LARKANA: The 15-day drama festival, organised by the Larkana Arts Council, got underway at an open air theatre in the city on Thursday evening.

The festival was inaugurated by District Council Chairman Aijaz Ahmed Leghari.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Mr Leghari, who is also the general secretary of PPP’s Larkana district chapter, said that the festival is the second major event organised by the council’s elected body for the people of Larkana.

He described the Larkana Arts Council as “a gift from Pakistan Peoples Party to art lovers and residents of Larkana”.

He noted with pleasure that families from across Larkana had turned up to enjoy this literary and recreational event.

The first drama of the festival, staged on the arts council’s premises, was Akh Ulti Dhar, which received great applause from the audience.

Writren by Imran Nazir Laghari, the drama was directed by Shyam Sindhi.

The second drama titled Who Is the King? was staged on Friday night, the day2 of the festival where Larkana Commissioner Tahir Hussain Sangi, who is also Chairman of the Larkana Arts Council, was the chief guest.

The cast of the drama included renowned stage artists Amjad Gul Soomro, Sanwari Falak, Sham Sindhi, Ahmed Pathan, Saeed Ahmed Tunio, Habib Burdi, Saud Wessar and Sajjad Soomro who all showcased their excellence in performing their roles.

Their performances kept the audience amazed much of the time.

The drama vividly portrayed the emotions, sensitivities and realities of life. Amjad Gul Soomro, in the role of the King, along with the rest of the cast, demonstrated remarkable acting skills.

In the concluding scenes, a symbolic character was shown in a lunatic hospital, powerfully reflecting the essence of the stage play and conveying the message that the modern human being has, in many ways, turned into a robot.

Among those present at the event were Mohammad Ismail Jatoi, the President of the Larkana Art Council, General Secretary Hanif Suhag, Nadeem Akhtar Soomro, Ayub Gad, Ashiq Dayo, Roshan Sheikh and Nasir Mohammad Khuhawar, besides a large number of poets, writers, and other literary figures.

At the opening ceremony on Thursday evening, Ismail Jatoi welcomed the guests and highlighted salient features of the magnificent 15-day event.

He, however, criticised the culture department for not extending financial assistance for holding the big event.

He said that the arts council had to hold the festival with its limited budget and resources due to the department’s indifferent attitude towards this esteemed institution. He complained that due to the removal of Larkana’s membership from the Endowment Fund Committee by the department, artists from Larkana division were suffering greatly.

Only Rs1.2 million has been allocated for Larkana’s artists from the fund, he said, and lamented that this was quite strange and uncalled for.

Keeping in view the kind of treatment, the council has written to President Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur to look into the matter.

Hanif Suhag said that over the last three years, the culture department has neither given any programme nor did it provide any support which, he said, was sheer injustice.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2025