Revisiting history to understand it and locate the socio-political realities through it to propagate one’s cultural values and art has been a focus of significant dramatists. The same was followed by the Greek dramatist and later by Shakespeare, whose major works are history-based. Even modern drama focuses on the stories developing in some new historical context. It exhibits the man entangled in the modern-day realities to help voice the psychosocial complexities of modern man. Pakistani postcolonial anglophone dramatic narrative frequently refers to and revisits their history to re-rout their cultural values.
This aspect of Anglophone Pakistani drama is shared by postcolonial playwrights, for example, Derek Alton Walcott, who benefitted from the mythological history of his nation.
Shahid Nadeem’s ‘Dara’ helps us revisit the Mughal living spaces and vibrant life that bustled with religious, social, political and artistic activities. It is fitting that the play manifestly describes the bitter realities of the Mughal empire, but it becomes an exorbitant piece of art when looked at only as a play. The drama portrays typical humanist trends in its use of many pages to discuss the life of Dara, Aurangzeb and their sisters, Jahan Ara and Roshan Ara, as children. The privileges and perks they enjoyed and the teaching and training they received because of their king father, Shah Jahan, play a significant role in shaping their future life. As the boys and girls grow younger, they meet a different taste of life. For example, Young Aurangzeb is attracted by a Hindu girl, and the story reflects the romantic side of the drama also. Similarly, the presence of Eunuchs and their role in maintaining the families of the kings is profusely narrated. The theatre also takes in the part of the faqirs and the fortune tellers. The Mughal kings frequently consulted these people, sometimes to get instrumental pieces of advice but sometimes very funny from these people.
The character’s portrayal in the drama is equally fascinating and elaborate. For example, the writer highlights the comparative difference between the characters’ natures. For instance, Aurangzeb and Dara are two opposite natures. If one is a lover of arts, liberality and human values, Aurangzeb, on the other hand, proves more orthodox in his views. He banned artistic activities in his court and implemented strict rules of Islam. The same is valid for the female characters, Jahan Ara and Roshan Ara Begum. Jahan Ara was a family lover, stood by her father, and cared for love and peace. She even visited Aurangzeb and requested him to spare the life of Dara Shikoh. On the other hand, Roshan Ara is portrayed as a violent person in her thinking who wanted killing and bloodshed of everyone who proved a hindrance in her way. She attempted to ensure that Dara was removed from Aurangzeb’s kingship path.
Another hallmark of the drama is that it frequently undergoes time shifting. If one act talks about the adulthood of the characters, the next may take us to the characters’ childhood and still next may make us see the scene of a struggle for the throne of India. This constant shifting serves as a reminder of what we are witnessing. It provides a continuous context and background to the reader and audience about the history, development, and part the characters played in making the whole play. These and many other characteristics of the drama locate Pakistani history, reclaim the historical and cultural values and make it a part of the postcolonial studies because it manifests to the world that Pakistan has its own history and cultural traditions as a Muslim nation in India. The Dramatist has portrayed this aspect of Pakistan in English for a wider international audience. On the other hand, the drama reminds the modern Pakistani youth that, like English, Greek and American nation, they too have their cultural baggage, which must be Reminded to them frequently. Overall, the drama is an excellent attempt to explore Muslim history in the Indo-Pak subcontinent and present it to the world in its actual letter and spirit.
The writer is a professor of English at Government Emerson University, Multan. He can be reached at [email protected] and Tweets at @Profzee