by New Jhok, 'Border Border', a joint production of Ajoka and Springdale Amritsar.

Ajoka has been resilient to survive the phase when it was treated as pariah by the establishment. It seems to have been vindicated: the very same venues from which it was once banned, have now been thrown open to it, for staging not only its own plays but also the Indian groups', in a festival and on themes that would have been unthinkable a few years back.