CENTRE STAGE
LAHORE MAKES A TIMELY RETURN
Asghar Wajahat’s play Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya O Jamyai Nai (One who has not seen Lahore has not been born) is set in 1947, just after the partition of India.
Sawitri Theatre Group’s full-length Gujarati play Jene Lahore Nathi Joyu Ae Janmyoj Nathi is back!
In partnership with Todmorden Mills, Toronto, Toronto History Museums Sawitri will remount this epic Partition-era drama at Papermill Theatre, Todmorden Mills, Toronto on May 16 and 17.
Translated by Dr. Sharifa Vijaliwala, the original play was titled Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya, O Jamyai Nai in Hindustani (literally meaning, ‘He who has not seen Lahore is not even born’) by the award-winning Hindi scholar and playwright Dr Asghar Wajahat.
Written 25 years ago, it continues to remain relevant globally.
Before the partition of India in 1947, the city of Lahore, the provincial capital of the province of Punjab, was a rich and flourishing urban centre of business, learning, culture, performing arts, Sufism, and fashion. In the midst of this wealthy city, was a 22-room mansion of one of the most successful jewellers of Lahore, where a lone, old Punjabi Hindu woman gets left behind during the Partition of India. When she is discovered by the Muslims - locals and immigrants who left India to move to Pakistan due to the Partition - she refuses to leave, saying that Lahore is her home. How the new Muslim migrant family who is allotted her mansion as their home and the resident Hindu lady navigate the meaning of home forms the heart of this play!
Lahore here is a metaphor. When new borders are drawn, where and what does one call home? Do shifts in the geopolitical spheres dramatically shift emotional landscapes? Is there place for love and harmony amidst hate-induced violence? The play raises existential questions on the driving and dividing forces of life. This is one story of many, many stories of that time, of a people directly devastated by the Partition. Do they choose to stay or leave? Do they survive or perish? Do they choose love or hatred? This important and heart-warming tale is a veritable “…paean to humanity” in the words of Wajahat Ji. Sadly, this tale remains ‘timely’ especially in the face of so many current wars and conflicts – Russia-Ukraine, Palestine-Israel, the very recent India-Pakistan and the unhappy situation with the USA and Canada.
Sawitri Theatre Group was Founded in 2003 by Artistic Co-Directors Jasmine Sawant and Shruti Shah.
When & Where: Papermill Theatre, Todmorden Mills, 67 Pottery Rd, Toronto, ON M4K 2B9. 16th May at 7:30. 17th May at 2 pm & 7:30 pm. Duration: 2.5 hours including intermission Parking is free but limited.
Tickets: FREE, but registration required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lahore-theatrical-performance-at-todmorden-mills-tickets-1345282308599