LAHORE, May 20: Ajoka’s three-day festival concluded at Alhamra Art Centre on Tuesday.

Earlier, the festival was to be held as ‘Indo-Pak Punj Pani festival’ wherein some Indian performances were to be staged. Ajoka said the non-clearance of Indian teams to cross border on foot by the Indian government led to the cancellation of the festival.

In the festival, three plays were staged which are: Hotel Mohenjudaro, Toba Tek Singh and Shehr-i-Afsos.

‘Hotel Mohenjodaro’ was based on Urdu short-story by Ghulam Abbas and adapted and directed by Shahid Nadeem. Like most Ajoka plays, ‘Hotel Mohenjodaro’ also boldly and innovatively addresses social issues. The story depicts a society ruled by religious fanatics and its devastating consequences. This play was performed on May 18, the first day of the festival.

‘Toba Tek Singh’ based on the short story of Sadat Hasan Manto, adapted by Shahid Nadeem and directed by Malik Aslam, was performed on May 19. The pain and anguish that Manto personally experienced as a result of the events of 1947, is poignantly depicted in the story.

‘Shehr-i-Afsos’ written by Intizar Husain and directed by Madeeha Gauhar was staged on Tuesday. The play exposes the nightmarish world of three guilt-ridden characters who have lived through the bloodied times of both Partition in 1947 and fall of Dacca in 1971.