LAHORE: The Naurattan Theatre staged a play, Sanwari, at the 24th Alhamra Theatre Festival on Friday.

Written and directed by Shahid Mahmood Pasha, the three-act play was set in Cholistan.

Sanwari, a young girl from the desert, has never tasted clean and neat water in her village and she wishes to see a place having clean water. Since her village has drought and it is devoid of water, the people keep praying for rain. The villagers decide to leave the place owing to scarcity of water but Sanwari hopes there will be sufficient water in the village in the near future.

One day, she meets a prince from a fairyland, lying unconscious. She offers him water, love sparked between them and they start meeting frequently. The prince promises her that one day he would take her to the fairyland where she would have neat and clean water. Meanwhile, the son of the feudal lord of the village wants to have a forced marriage with Sanwari and asks her father to sell his daughter to him.

On her wedding day, the prince takes Sanwari to the village well and both of them jump into it. After her death, according to prediction of Sanwari, the village witnesses a heavy rain.

The audience enjoyed the performance and praised the set. The play had seven songs besides other recorded music pieces, the acting of the artistes was superb. The main theme of the play was the living conditions of far-flung villages and illiteracy.

Mr Pasha, the director, told Dawn he had his formal training in acting from Ajoka.

On Saturday( today), Ajoka will stage two plays — Lappar and Marya Hoya Kutta.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2022