Urdu translation of Brecht play launched
Peerzada Salman
KARACHI: An evening of dramatic reading coupled with a dance performance marked the launch of Mansoor Saeed’s book, Anokhi Baat Bhi Mumkin Hai, an Urdu translation of a Bertolt Brecht play, The Exception and the Rule.
The event was organised by friends of Mansoor Saeed on his 69th birth anniversary at the Arts Council on Monday. The renowned theatre person passed away last year.
The evening had a sedate beginning when Asma Mundarawala read out a piece written by Mansoor Saeed on the genesis of the theatre group, Dastak, he was associated with. This was followed by Sheema Kirmani and her group’s dance interpretation of the famous Faiz Ahmed Faiz poem, Aaj Ke Naam. Then Abida Saeed presented a copy of Anokhi Baat Bhi Mumkin Hai to Mohammad Ali (who played the role of the coolie in the initial performances of the play) to officially launch the book.
The final item of the programme was the dramatic reading. The story pivots around Seth Hoshiyar (Ehtisham) who is a greedy and manipulative rich man. He is on his journey to finalise an oil-digging contract which will fetch him financial benefits. In the process he has to cross a river, a desert and many obstacles to reach his destination. But for that he needs the support of a guide (Mehdi) and a coolie (Salim Mairaj) to outrun other aspirants to the deal. As they begin their journey, the extremely exploitative character of the Seth is exposed. He is paranoid and doesn’t trust his servants despite their good intentions to help him reach where he wants.
As the callous character of the Seth is revealed, he loses the services of the guide and relies on the coolie to take him to the destination. He leaves no stone unturned in ill-treating the poor, humble chap and even forces him to cross the river despite the coolie’s reluctance.
As they cross the river, the coolie bumps into a tree and breaks his arm. Even that doesn’t mollify the Seth and he keeps making him work hard and never stops doubting his character. At one stage when the Seth runs out of drinking water, he suspects that the coolie will find him vulnerable and kill him. On the other hand the coolie thinks of the wellbeing of the rich man and as he tries to hand his water bottle to the Seth, he (Seth) out of paranoia shoots the coolie dead.
In the courtroom, the coolie’s widow (Sania Saeed) pleads for justice. The guide tells the truth about the coolie’s nature, but the judge (Saife Hasan) gives the verdict in favour of the rich man.
The play is a moving study of class disparities that exist in society and of how different groups behave differently in a given situation. All the actors (read: readers) did a decent job, particularly Salim Mairaj kept the difference between acting and reading in mind and performed accordingly. His tone was just what was required of the part. Saife Hasan as the judge and Sania Saeed in the dual roles of the narrator and the widow were good. But it was Ehtisham who overdid his part a great deal and often sounded as if he’s acting in a melodramatic film. He was so loud and monotonous (which sometimes resulted in smothering of the lines) that it often kept the focus away from the actual theme of the play. His forceful gestures occasionally disturbed the microphone as well.
Talking of microphones, for a good 15 minutes into the play, the collar microphone used by Mehdi (guide) didn’t work. It caused a bit of a trouble. However, things were later sorted out.
Source: Dawn
Date:11/15/2011
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