Home > History & Culture > Pakistani Music > Panj Pani festival to be held in Amritsar
 LAHORE: The Sixth Panj Pani Indo-Pak Peace Theatre Festival will be held in Amritsar, India, from Oct 23 to 27, instead of Lahore, due to security concerns.
The festival also marks 20 years celebrations of Ajoka’s stage performances in India.
In 1989, Ajoka, being the first Pakistani group, participated in a street theatre festival in Delhi where they staged their play ‘Itt’ (Brick). The festival was held in memory of famous Indian theatre activist Safdar Hashmi.
Panj Pani is the only theatre festival which is held exclusively for groups from India and Pakistan.
‘Unfortunately, we were not able to hold the festival in Lahore this year because of security concerns,’ Ajoka’s creative director Madeeha Gauhar told Dawn. ‘Whatever is the situation, the show must go on,’ she added.
The last Indian participation in the festival held in Lahore was in 2007. In 2008, the festival was held without any Indian theatre group due to security concerns.
The 2009 festival is being held in collaboration with Manch Rang Manch and Virsa Vihar. Ajoka will perform four of its popular plays – Bullha, Kala Meda Bhes, Bala King, Dekh Tamasha Chalta Ban – along with other plays of Indian groups.
Ajoka has been performing in a number of Indian cities since 1989, including Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Sri Nagar, Amritsar, Chandi Garh, and Patiala. The group has staged there almost all of their popular plays such as Kala Menda Bhais, Aik Thi Nani, Burqavaganza, Toba Tek Singh, Shehr-e-Afsos, Bullah and Hotel Mohenjodaro.
Ms Gauhar said the first major interaction between artistes from the two countries through theatre was initiated by Ajoka in 2004 at the Zanani Festival. Leading Indian and Pakistani theatre groups came together in Lahore for the first time to share experiences of socially motivated theatre. It was during that festival the theater groups at the both sides of the border launched the All Punjab Performing Arts Network (APPNA), to promote shared experiences of artistes from both sides of Punjab, she said.
Panj Pani festival was an initiative of APPAN that also proposed activities like joint production of plays, holding theatre workshops and organising joint events to mark anniversaries of Sufi poets and heroes of the independence movement etc, she added. |
