Superstitious beliefs have penetrated our society to an extent that a large number of people consult astrologers, numerologists, and tarots before making important decisions.
Attempting to discourage this trend, Rawalpindi based theatre group ‘Stage Artists’ Welfare Society’ presented a production ‘Shadi Ho Tou Aisi’ at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) Auditorium, which highlighted superstition as foes of progress and prosperity.
The play was the third out of the 22 stage plays being exhibited during the ‘National Drama Festival-2011’ organised by PNCA to promote theatre and revive its traditions. The festival started on 12th December and will end on 29 December.
Written and directed by Syed Saleem Afandi, the bilingual (Urdu/Punjabi) play not only criticised the superstitions beliefs but also portrayed it as an indication of a weaker Islamic conjuncture among the majority of people.
The play revolved around the preparations of two weddings in a superstitious household that takes every precaution according to the directions of an astrologer.
The story begins when the astrologer tells the owner of the house (Jahangir) to marry his son (Salim), with a girl who has three letters in her name, threatening him with dire financial consequences if he fails to do so. Salim retaliates by saying that superstitions are against Islamic teachings and he will marry the girl of his choice, Lubna. Jahangir’s daughter, Sapna comes from UK as does his nephew, Babar. It is later decided that Salim will tie the knot with Lubna, while Babar will be married to Sapna.
The two characters that entertained the audience the most were Boota, a servant in the house and Babar who as a resident of Gujjar Khan, is seen as a simpleton with a typical Gujjar Khan accent.
However, things go awry on the day of the wedding and Jahangir blames the misfortune on not following the astrologer’s directions. Finally Salim comes up hard on stands upto his father and tells him to place his faith on Allah rather than on the astrologer. In the end both weddings take place without incident.
The humorous discourse between the cast members added a light-hearted feel to the play.
