Waiting for change: Play talks of contemporary Pakistan

New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) Insha, the saviour who offers the hope of deliverance, and Mansha, the horror of intimidation and repression, have timed their appearance well in a play on crisis-ridden Pakistan which is debating change.

'Insha Ka Intezaar', an adaptation of French absurdist Samuel Beckett's dramatic milestone, 'Waiting for Godot', by Karachi-based Tehrik-e-Niswan, captures the anguish and impatience of modern-day Pakistan which awaits freedom from repressive systems, terror and inept politics -- marking a smooth transition to a people's rule.

The play, adapted and directed by Anwer Jafri, was staged at the LTG Theatre in the capital Wednesday. It was one of the highlights of the 14th Bharat Rang Mahotsav - the annual theatre festival of the National School of Drama (NSD).

The contemporary satire that comments on the human race's disenchantment with entrenched existential codes and socio-political systems in Jafri's adaptation was played out by a motley cast of renegades.

Set in Pakistan, Zulekha and Kakrimuddin -- representing the marginalised people -- wait for the arrival of Insha, a messiah-like character who will lead them to light and justice.

'If Insha comes, we will be saved,' the duo, played by Sheema Kermani (Zulekha) and Salim Meraj (Karimuddin), choruses.

Insha is short for 'Inshaallah' or god willing which in the greater Islamic canvas signifies the pervasive will of god who removes pain and suffering.

In course of waiting for 64 years, the couple bickers and chats as they while away their time. Their conversation often borders on the absurd - but is loaded with profound philosophy and allegories about the futility of human life in various states of bondages and unhappiness.

Their wait for the messiah is interrupted by the arrival of its twin Mansha -- a scary being who unleashes military dictatorships and regimes of terror in its wake.

Mansha, played by Hafeez Ali, carries on a leash its slave, Naseeban -- an old woman wilting under the burden of servitude.

After Mansha departs, a messenger arrives with news that Insha will not arrive that evening. Zulekha and Karimuddin wait in hope, which feels illusive.

The moon climbs into the sky and the stage is bathed in blue light of night. Zulekha and Karmu, two wasted beings, lean on each other wishing for Insha.

However, 'Mansha' steals the thunder from the mortals on stage with its queer combination of devilry and autocratic benevolence. The face of repression is also funny and droll at times. The character in Jafri's adaptation shines with mischief and mirth.

The message fits into the social and political milieu of the nation. Mansha orders Naseeban to dance. She breaks into a feeble jig and then Mansha barks, 'think'. Naseeban thinks aloud in rapid-fire automation till Mansha is unable to endure it any longer.

Mansha and its slave touch upon two social realities in Pakistan - the subservient position of women to men and the helplessness of the common man in times of dictatorships.

Naseeban is kicked around by Mansha as 'kamini, kutti' (mean dog) - native expletives often used as references to women by abusive men.

The play digresses from the original in the fact that it has re-cast in the modern socio-political milieu of Pakistan.

In the play by Beckett in 1948, the playwright uses two old men Vladimir and Estragon as the anchors who meet under the tree to wait for Godot. In Jafri's play, the protagonists are a man and a woman.

'The characters in my play are waiting for the messiah who will come and change things for the better. Mansha in my play is the ruling class which has the power who gets to parliament and terror,' Jafri told IANS.

He said he had read the original play 30 years ago. 'It had a different meaning for me then. Six years ago, when I again read Waiting for Godot, it had a different meaning for me. I didn't restrict myself in doing the play as it was. I wanted it to speak from my heart,' Jafri said.

(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)