Pakistan lacks support for culture: Sheema

New Delhi: Indians and Pakistanis are the same people and want to live in peace, says Pakistan-based theatre director Sheema Kermani. Also an activist, she believes cultural activities lack institutional support in her country.

"If I am asked to convey a message to both the countries - India and Pakistan - I would say we are the same people who have lived together in peace and harmony for centuries. And we want to live in peace for ever after. The violence and the war have to stop," Kermani told reporters in the capital. Her Karachi-based troupe Tehrik-e-Niswan, which was set up as the cultural mouthpiece of the women`s rights movement in Pakistan in 1979, staged "Jang Ab Nahin Hogi" at "Leela - The South Asian Women`s Theatre Festival" in the capital Thursday. Theatre has not changed much over the decades in Pakistan, said the director. "The biggest problem that we face is lack of government and institutional support for culture. Television and commercial theatre have taken over - much like in India - and meaningful theatre does not have the means to sustain. It`s beg, borrow or steal. We seek help from friends, non-profit groups, sympathisers and sometimes even shell out own money," Kermani said. Add bureaucratic red tape to the constrained purse, she lamented. "One has to pay excise, taxes, and acquire no-objection certificates from the government to stage our plays. The formalities are a loss of time and sources of harassment," she said. When asked about a wish list, Kermani said she wanted "the government to build a cultural centre where we could stage our plays every day, have a repertory company and get government support." "And I want more cultural exchanges across the border between India and Pakistan. It would help both the nations - I feel so close to India when I witness the response to my plays here," the director said. The play "Jang Ab Nahin Hogi" uses a war as the core of its dramatic narrative to make a statement about peace, futility of battles, and women`s power. It`s a comic satire. Based on a Greek classic, "Lysistrata" written by Aristophanes in 411 BC, "Jang Ab Nahin Hogi" is the story of Khaebani and Phool - two warring tribes. After freeing themselves from foreign colonialists through a common struggle, the tribes are locked in fratricidal wars. Disenchanted by the constant strife, the women of the warring clans take control of affairs. The play ends on a hilarious note. The women announce that "since the turf has been torn to bits and the areas earmarked for the warlords, the men can let their hair down with a peace party, where the women will join them." The party calms the men, who break into a song with the women. "When I first conceived the play in 2002, it drew a mixed response. Some people did not like it. This is first time I am staging the full play in India. I had earlier staged the last scene at the World Social Forum in Mumbai in 2004," Kermani said. Kermani`s creative calendar is full. "From March 19, I will be busy organising the `Dance and Theatre Festival for Peace and Disarmament` in Karachi. I have composed a new multi-media dance choreography, `Peace Dreams` for the festival," the director said. The director, who is a trained dancer and choreographer, has been crusading against gender injustice in Karachi. Her troupe performs plays on social ills in the poorer neighbourhoods of Karachi. Tehrik flourished in the 1980s when military dictator General Zia-ul Haq muzzled women`s rights. Kermani took on the draconian laws the general had legislated on rape with her plays, "Anji" and "Chadar Aur Chaardiwari". She was also threatened by radicals in 1983 in her hometown Karachi and braved gags on performances. "My organisation has been campaigning about social issues through its performances for the past 30 years. I started working for peace and joined the anti-war movement in the late sixties," Kermani said. The daughter of an army officer, Kermani attended art school in Britain. IANS