THIS is apropos the story ‘Siachen, a story of ordinary soldiers’. It talks about Anwar Maqsood’s latest theatre play on our soldiers sacrificing their lives to ensure we sleep soundly.

I have always believed that art acts as a conduit for strengthening multinational and local community connections.

In times when our jawans are risking their lives to curb the growing roots of terrorism in the country, it is imperative we, as a nation, came together and showed solidarity with their cause.

And when someone as legendary as Anwar Maqsood decides to pen a play on the daily lives of the men on the battlefield, it helps us know what our soldiers are going through.

The benefits of a thriving art-based culture are countless; not just to do with a better quality of life.

It can open dialogue among diverse groups by creating safe spaces for engagement, thus allowing new relationships to take root.

It helps us in understanding and bridging cultural and religious distinctions, something which seems to plague our nation.

Through their multiple means of expression, art speaks where once there was silence.

Mona Mobeen

Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2015

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