By Khursheed Hyder
KARACHI: When Zia Mohyeddin read out excerpts from works of famous Urdu writers and poets, the audience that filled the arts council auditorium on Sunday evening was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop.
The performance, called ‘An evening with Zia Mohyeddin’, was interspersed with sitar music by Nafees Ahmad, a maestro of the instrument.
Delivering his lines in what is known as tahtullafz, Mohyeddin’s readings from Ghalib, Faiz, Josh, Mohammad Hussain Azad, Ibne Insha and others kept the interest of the audience alive till the end with his immaculate pronunciation, movements, timing, pitch and vocal expression, all synchronized to a tee, bringing life to the text. His effortless ease in this style is a testament to the fact that it is years of hard work that has made Mohyeddin such a connoisseur of words.
His training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts has stood him in good stead. In Pakistan, Mohyeddin began the Readers Theatre in which he presented short selections from English poetry. He later adapted the western genre of reading to Urdu prose and poetry. Supported by the EMI music company, his performance on Faiz in 1983 was a hit and became a regular annual programme named An Evening with Zia Mohyeddin in Lahore and Karachi, where he was accompanied by Jawed Allahditta on the sitar. Some years later it was discontinued in Karachi but is still a regular feature in Lahore.
Before the performance, Ateed Riaz came on stage and gave a background to Mohyeddin’s style of presentation, and said readings from famous writers was popular throughout the world. “Unfortunately, in our part of the world we tend to mix Urdu with English, especially if we are ‘English medium’. We must make an effort to take care of our language as it is part of our culture and teach our children to speak pure Urdu.”
Wearing a black sherwani-suit, Zia Mohyeddin made his appearance on stage. A simple backdrop with soft lights focusing on him and Nafees Ahmad, Mohyeddin read out an excerpt from Mir Amman’s ‘Ganj-i-Khoobi’. The collection of excerpts was a mix of serious, humorous, sublime and mundane topics, all brought to life in an effortless way. Humorous excerpts from Ibne Insha’s works and Mujtuba Hussain’s ‘Unesco ki chhatri’ went down very well with the audience just as Ashraf Subohi’s ‘Mian mithhu’, a simple story, and Josh’s description of an old woman singing ‘Barkha rut aaie ore piya nahin aayay’.
The audience discovered a new side to Mohyeddin when he sang the couplet of the old woman. Siri Payay from ‘Ghalib kay khutoot’ was excellent both in writing and performance.
The change in the cadence of speech of the characters by Mohyeddin was remarkable.
Mohyeddin also read out from his work, Mask, in which he discusses how an actor should present his emotions. His reading of Shakespeare’s Othello and Julius Caesar, done well, appeared a little out of place with the Urdu excerpts. Nafees Ahmad’s soft and soothing music, played deftly, added to the performance. He is indeed one of the few outstanding sitarists of Pakistan.
Receiving a standing ovation at the end of the programme, Zia Mohyeddin definitely made many in the audience a little more interested in Urdu literature. If such readings are done on a regular basis, it would definitely quicken young people’s interest as well.
Source: Dawn
Date:12/15/2009
