KARACHI: Over the years, the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) has held some noteworthy performances of dramatised readings from works of literature by actors who graduated in the first few years of the academy’s inception.

The three-day Shaam-i-Adab curated and directed by Qadeer Ahmed that commenced on Friday evening with some relatively new faces on stage was no different. Sadly, there were not a big number of people to witness the impressive production.

The show began with Ameed Akbar’s funny and poignant presentation of Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi’s Khan Saiful Mulook Khan. It is a typical Yousufi piece, a wonderful blend of wit and wisdom, which may be uncomplicated to read but, for sure, not easy to read out loud with all the right inflections, stresses and pauses. Akbar does a commendable job. He seems to have an understanding of the text, too, which is vital for such an act. The only thing that he, perhaps, needs to work on is his voice projection.

Then came Zubair Baloch and Kainat with Mujtaba Husain’s brilliantly penned Yunesko Ki Chhatri. It’s taken from a travelogue in which the author visits Japan to take part in a seminar where he finds an umbrella. His communication with his wife back in India creates a confusion when she mistakes the chhatri for a woman, clouding her mind with doubts about her husband’s loyalty to her. The multiple roles that both actors assume during the bit adds colour to the whole effort.

Actors’ correct sheen qaaf was praiseworthy

Next up was the celebrated and hilarious Pitras Bukhari essay Marhoom Ki Yaad Mein performed by Akhtar Abbas and Qadeed Ahmed. It is a work of literature which the legendary Zia Mohyeddin was quite fond of and read on a few occasions at literary events. Abbas and Ahmed do a nice job as well. The occasional fumbling on Friday evening was ignorable largely because it was the first day of the performance. The audience liked it very much.

The last item of the day was the iconic short story Basode Ki Maryam by Asad Muhammad Khan performed by Zubair Baloch who has now become a prominent and hard-working artist produced by the academy.

Another thing that needs to be praised is what one noticed during a touch more than hour-long show: the actors’ attention to the correct sheen qaaf (Urdu pronunciation), something that lately Napa artists did not seem to attach importance to.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2025