A jam-packed hall of the Alhamra Arts Council was mesmerised by a combination of classical music and dance performances during a powerful play jointly staged by the Sufi Tabassum Art Academy and the Lahore Arts Council to commemorate World Theatre Day observed on Monday worldwide.
The play, Sur, was an excellent depiction of classical music with the characters of the act named after different notes of classical Indian music. The notes/characters interact with each other in a very fascinating ways and keep the audience applauding the performers.
The play started with a classical dance performance by Sohoni who was also named after a classical Raag, while live classical music was sung by the character Thaath Huzur (Thaath is a broader term in Indian classical music that generates ten Raags that are sung on different scales and beats). The character of Sohoni was played by Zumur Khan while Shahid Javeed played the character of Thaath Huzur.
Sohoni, Marwa, Puriya, and Bhairavi are music students of Thaath Huzur, and Sohoni and Marwa fall in love with each other in the play. All these names were taken from different Raags of classical Indian music for the play which happened to be a tragedy in the end; the heroine of the play, Sohoni, commits suicide.
It is argued in Indian classical music that two Raags, or beats, cannot meet each other at any cost and therefore Marwa was reluctant to get married with Sohoni despite the fact that he loved her. Puriya, another student of Thaath Huzur, was also a lover of Sohoni. However, the feelings were not mutual and he ends by kidnapping her.
Bhairavi also fell in love with Puriya but he snubs her, saying that he wants to marry Sohoni. Eventually, Sohoni commits suicide in her imprisonment, validating the hypothesis that two surs can never meet.
Talking to Pakistan Today, the director of the play, Agha Shahid said that it took more than two years to make this play a reality as he had to learn about classical music prior to directing it. “The cast of the play practised for more than three months and none of them had any background in classical music,” he said.
Dr Fouzia Tabassum, the daughter of late poet Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, said that Ustaad Tassaduq Ali Khan of the Shaam Chourasi Gharana gave her the idea to write the play. “I urge the people of Lahore to watch the play. World Theater Day is being observed all over the world and so too should it be celebrated in this city,” she added.
Legend calligraphy artist Aslam Kamal said that watching the play reminded him of Alhamra’s early days. “This play reminded me of the days when music director Feroz Nizami and legendary dancer Maharaj Ghulam Hussain Kathak used to perform at Alhamra regularly,” he said.
Lahore Arts Council Executive Director Capt (r) Atta Muhammad Khan said on the occasion that everything in the universe had a melody and that same melody was also present in the play. “Alhamra is like a family and I invite the people of Lahore to watch the play that was organised for them,” he said.
