Those theatre purists in Pakistan, and there are many, who have taken writer Anwar Maqsood’s foray into the world of theatre with a pinch of salt, should go and see Siachen.
Yes, his earlier plays written for stage (Ponay 14 August, Dharna, etc) may not have had the necessary ingredients to qualify as ‘pure’ theatre (lack of a full-fledged conflict, for example) but his new offering will change opinions.
This was the consensus among those who watched a special performance of the play, directed by Dawar Mehmood, at the Arts Council’s auditorium on Thursday night.
Siachen, as can be guessed from the title, pays tribute to the Pakistani soldiers who have been positioned on a glacier, which is one of the longest in the Karakoram, to keep a check on enemy forces.
The conflict with India over this region started in the 1980s. Ever since, forces of both countries have their presence in this zone. Hold on. This is Anwar Maqsood we are talking about, who can’t help unleashing witty one-liners and pun-filled repartees through an array of colourful characters. So the humour quotient is there in plentiful supply.
Still the core of the story deals as much with psychological hardships, caused by missing your loved ones by leaving the cosy confines of homes, as with physical toil fighting a battle at such high altitude.
In the beginning of the play, the house lights in the theatre go off and spotlights focus on a few soldiers and their family members trying to come to terms with their call to duty. The scene is shifted to the icy climes of Siachen with a little peak in the background and a small white tent pitched to the right of the stage. Soldiers appear and the tempo is set for an exciting exchange of funny lines.