A stage drama, some symbolism, and a voice for minorities
Pakistan’s track record when dealing with minorities has been a matter of grave concern. Navaa’n Tamaasha tackled some hard hitting subjects through the use of magical symbolism in Peeno Jaja. Their main aim was to highlight all the ills that lead to the suffering of minorities in the country.
Set entirely in Punjabi, the stage drama was inspired by Shahzad and Shamah, the Christian couple burned alive over rumours that they had burned pages of the Quran. Art often seeps into the soul of the person it mesmerises, and that is perhaps what Peeno Jaja set out to do.
The street performance revolves around the story of Peeno and Jaja. The couple symbolises not only the working class in the country, but also the religious minorities within it. They find themselves in a bazaar where a series of unfortunate events lead to their horrific demise. The plot includes many devices and themes that are repeatedly explored by use of the characters within the play. For instance, Zoraawar, the bazaar bully, is the personification of terrorism and war, his playground is the bazaar itself which is significant for the corporate world today. Once he fails at trying to convince the couple to buy his merchandise, he has other ideas about what to do to them.
Gup-Chhup Kanaa, Zoraawar’s benefactor, and the hidden hand of money, reprimands Zoraawar for not being able to sell his merchandise. Future offenders could mushroom if everyone was able to do as they pleased. Peeno and Jaja are burned alive in the middle of the bazaar to prove a point. This helps set the right kind of example for everyone else present. Fear rules the hearts of all present. However, in an unsurprising turn, the very people that murdered the couple offer their daughter compensation and shelter when she comes looking for them.
Kamli, another symbolic character, comes to the rescue of the couple’s daughter and helps her realise that she needs to steer clear of any offerings that come from the same self righteous people that took her parents’ lives. The show ended with an inspirational yet haunting song that left everyone stunned.
The project is a result of the collaboration between three people, Naseem Abbas, the director of the play, Mano Javed, the writer, and Saadia Ahmed, the group coordinator.
Naseem elaborated on how the group started. “It began with the idea of doing something on the plight of minorities. Once we decided that, everything else fell in place. The script, the compositions, the performers… everyone was attracted towards the magnet,” he said. Mano further added to this by elaborating on the trio’s chemistry, “We are creatively motivated, different yet complimenting talent. Our coming together was purely coincidental and magic happened at some point of our sharing of ideas.”
Gup-Chhup Kanaa, Zoraawar’s benefactor, and the hidden hand of money, reprimands Zoraawar for not being able to sell his merchandise. Future offenders could mushroom if everyone was able to do as they pleased
The subject was definitely sensitive, but not one that was picked at random. “We do have a white part in our flag, but it bleeds green far too often. Be it the blood of Christians, Hindus, Sikhs or even Ahmedis and Shi’a. No one is safe from the hands of the extremist approach that has developed over the last few years in Pakistan,” Saadia explained. “Things kept happening and the team help feeling bitter until there came a day when we thought we needed to do something more. Our patience had run out. The incident near Kot Radha Kishan shook us so horribly that something like Peeno Jaja had to happen,” she added.
For Mano, the couple’s death was unnerving. “We were all emotionally hurt and moved by that incident. All the recent occurrences in which the minorities were targeted hit home. We feel responsible. Each and every citizen needs to act to the best of their capacity in order to undo the damage that has been done,” she said.
Ultimately it was the need of the hour for something more pragmatic to be done that moved the team. “We all had this urge to do something that went beyond putting up a Facebook status or two, or sit and wait in our drawing rooms. We wanted to gift the Christians something that could show them some hope in these bleak times. Luckily we found a group of very talented young Christian actors who already wanted to do something about this event. The rest is history,” Saadia said.
Using art and culture to give voice to the suppressed factions of society isn’t a unique concept, however, it is not something that is routinely practiced in Pakistan. The trio was able to break boundaries and go a step further than just shaking their heads at a problem.
Despite the heavy subject that it dealt with Peeno Jaja was able to delight and excite its audience. It wasn’t just shown at any theatre either, the drama was staged at the Nishtar Colony Church during their Christmas program. “The response was great. There were around 300 or more men and women in the audience and they were quite moved by the intensity of emotions. The church pastor remarked that it was very heartening that their pain was being understood and being shared. He also told us that after watching the play he could imagine a rosy life in the future, however far it may be,” Mano shared.
Naseem went into the situation expecting anything. Considering the sensitivity of the subject, and the audience that it was meant for, a lot could have potentially gone wrong. “The response was heartening. Although we were confident about our production quality, one never really knows. It always varies from place to place, particularly when you are performing street theatre. The Universe held our head high, luckily,” he said.
Saadia was the most excited of the three about the response the play got, mostly because of the uniqueness of the audience. “It was a unique experience of its kind. The entire place was full of an enthusiastic crowd (which to our surprise comprised more of women and children than men). Usually it is hard to maintain silence when you have such little children in the audience. But everyone was so absorbed and immersed into the theatrical magic. The love they showered upon us even after the play is what words fail to do justice to!” she exclaimed.
Using art and culture to give voice to the suppressed factions of society isn’t a unique concept, however, it is not something that is routinely practiced in Pakistan. The trio was able to break boundaries and go a step further than just shaking their heads at a problem
The timing of the play was deliberately kept close to Christmas. Saadia explained the group’s decision to hold the street play during this time. “We wanted to gift something to our Christian fraternity on Christmas. Also the decision of staging it in a place as deprived as Nishtar Colony was also deliberate. The suffering Christian is always the poor one so it had to be brought to them more significantly. Our play ends with a message of hope and how the change can be brought through mediums of expression like writing, painting, theatre, singing, etc.”
There is possibly no better time to shed more light on Shahzad and Shamah. It has been a few weeks since the dust settled on their graves and already people have moved on. “We sincerely believe that it is in the time of pleasure that victims of cruelty should be remembered and their sacrifice celebrated,” Mano asserted.
Interestingly, the play was heavily scripted to be performed in Punjabi. When asked why, Saadia asked why not. “It is in our blood and the language that comes most naturally to us. Those who watched ‘Peeno Jaja’ can justify it best,” Saadia said. “Being the mother tongue of most living in Punjab, Punjabi is definitely the most appropriate language for such productions. It is easier for the audiences to relate to a story when in Punjabi. And it worked well for us,” Naseem added.
For Mano the decision to make the play centred along Punjabi was both practical and personal at once. “I write both in English and Punjabi. But Punjabi being the more widely understood language in the region seemed more relevant. Moreover my present mood is writing in Punjabi,” she said.
Although Peeno Jaja was tailored for a church during Christmas, the group is considering taking it to other audiences. This is one play that definitely shouldn’t remain restricted to just the Christian communities. It is imperative that it makes it through to all segments of our society so that the extremist mindset itself can be tackled. For peace to prevail people must first learn to coexist.
“Navaa’n Tamaasha plans to produce plays that are not only beautiful pieces of art but will leave a stamp of compassion and understanding on the current era. We are anti-violence, anti-oppression. We are pro-coexistence, pro-love. We have the vision of a new world balance as we will do our utmost to bring the world to see what we see,” Mano informed.
Navaa’n Tamasha is a think tank that was established for the purpose of creating initiatives that can help mobilise the citizens of Pakistan, and perhaps even the world. The group aims to create activities that can help push people towards a solution oriented approach that is rooted in pragmatism. Right now the group is trying to focus on augmenting the amount of tolerance that exists in the Pakistani society towards minorities. In the future the group might end up doing something completely different.
Peeno Jaja found a way to give minorities a voice. Intricately woven into the plot, the themes left people not only feeling like they were part of something different, but also as though they had absorbed something much heavier than just a simple play. The group may have more plays up their sleeves, we’ll have to wait and see what they do next.
