The most memorable piece of Urdu literature that was performed was Colonel Mohammad Khan’s Tusi Ka Tota
he most memorable piece of Urdu literature that was performed was Colonel Mohammad Khan’s Tusi Ka Tota
SAMAA | Omair Alavi – Posted: Sep 3, 2018 |
Theatre in Karachi has been on the rise for some time and Olomopolo Media’s latest production Likhay Jo Khatt Tujhay was a good addition to it; veteran theatre actress Sania Saeed and Tajdar Zaidi captivated the audience at the National Academy of Performing Arts for three days.
Directed by Kanwal Khoosat, the play managed to enthrall all those present with dramatised readings from Urdu literature, live music and expressions that made the evening even more memorable. Sania – Tajdar may have been the artists who performed the ‘letter reading’ but to get it right was something only a talented director could do.
The most memorable piece of Urdu literature that was performed was Colonel Mohammad Khan’s Tusi Ka Tota where two characters – one teacher and one bureaucrat – discussed the ‘movement’ of one parrot who had gone from his master’s house to the teacher’s.
Sania played the bureaucrat while Tajdar was the teacher and although most of Colonel Khan’s fans have read the piece, the way it was delivered was outstanding. You could feel the anger in Sania’s voice and the needless need to be a prick in her partner’s and that’s what made it memorable.
Then there was Fikr Taunsvi’s letter exchange between ABC and BCD that showed how simple life was, back in the day when you didn’t have mobile phones or even Cable TV! Sania and Tajdar rendered each and every word with perfection, with special emphasis on the expressions because that’s what kept the audience engrossed as to what will happen next. They laughed and clapped as most of the people could relate to the love story that existed before there was WhatsApp or Facebook, or even e-mail!
For the fans of Urdu literature, Shafiqur Rehman’s name is huge and he would have been proud had he heard Sania reading ‘Mangetar Ke Naam’ from his book Mazeed Himaqatein. In the letter that was penned by the female mangetar, you got to know that the girl was not a nek parveen but the way she played with the words made her partner-to-be guilty as if he was the one who was wrong.
She played with her vocals like a pro and further strengthened the claim that there is no better actor on TV and stage than her, and she keeps getting stronger with the passage of time.
Tajdar wasn’t far behind as he read one letter penned by renowned poet Josh Malihabadi to appease the audience in between live music (Wajih Nizami, Shahdab Younis and Irfan Khan) that relaxed the minds of all those present after constant laughter. However, there were some acts in which seriousness was the key and Sania surprised the audience with her perfect rendition of these letters, the first from Safia Jan Nisar Akhtar (the mother of Javed Akhtar) to her husband Jan Nisar Akhtar who was travelling for poetic gatherings across India and the second from renowned writer/poet Amrita Pritam to her beloved Sahir Ludhianvi after his sudden death.
The three-day event was a great way to honor Urdu Literature and make the new generation aware of the richness of their mother tongue. One hopes that Olomopolo Media continues to bring forward such plays for an audience that has had enough of meaningless TV and tasteless films and need good content to learn and enjoy at the same time.
