LAHORE, Oct 22: The four-day (Oct 20 to 23) Ajoka’s travelling Virasat Theatre festival being held to raise funds for the flood-affected people is pulling crowds at Alhamra Art Centre. The festival will move to Islamabad next week.

This is Ajoka’s first festival where each person is paying Rs100.

Festival organisers said the ticket was being charged to collect funds for flood victims while all proceeds of the festival would go to flood rehabilitation efforts.

Despite the entry fee, the people are flocking to the festival as every show is jam-packed with audience, mostly youngsters. The opening play was Bullah, a celebrated play by Ajoka. The second day production was Raja Rasalu, and on Friday Dukh Dariya was staged which is written by Shahid Nadeem and directed by Madeeha Gauhar.

The play was about a Kashmiri woman, taunted and tormented for being infertile, is driven to jump into the river dividing two parts of the disputed territory of Kashmir.

However, Shehnaz ends up on the other side of the border, is arrested, interrogated and eventually raped. She gets pregnant, a proof of the horror of rape in custody but also belying allegations of infertility.

She gives birth to a beautiful baby daughter, Mobeen, who is brought up in the Jammu jail. Shehnaz is released and arrangements are made for her repatriation. However, another shock is awaiting her.

According to laws governing the two countries, she as a Pakistani Kashmiri, can return to Pakistan but not her daughter, an Indian-born citizen with an Indian father. Officials of two governments haggle over rules regarding the citizenship and identity of the hapless mother and her daughter.

Commenting on the play, Madeeha Gauhar said that “Dukh Darya” was more than a dramatic presentation of Shehnaz’s story.

“I have tried to link it with the suffering of women during the partition, especially those forcibly repatriated, leaving their children behind. In fact, I have gone further back in history and mythology, in search of the source of the river of sorrow”.

The set was simple but effective and a large number of people came to see the production. The play had some quality musical recordings in the voice of noted singer Abida Parveen as she sang Ameer Khusro’s kalam. Four musicians have also been invited from Cholistan for some music in the play.

Throwing light on the festival and the idea behind it, Madeeha Gauhar said the festival was being held not only to raise funds for the flood-hit people but also to revive humanism and tolerance through these productions which had unfortunately been wiped out by hatred and violence.

She said this region was once vibrant where all communities used to live together and this aspect had been highlighted in Raja Rasalu.

She said the festival was all about realizing the people that lets revive the culture of tolerance and humanism since this region had been the hub of multi-cultural activities representing all communities.

Gauhar said the Ajoka theatre would go to India in November to participate in the National Theatre Festival where it would stage Raja Rasalu.She said the Indian Council for Cultural relations had also invited Ajoka to perform in India in December.

About the future of the Panj Pani festival being held for some years with the collaboration of Indian theatres from Punjab, she said the Ajoka had held the festival in Amritsar last year because of security concern in Pakistan.

She said if the situation remained the same the festival would be held in India next year.

The play “Dara” will be staged on the last day of the Virasat Theatre festival on Saturday (today).