Daily Times

LAHORE: What is noteworthy about Faiz International Festival is how it began tentatively and low-key at first, with limited sessions and a restricted audience. I remember there even was a time when only select media was allowed to enter the premises of Faiz Ghar and cover the event.

Slowly but surely, the platform grew in popularity and now is held at the prestigious Alhamra Art Centre, spanning over three days and hosting a plethora of sessions. The guest list has grown international and speakers are scholarly and literary. Unlike literature festivals that begin with a big bang but now struggle to survive – sometimes owing to security, other times lack of funds, the Faiz International Festival has blossomed over the years.

The concluding day was held on Sunday with a total of 23 sessions, which also included dance performances, theatre plays and instrument recitals.

One of these sessions was a mid-day gathering held in the gallery to honour and remember actress and playwright Madeeha Gauhar, who passed away in April this year. Other than being a social theatre director, she was the founder of Ajoka Theatre.

The session included Dr Shaista Sonnu Sirajuddin, Dr Rubina Saigol and Madeeha Gauhar’s son Nirvaan Nadeem. The session was moderated by her husband and Ajoka Theatre Co-Founder Shahid Nadeem. Titled Ab Kya Dekhain Rah Tumhari – Madeeha Gauhar; Building Bridges & Breaking Walls, the session was largely attended by all those who knew her and were in awe of her untiring efforts in making Ajoka what it is today.

“Madeeha had been coming over to my place ever since she was 18 or 19. I remember later, how deeply she got involved in Ajoka. I also remember her being extremely creative. She was very rooted in this part of the world, which is not just Pakistan but the entire sub-continent. Ajoka required a voice which was amplified by the kind of plays it showcased. Shahid Nadeem and Madeeha gave a new turn to plays in which there were greater originality. Together, they gave Ajoka a language,” Dr Shaista Sonnu Sirajuddin said.

“Madeeha was iconic in activism during former dictator Ziaul Haq’s period. She was not the one to be afraid of sticks and stones. Rather, she took it on her chest,” Shahid said.

“Madeeha and I have been friends since grade 6. We studied together at Convent of Jesus & Mary. We bonded over our mutual love for theatre. At that time, our school held a play which was titled ‘The World without Men’ in which Madeeha participated and was appreciated by all. Later, we went to Kinnaird College together. Madeeha was the one who introduced street theatre in Pakistan. She once called me up, saying she had organised a play in her mother’s lawn. The play did not require any costumes or props. It was only scripted and enacted. I had my doubts and I firmly believed it would be a flop. But Madeeha wasn’t the one who took ‘no’ for an answer. She convinced me and when the play was finally held, it became the talk of the town. Imagine her fearlessness that she organised the play in the heart of Lahore’s Cantonment area, amidst Ziaul Haq’s era, where slogans against his rule were chanted out loud. I remember one day she gathered all the girls from KC and Lahore College as well as a couple of other universities to protest against violence against women on the streets. Madeeha managed to gather around 5,000 girls. Mustafa Khar was the Punjab governor at that time and as soon as his car hit the road, a humongous gathering of girls began pounding his vehicle. That was really daring. So you see, long before Violence against Women even became an issue to talk about, Madeeha was already a strong advocate and activist in this regard. I also remember being jailed for such protests against Zia along with Madeeha and our group. She always kept our spirit alive during the 17-day incarceration we faced. When Madeeha starting working in the public sector, she knew she couldn’t possibly attend anti-government protests, so what she did was cover her face with a veil and attend. One day, a journalist snapped her and then Madeeha finally quit her public sector job so she could freely join and organise protests. Madeeha was full of life – she enjoyed eating and dancing,” Dr Rubina Saigol shared.

Shahid added that the response generated even from the Indian audience was overwhelming.

“Everyone in India recognised her. Our son Nirvaan Nadeem has been the baby of Ajoka,” he said.

“We were raised in a very multi-cultural space. I remember this one time, we were performing in India and our performance was disrupted by masked Shiv Sena activists. They approached my mother and handed her a chit, which they claimed was for the Pakistani government, to which my mother only smiled and said that her team had nothing to do with the government. She accepted it when they insisted but also requested them to stay and watch the play and then take any action they wanted. As soon as the play finished, one of the masked activist came forward and expressed appreciation over what the play signified. Another time when we were performing a play on Bulleh Shah in India, a family came over to us and requested the lead protagonist of the play to blow on his sick child as Bulleh Shah was known for performing such miracles. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the impact and power of theatre is phenomenal. In order to make a change, you must also be willing to walk the extra mile and that’s exactly what my mother did,” Nirvaan shared.

Dr Shaista said that people need to be familiarised with Madeeha’s work and Ajoka’s plays. Dr Rubina agreed and stressed that visual medium should be enjoyed live. Nirvaan shared how a lot was happening at Ajoka now and students and theatre lovers should come and attend.

Published in Daily Times, November 19^th 2018.