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    Dastaan Goi: Naseeruddin Shah Charms Lahore

    Written by: Syed Abbas Hussain
    Posted on: December 31, 2012 | | 中文

    Noted Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah graced the stage at the Alhamra Arts Council in Lahore, with his troupe of actors in tow, entrancing audiences who thronged the hall to watch the talented men and women in action. The actors were representing the Motley group from Bombay.

    The event was organized mainly by Faiz Ghar, in addition to other organizations such as Ajoka Theatre.

    Faiz Ghar, translated as the House of Faiz, is a tribute to one of the greatest poets in the subcontinent by the name of Faiz Ahmed Faiz.  His family has established this trust, spearheaded by his daughters Saleema and Muneeza Hashmi, in order to promote cultural activities in the country.

    Before the performance began, Naseeruddin Shah addressed the audience and spoke about how the controversial Urdu playwright Ismat Chughtai had been a great source of inspiration for him. Chughtai’s bravado intrigued him immensely and when he read her work he was floored by her ability to so candidly address taboo issues through her plays, which were often laced with humour. Parallels are often drawn between Saadat Hassan Manto and Ismat Chughtai’s work, for they both highlighted the suffering of individuals by a society riddled with prejudices, especially towards women. Both were scrutinized by the governments of their time and vilified by a majority of the public.

    Naseeruddin Shah talked of how Chughtai’s plays, especially Lihaaf (Blanket), had attracted mass disapproval, and how even during his childhood he had been warned about the ‘obscenity’ of her plays, a contention he later discovered to be invalid and stemming from ignorance. The intensity of the criticism, he postulated, was also owed to the fact that Chughtai was a woman.

    The audiences got to witness a unique form of theatre called Dastaan-Goi, which has one person on stage dramatically narrating a story and, in the process, acting out various roles. The word Dastaan comes from the Persian language and means ‘epic’ while Goi stands for ‘narration.’ This is a mode of story-telling that belongs to the 16th century and is often described as a lost art-form. 

    The performance finally began with a rendition of Chughtai’s Chui Mui (Sensitive) which consisted of two stories. One story was based on a woman who is pining to have a baby, in the hope of preventing her husband from remarrying and having a child to carry on his family name. The trauma and disappointment of the woman at having a miscarriage and her yearning for a child was compared to a flamboyant and carefree woman by the name of Bhabi Jaan, who carries a love child and gives birth in the compartment of a train.

    Naseruddin Shah with wife Ratna

    The second narration was done by Naseeruddin Shah’s wife Ratna Pathak, a dextrous actor who is often seen in Indian television plays and Bollywood films. The story, Mughal Bacha, was narrated with just the kind of wit that it was written with. It had Ratna sitting on a rocking chair and savouring each and every line akin to a grandmother narrating a bed-time story dramatically to eager children. It was a humorous take on the subcontinent’s dominant perception of beauty based on skin colour. Goree Bi is a girl dealing with an arrogant husband who is insecure about his looks in comparison to his wife’s, and the play focuses on how this insecurity has catastrophic and ever-lasting connotations on their married life, resulting in shocking events.

    Naseeruddin Shah finally took to the stage as a performer with Gharwali, which dissected the contradictions of the mores of a society marred by bigotry and patriarchy. A religious merchant Mirza falls for a courtesan who works at his house as a maid. The orthodox Mirza showers his lady love with affection before marriage, but as soon as she embraces the title of his wife, his attitude towards her becomes stand-offish. The feisty and beautiful Lajjo has her fun on the side and Mirza grows increasingly insecure. The story sheds light on the duplicity of individuals who assert moral supremacy over others and the society’s imposed need for a woman to seek the shelter of a man to feel secure. Naseeruddin Shah was animated and boisterous and had the audiences eating right out of his hands. It was a completely different experience watching him on stage, but he was as impressive as he is onscreen if not more.

    Interestingly, each actor presented a different style of executing the Dastaan Goi. Some became the characters completely in terms of body language and voice-throw while others simply described the stories as a third person, albeit in an animated style.

    The evening was spellbinding and introduced the audiences to a new genre of performing arts, one which is more subtle yet quite potent. The performance received a prolonged standing ovation and finished off with a promise by Naseeruddin Shah to come to Lahore each year to perform.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

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    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021