LAHORE, March 9: Sitting in the semi-darken hall at the Alhamra Arts Council here, Jatinder Kaur and other members of Manch Rangmanch, the Amritsar-based Punjabi theatre group, prepare for their first performance in Pakistan.
They were perplexed whether the hard labour they had put in would endear the play, Loona, to their Pakistani audience. "I've been involved in theatre since 1963 and often wondered when I'd cross the line and perform on that side of the Punjab," reflected Ms Kaur, a veteran stage and television actress from Amritsar.
On March 6, bathed in the vibrant colours of Holi, members of Manch Rangmanch and Rangtoli from Amritsar, Ranga Karmee from Kolkata and the Company from Chandigarh crossed Wagah for the first Indo-Pakistan theatre festival to be held in Lahore from March 7 to 14.
The significance of the festival could not have been over-stated, for it took a good 57 years for the two neighbours to perform on issues of common concern from a single stage. The 67-member troupe, invited by the Ajoka Theatre, danced jubilantly, greeting their hosts with slogan 'Goli nahi Holi' at the line dividing the two countries.
Sukhi Pawar, the tall statuesque Heer-look-alike from the East Punjab let out her emotions by doing a bhangra. "I was so excited and wanted to let everybody bask in it. It is impossible to control artistes. You can do that with people but artistes know no borders," said Ms Pawar.
The Indo-Pakistan theatre festival will centre primarily on women's issues and also include various genres of theatre acting. From this side of the border, groups participating in this unique conglomeration of art and interactive human exchange are, Tehrik-i-Niswan from Karachi, the Lahore-based Interactive Theatre, Murk from Hyderabad and Bargad, a theatre group from Gujranwala.
A mutual feeling of receiving accolades from each other is almost tangible among the festival's participants. But for Neelam Mansingh Chowdry, who has brought the Kitchen Katha from Chandigarh, the joy of seeing theatre rather than showing is more of a consideration.
"I am more excited about seeing theatre rather than showing. This is almost my first visit to Pakistan and I am thrilled," said Neelam.Kitchen Katha offers a novel insight into the inner world of a woman by using kitchen chores by way of expressing her emotions.
Besides promoting joint theatre productions, Madeeha Gauhar, heading the Ajoka Theatre, maintained the real reason was to project the image of Pakistan as a culturally civilized and mature country.