LAHORE: The weekend saw OLOMOPOLO Media captivate the local audiences with their latest play ‘Jeebho Jani Di Kahaani’ which highlighted the evergrowing concern surrounding the deteriorating state of our environment.
The Punjabi musical was an outcome of their summer camp and was brought to life at the Alhamra Cultural Complex in Lahore. The play opened to full houses on both the days and received standing ovations from the audiences, which included journalists, bloggers, parents and of course children.
Written by Farjad Nabi and directed by Kanwal Khoosat, ‘Jeebho Jani Di Kahaani’ was enacted by kids aged seven to 14 years. The art direction of the play was done by Iram Sana.
The story of Jeebho Jani is centred around the warnings given to ‘Icksy Baba’ about using up all the limited resources on the land in the name of ‘development’.
“Taraqeei di khatir agar 2-4 chirand pirand ur b jaein to ki harj hai, Taraqeei bari zaruri ha,” is the mantra Icksy keeps repeating, every time the dying tree shows up with a potential warning of the resources being used up.
It comes as no surprise that many forests have been destroyed depriving animals and birds of their homes and causing them to leave. The ignorant and voracious nature of the man to consume the resources eventually brought doom leaving the lands barren and infertile.
Not only that, the water scarcity issue was also highlighted through the play and it is imperative for us as a nation to know that we heading towards a time where water scarcity can become reality.
Thus, the basic objective of this theatre play was to highlight the importance of conservation and recycling and provoke the audiences to make more informed decisions with regards to the environment. Keeping in mind the fact that the majority of the audiences were children, it is important to instil in them a sense of responsibility and ownership regarding the environment so that they can play their part in its conservation.
The efforts put in by the children for this is commendable for through their performances, they not only made the audiences laugh but they also helped send a loud message. It also sent a message to the masses that it is not too late to put in a little effort and save the world for the future generations.
It is in our hands to reverse the damage done, lying in the form of a seed, for rebirth and for children to pass it on for the future.
Moreso, another noteworthy aspect of the play was the fact that the entire play was staged in Punjabi; a commendable job was done by the kids.
From the stage set to the props, the music to the songs, the costumes to the choreography, everything was done so fabulously, igniting the right mood in the audiences.
OLOMOPOLO has yet again given its audience something that will be remembered for a long time. They also handed out a small plant to each of their attendees as yet another reminder to take baby steps and help preserve the environment because at the end of the day it is our home and it is our own responsibility to ensure that we don’t damage it.
