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attack theatre
Small wonders A new
direction in music
Threat to the lives of ANP leaders would not go away until the conflict raging in the NWFP and tribal areas comes to an end. And there is little hope that this conflict is going to end any time soon By Rahimullah Yusufzai Asfandyar Wali Khan was a
marked man and he knew this for quite sometime. That is why he was To his good luck, Asfandyar Wali survived the suicide bombing but four men were killed and 16 others sustained injuries in the blast. Among the dead was his loyal bodyguard, Yar Zameen, who pounced on the suicide bomber as he made his way toward the ANP leader despite the hail of bullets fired by policemen and other guards. But for Yar Zameen's sacrifice, the bomber could have blown himself close to Asfandyar Wali and caused him harm. It was, therefore, not surprising that ANP leaders eulogised Yar Zameen's bravery and hailed him as the saviour of the Pakhtuns for saving the life of the Pakhtun leader. Poet and banker Fazl Ghani,
a native of Tangi in Charsadda district, was also killed in the blast. A It seems this incident too would be added to the unresolved cases of suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism in the NWFP and elsewhere in the country. The police was a prime target of the militants and demoralised and expecting it to solve the mysteries of suicide bombings is unrealistic. The intelligence agencies are supposed to provide timely information to prevent terrorist acts but their performance leaves much to be desired. In fact, so many terrorist attacks are taking place nowadays that the government and its law-enforcement agencies have no time to do proper investigations and track down the culprits. Asfandyar Wali's decision to fly to Islamabad with the few members of his family in a helicopter sent by President Asif Ali Zardari sometime after the suicide bombing wasn't well-received by most people in the NWFP. His own party members felt it wasn't the right decision as it meant abandoning the people of the province and getting intimidated by the militants. Opponents of the ANP criticised the move and even workers of PPP, which is the junior partner in the ANP-led coalition government in the NWFP, made fun of Asfandyar Wali for flying to Islamabad and taking refuge in the Presidency. It certainly caused political damage to the ANP and Asfandyar Wali, who was reluctant to go but was persuaded to do so by some of his party leaders and the minions of the provincial government. He was reportedly told that at least four suicide bombers had been tasked to target him and he could be attacked again if he stayed in Charsadda and exposed himself by meeting people. Asfandyar Wali returned to
Peshawar two days later amid unprecedented security to attend a ANP leaders were already under attack in Swat and all its lawmakers have left the valley to take refuge in Peshawar. But now the party is also being attacked elsewhere in the province. During the February 2008 elections campaign, a public meeting of the party was bombed killing 30 people. The ANP provincial president Afrasiyab Khattak survived the bombing and began updating his security to avoid harm. A day after the attack on Asfandyar Wali, the Mardan house of NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti was attacked with two rockets. The rockets missed the target at a time when Hoti's father Azam Hoti, who served as federal communication minister in then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government, was at home. The Walis aren't new to such attempts on their life. Asfandyar Wali's late father, Khan Abdul Wali Khan, had survived four assassination attempts. His mother Nasim Wali Khan said an attempt on her life was also made when she was active in politics. The members of the family have also suffered imprisonment with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, referred to as Bacha Khan by his followers out of reverence, arguably being the one politician in India and Pakistan who spent the most years in jail. Wali Khan too spent years in prison and had to suffer for his political views. It was during his imprisonment at the hands of then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto under the Hyderabad conspiracy case along with other Pakhtun and Baloch leaders of ANP that his wife Nasim Wali Khan came out of purdah and started addressing political rallies in the conservative Frontier. It was a very bold move on her part and was path-breaking decision that reinforced the party's reputation as a progressive and enlightened political entity. It is obvious that Asfandyar Wali henceforth would not be able to operate freely as a politician. His movements would be restricted and his choice of residence would have to be selective. In fact, he had already limited his political activities and during the election campaign last February he didn't address public meetings for almost a month. He even failed to speak at election rallies in his own two constituencies in Charsadda and Swabi. Though his party leaders claimed Asfandyar Wali was suffering backache and was unable to walk, it soon became clear that security concerns had forced him to stay at home. There were reports of possible suicide attacks against him at the time and he was advised to stop addressing meetings during the election campaign. The threat to Asfandyar Wali's life would not go away until the conflict raging in the NWFP and tribal areas comes to an end. And there is little hope that this conflict is going to end any time soon.
By Nafisa Rizvi For once, the people of
Karachi cannot believe their esoteric luck. The establishment of Napa The latest production by the Napa Repertory Theatre Company Vakil Sahib wafts by on a light, amiable note; the farcical, sometimes understated humour, that stems from the witty, sparkling dialogue rather than slapstick is refreshing. The play carries its own weight formidably, not needing to rely solely on the performances of well-known actors nor the storyline to see it through. We know the play has achieved a level of success when no singular element stands out as being the winning streak of the play, indicating a well-managed, streamlined production team in which each person plays an imperative role to create a unified whole. That is the heart of professional theatre. Vakil Sahib is an adaptation of a play by the Hungarian/American playwright Ference Molnar. But it is to Shoaib Hashmi's illimitable credit as a writer that the play does not suffer from the effects of transposition of time and place. The dialogues are titillating and the language -- idiomatic and 'listener-friendly' -- shifts seamlessly across boundaries of class and culture within the roles enacted. Advocate Khizar Hayat Kasoori, one of the two protagonists of the play, speaks an educated language, lapsing into pompous legalese when he is home but out of sorts and feels the need to reassert himself. To suit their individual roles, the tutor speaks a more refined, almost lakhnawi-style Urdu, while the Assistant Superintendent of Police speaks a rougher tongue. The other main character of the play is the career-criminal, Phoja, a robber who fashions himself on the likes of Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and…well…not giving to the poor, but so what. Phoja speaks a street vernacular but with his gift of gab, passes himself off as the esteemed lawyer when he takes his place at a school reunion party. The story is centred round the inscrutable and enigmatic relationship between Kasoori the lawyer and his client Phoja the inveterate robber. On his return from the courtroom, Kasoori recounts the resounding speech with which he has, according to himself, swayed the judge and jury to offer a verdict in favour of his client. However, Phoja tells us a few minutes later that he had never committed the crime and therefore was acquitted but Kasoori was not to be told as it may break his heart. Phoja's successive line of 19 felonies and his ensuing acquittals has been the foundation of Kasoori's success and wealth. Kasoori lives with two sisters, both unmarried. The younger sister Shehla Hayat is a giddy, flighty girl involved in a romantic liaison with her brother's legal assistant Rashid. The two lovebirds manage to elude the watchful eye of Shehla's tutor, the spinster Sultana Begum, who is an avid reader of detective novels and swoons at the sight of Phoja who is a real-life criminal and therefore a demi-god to her. The lawyer's other sister Shakila unwillingly enters into a romantic relationship with the police officer Ghazanfar who has promised to give her details of an important and lucrative case which could boost her brother's career substantially. Along the way, she softens towards Ghazanfar, though at the risk of irking her brother. In the meantime, Phoja is tempted by his habitual vocation to bite the hand that feeds him but is plagued by guilt and remorse when he discovers that he has actually found a place in the heart -- and legal will -- of his lawyer. In a comedy of errors, the play resolves to a happy end. While the story offers caustic commentary on the nature of good and evil, especially during the interaction between the lawyer and the robber, the thread of humour is never lost because it spares the audience from the pit of didacticism that writers tend to descend into when discussing the age-old dichotomy of moral righteousness and iniquity The set design for Vakil Sahib has been an extraordinary endeavour. Audiences in Pakistan are used to ad hoc props: furniture brought in from the homes of the actors and backdrops painted hurriedly. The stage design for this play was detailed and well-constructed and though the scene doesn't change, giving the designer, Tanveer Abbas a huge advantage, it is nonetheless a monumental effort. The two floors of the house are shown to be connected by a flight of stairs. The top floor houses the lawyer's bedroom. There is an east wing and a west wing of the lower floor, leading to the private quarters of the lawyer's two sisters. The entrance to the house is also convincing with huge neem trees in the background, created by the use of actual photography on large vinyl skin used for billboards. Stage sets are important to establish character placement, cultural and societal class of the players, and to mark realistic entrance and exit routes, elements that our starved and indulgent audiences have always been prepared to overlook for the sake of art. The problem is when smaller theatre companies begin to put up their productions on smaller budgets, we will be nagged by the discrepancies and lacks that have never bothered us in the past. To put together a set of actors who have performed for many decades alongside amateurs straight out of acting school seems slightly unfair in theory. But at the end of the play, we see the wisdom of such a decision. The younger actors manage to hold their own substantially and seem entirely unintimidated by the seniors. Notable amongst them is Paras Masroor, the young man who plays the role of the police officer. His affected cockiness and false bravado are a source of laughter and though exaggeration in humour may not requite a great deal of talent, yet there is a sparkle in the young man's eyes which reveals his passion for the profession he has decided to embark upon. The two senior artists were so comfortable on stage; it felt like they owned the space they walked on. A veteran like Talat Hussain delivers his lines with an unselfconscious, easy air which only comes from many years of stage performance. Not even TV can give you that. Arshad Mehmood's performance is silky smooth and his marvellous powers of improvisation show up when he remains unruffled by dialogue glitches by his co-actors and offers adequate sentence connectors to tide over awkward moments. The understated element of the play that truly gives the play its dignified air and causes the audience to chuckle throatily rather than guffaw wildly was the seamless direction by Anjum Ayaz who did full justice to Shoaib Hashmi's script. Like in all good plays, the director hovered possessively over the production whilst trying to make the audience forget that he was even needed and that the entire production had just come together effortlessly with a nudge from serendipity. The play Vakil Sahib staged at the Karachi Arts Council will continue until October 12. Mussarat Mirza's work on display at Rohtas 2, Lahore, appears simple, minimal and non-descriptive By Quddus Mirza If you are trying to locate
a house in a new and unknown city, chances are that a person living in As a matter of fact, all of us have this tendency to forget familiar surroundings. We tend to stop observing things around us and spend life as a matter of habit. Only when something out of ordinary takes place, the normality is viewed with a different angle: a process similar to art making. Regardless of form, material or genre, a work of art conveys a unique version of familiar reality or ideas. In most cases, it is not complex or extraordinary concepts or themes that guarantee greatness in art. Instead, it is the artist's ability to find uncommon elements and a personal perspective that contributes towards making master pieces. A similar phenomenon is evident in the recent works of Mussarat Mirza (displayed from October 9-18, 2008, at Rohats 2, Lahore). In this age of classifications and categorisations, Mirza is often described as a landscape painter; mainly because her subject matter spans rural scenes, village houses and people of interior Sindh. But even though she focuses on a particular locality and environment, her work transcends from a mere depiction of a specific site or certain characters. In the exhibition at Rohtas
2, Mussarat Mirza is showing her small oils and pencil and ink sketches. This aspect, the sensitive application of material, distinguishes Mirza from other artists. Her paintings have always been built with multiple layers of paint, often scratched and coated many times over. This quality endows a visual pleasure to her chosen subject, and due to this the viewer perceives a combination of outside world and the filter through which the artist's vision is shown. Works in the present exhibition, especially small oil on canvases, affirm her unique method of transforming reality, and re-presenting, rather re-inventing it as something personal and pleasant. In these paintings, scenes of bridges, fields, doorways, huts and sections of houses are rendered, but the artist has selected a view that hints at the original structure, yet simultaneously suggests an abstract composition. Standing in front of her canvases, one is engaged in making a link between the physical world and its abstract interpretation. These works appeal to our emotions instead of providing us information. Interestingly, Mirza amalgamates the two in a way that her paintings, besides being scenes of actual places, serve as stimuli for the senses. In that way, her work appears simple, minimal and non-descriptive. Yet, in order to attain these qualities, one needs a painting experience as long as Mussarat Mirza's. However, it is not only the number of years spent in the service of art that transforms an individual into an interesting artist; it is the unique approach that makes it happen. In terms of Mussarat's work, one becomes aware of her sensitive soul that is eager to decipher the world around and is content in portraying it as a private vision. Thus, on one hand, her works are blend of tones and colours divided into geometric shapes, or some kind of organic forms (for instance in her figurative compositions), but on the other these are slices of the world that the painter is seeking to search and present. During this exercise, the element of objectivity is sacrificed for the sake of subjective interpretation. In a paradoxical way, it is the subjective aspect that turns her work into a visual entity that everyone can associate with. Normally, it is assumed that a direct description of outside world can communicate with the viewer on a wider scale. It may happen for a short span of time. Viewers may appreciate the faithful depiction of the object, people and places, but it's only when an artist infuses something extra, that the work leaves a lasting impression. It is this aspect which turns an ordinary view or an unknown figure into an unusual image, since the artist excavates the essence of the thing and brings it forth on the canvas. Mussarat has projected the essence of her subjects. Thus the work, generated from specific locations and people, seems beyond the world of appearances. Looking at her landscapes is a spiritual experience of sorts because it makes you forget your environment. With the popularity of books on Rumi and may be Khalil Gibran and Paulo Coelho, the increasing interest in metaphysics and spiritulaism has turned into a fashion. But Mussarat's work reveals the genuine side of this phenomenon: That the aspect of spirituality can be transmitted through intimate, honest and unassuming methods. The artist hints at this reading of her work in her exhibition's invitation card: "My journey is the spiritual journey of a human being. I am only a solitary echo." An echo that reverberates in the eyes, heart and soul of a viewer who sees her paintings and discovers a new reality carved from the age-old ancient and familiar world. A new book celebrates ace musician Kamal Dasgupta -- the first million copy seller of golden discs in Indian music industry By Sarwat Ali The forgotten Kamal
Dasgupta was an eminent Bengali composer who became famous for his songs This became then a kind of a genre and was referred to as Nazrul Geeti. Qazi Nazrul Islam, though a great poet, was overshadowed in Bengal by Rabindranath Tagore who was not only a cult figure in India but was considered a spiritual guru representing the very best of the East -- a figure given more to the spiritual beyond in contrast to the rampant Qazi materialism of the capitalistic West. Nazrul Islam was given more prominence when Bangladesh was East Pakistan -- he was built up as a poet who was not only indebted to the Bengali culture and ethos but also derived his inspiration from the Sufia. His intense sentiments of nationalism that saw his country through to independence from colonial rule added to his stature. As is the practice, the poetry or kalam of famous poets is sung. This is part of our tradition and Tagore, a multifaceted personality, was sung very widely in Bengal. This Rabindro Sangeet or Tagoregeeti became the flag bearer of Bengali nationalism and culture. Most of the poems and lyrics were composed by Tagore himself and Bengalis sang him for his poetry as much as for his compositions. Nazrul Islam also needed a composer and he found one in Kamal Dasgupta. The latter composed many poems of Nazrul Islam and brought him to the front row as a poet sung very often, and in that he was helped in no small measure by the vocalist Feroza Begum. The number of his compositions of Nazrul Islam poems/lyrics exceeded four hundred and so close was their relationship that Kamal Dasgupta often did not have to seek Nazrul Islam's permission to compose his poetry. Kamal Dasgupta was born in Jessore in the second decade of the twentieth century. He learnt the intricacies of music from Ustad Zamiruddin Khan who was the music composer of Gramophone Company of India in Calcutta. Qazi Nazrul Islam, too, was learning music from the same Ustad. Kamal Dasgupta also composed music for films like Pandit Moshaey and Jawab. He then started a long creative relationship with Kanan Bala. He also composed music for Juthika Roy, the famous Meera bhajans that became very popular. Kamal also composed for Subhluxmi, other vocalists who sang Meera's bhajans and sang them very well. While he was with the Gramophone Company of India, many of the compositions were for non film music and these became very popular. Somehow, with the popularity of films and their music, whenever one thinks of records/discs it is assumed that it would be film music. Most of it was film music, but quite a lot of music was composed for its own sake and it also became very popular and kept the recording companies solvent. His compositions, mostly non films, were sung by the likes of Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar and Jagmohan. He also composed a number of naats. He migrated to East Pakistan to be with, his wife the famous vocalist, Feroza Begum. There he had little work and he survived by giving tuitions to small boys and girls. He died in Dhaka in 1974. Kamal Dasgupta was very versatile and his compositions did not suffer for monotonous repetitions. His repertoire consisted of qawwalis, bhajans, keertans, ghazals, geets, lok numbers, modern Bengali songs, and then Nazrul geeti and Shayama sangeet. He also composed tunes for lyrics in many languages like Tamil, Telegu, Hindi, Urdu and of course Bengali. He also had his own orchestra where he was very finicky in choosing the instrumentalists. It was known as Shoorosi orchestra. He invented a system of shorthand musical notation, a sort of convergence of western and eastern methods of notations. He became the chief music director of His Masters Voice (HMV) and Columbia and continued in that position for twenty five years. His "chupke chupke bole maina" under the HMV sold a million 78 rpm discs -- the first million copy seller of golden discs in Indian music industry. It was not easy to name any super hit song of the 1932-54 period that was not composed by the maestro. His tunes were simple and reflected his individual style. Even singers not highly trained could sing his compositions and the simplicity of the musical structure, too, was another reason of his popularity. He did not often compose in one raag but preferred the merging of the identities of more than one raag, creating a fabric of the song with fresh tonal variations. Some of his memorable compositions are "tasveer teri dil mera behla na sake gee", "ishq mujh ko nahin", "jhoola jhuliaan", "pag ghugroo bandh mera naachi", "jogi mat ja mat ja", "main to girdhar ke ghaar jaoon", "aye roone wale", "panghat pey", "rassolon ke raja", "aye chand chup ne jana","aaj sharabi ankhoon sey", "diya bujha do sajni", "wo ankh se pila gaey", "sooye hue hain chaand aur tare", "teri chaabi banaoo ga", "diwana tumhara kahta hai afsana", "mujhe na sappnoo se bahlao", "jal re jal rey jal rey armaan", "sundar ho kitni sundar ho", "wo samne thi haseen raat thi" and "bhala tha kitna apna bachpan bhala tha kitna".
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careful about his movements and had limited his public engagements. But his
enemies were biding their time and their opportunity came on October 2 on the
second day of Eidul Fitr. They thought it would be easy to target the ANP
President while receiving party workers and supporters who had travelled from
all over NWFP to Wali Bagh village in Charsadda to offer him Eid greetings.
true nationalist, he had come to greet Asfandyar Wali and Nasim Wali Khan,
widow of late ANP head Khan Abdul Wali Khan, on the occasion of Eid. Another
ANP activist, Shamsuzzman from Buner district, was also killed in the suicide
bombing. The fourth casualty in the incident was police constable Shabbir
Ahmad. The suicide bomber, obviously, was blown into pieces and his identity
isn't known.
meeting of ANP lawmakers and other leaders and hold a press conference.
Though he reiterated his party stand that as a believer in non-violence it
still wanted political settlement of the issue of militancy and extremism,
his tone was bitter and aggressive. He said no talks could be held with those
holding a gun to his head. It was obvious that he and his party would
henceforth support tougher military action against the Taliban militants. The
May 21 peace accord that the ANP-PPP coalition government had signed with the
Maulana Fazlullah-led militants in Swat was now dead for all practical
purposes as there was little meeting ground between the two sides. The new
military operations that the Pakistan Army launched in Swat on the second day
of Ramazan would continue and there were already signs of escalating violence
in the once peaceful valley. On October 9, the military used jet-fighters and
gunship helicopters to once again bomb militants' hideouts in the mountainous
parts of Matta and Kabal tehsils. On their part, the militants continued to
blow up educational institutions, particularly girls' schools, and indulged
in targeted killings and destruction of houses belonging to their political
rivals.
(National Academy of Performing Arts) and the resulting repertory company to
issue from it, has lived up to its raison d'etre, giving the city four
performances in the past year with another on the cards in November.
the area for long will not be able to guide you. He may not even know the
name of the neighbourhood or the streets. This person may not be illiterate;
it's just that he does not feel the need to know the details of an area that
he can identify so easily.
Both works -- though based on her surroundings, landscape and models,
including artist's self portraits -- suggest two separate modes of working.
In her drawings, the artist has tried to illustrate resemblance of the faces,
correct postures or actual places in urban or rural areas. Her command in
portraying the detail of her subject with a few lines is apparent. The work
on paper not only captures the features and sense of space, it also conveys a
tactile quality created with an overlapping of sensitive lines and marks.
but his real contribution lay in composing the poetry of the great Bengali
poet Kazi Nazrul Islam as brought forth by S.M Shahid in his book titled
Kamal Dasgupta: Unforgettable Songs.