LARKANA: A reformist stage play, Ko Ko Maanrhu Moti Daano (Some people are like pearls), was staged at the Larkana Art Council on Saturday night in loving memory of late Ayaz Soomro, the former provincial minister for law and PPP Larkana district president.
The play was directed by Niaz Hussain Shaikh. The cast included Reema Naz, Hakeem Azad Brohi, Ahmed Pathan, Nizam Chandio, Niaz Shaikh, and several other artists. They demonstrated remarkable skill and artistry, earning generous applause from the audience.
The guests of honour were Dr Akbar Haider Soomro, the former Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University VC; and Mohammad Riaz Soomro, the Chairman of the Ayaz Soomro Foundation and President of the Peoples Party Lawyers Forum.
The drama was woven from the fabric of rural life and the injustices that fester within it. Its story revolves around a feudal landlord who stands as a wall of obstruction against a young boy and girl striving to pursue their education all the way to university. The two young protagonists carry within their hearts a solemn resolve that having attained higher knowledge, they shall return and illuminate their village, educating its children, dispelling ignorance, and ushering in a better dawn.
Yet the landlord harasses them repeatedly, threatening them through every means at his disposal. Still, they do not waver. With patience and conviction, they reason with him, arguing that knowledge is the third eye of man that it awakens conscience and wisdom, and that in this age, education is not a luxury but a necessity. The landlord, unmoved and hardened, turned to the path of violence. Then, at a pivotal moment, the village’s retired schoolteacher arrives upon the scene. With grace and wisdom, he holds a mirror before the landlord.
If education had not existed, could a son (Ayaz Soomro) of a poor teacher Khuda Bakhsh Soomro have become a renowned jurist and advocate? Could a girl, having studied and earned her degree, have become the doctor who performed your own mother’s eye surgery today? These words strike the landlord like light breaking through darkness. His eyes — metaphorically and literally are opened. Overcome with remorse, he pledges before all gathered that he shall never again stand as an obstacle to learning, and that he shall bear the full cost of educating every child in the village, guiding them toward the highest summits of knowledge.
Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2026
