Drama all around: full house,heavy security greet Pak group

There were four rounds of applause during director Shahid Nadeem’s speech,even before the play began,perfectly summing up the mood at the LTG Auditorium. “We are playing in India after surmounting tremendous social,political,patriotic and psychological hurdles,” Nadeem said.

The Indo-Pak tension lent the play not only a special significance but also a sense of urgency. Delhi Police personnel milled around the entrance,and the riot police arrived more than an hour before the audience; and as a first,even women’s handbags were not allowed inside.

“Nothing should go wrong today. Even the men from our private security agency are not allowed to carry revolvers or any kind of arms inside the hall,” said Anoop Barua,an NSD official who monitored movement at the barricade. Every entrance card was checked for the right stamps and every mobile examined.

Ironically,Hotel Mohenjodaro,Ajoka’s latest project,deals with the rise of religious fundamentalists in Pakistan and their gradual Talibanisation of the society. “The story was written in the 1960s and seems prophetic today as Pakistan battles terrorism of various kinds at various levels,” Nadeem said,recalling how three bomb blasts had rocked the World Performing Arts Festival in Lahore in November where Indian groups were slated to perform.

“The Indian artistes did not back out,” he said. “That day,they taught us something.”

Ajoka has also been a regular visitor for the past five years to the Bharat Rang Mahotsav.

“I am here because it is a Pakistani play. I want to see the kind of theatre happening in that country,” said Ananda Lal,one of Kolkata’s most prominent theatrepersons,who is attending the NSD theatre seminar. This was Ajoka’s second trip to India in as many months: they had earlier toured Delhi and Thrissur a few weeks after the Mumbai attacks.