Pakistani children winning hearts at Delhi theatre festival

Pakistani children performing a play at the International Children's Festival of Performing Arts at the Pyarelal Stadium here.

A group of schoolchildren from Pakistan is tugging at the hearstrings of audiences at the 10th International Children's Festival of Performing Arts with not just their theatrical talent but, more importantly, a powerful message that enmity is a scourge and friendship a noble pursuit.

"People don’t differ, just signboards do," says Ayesha Khalid from Mandwa Theatre, one of the two groups from Pakistan at the four-day event that began yesterday, bringing together schoolchildren from several countries across the globe.

Mandwa Theatre presented the play, Power vs Intelligence, directed by Tipu Sultan. The other group from Pakistan is the Punjab Theatre.

The festival has been organised by the Ryan Foundation in association with the National Bal Bhavan and the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).

The Pakistani children want to do their bit to foster closer ties between their country and India and are convinced that theatre can be a powerful tool to help reduce the trust deficit between the two South Asian neighbours. They also hope that their performances will help dispel some of the negative images that people have about Pakistan.

"Performing arts is a medium without a language barrier so it is useful for communicating the universal message of peace," said Meeran Kazmi, a member of the Punjab Theatre Group.

The Pakistani delegates feel strongly that such festivals play an important role in opening up their country and their culture to the rest of the world.

"Through the media and other sources, people get a distorted image of Pakistan that we are all terrorists, whereas terrorists are non-State actors. Through such festivals we show the real image of Pakistan. We are with the world and not lagging behind," said Meeran.

Punjab Theatre is presenting a play titled "Bezubaan", directed by Rukhsana Khan."The storyline is based on animal rights with a broader perspective, even human rights", says Meeran, who is playing a peacock in the play.

"All animal characters in the play are not merely animals, but are used as symbols of classes in our society as well," she said.

Her brother, Taimur Kazmi, who plays the role of a lion in the play, has invited an Israeli delegate to visit Pakistan and says all the delegates are welcome to his home.

Pakistani children performing a play at the International Children's Festival of Performing Arts at the Pyarelal Stadium here.

There was a buzz of excitement as the Pakistani children talked about their plays, the ongoing festival and their experience so far in Delhi.

Nineteen-year-old Risham, for instance, was all smiles as she showed off her hair braids which she got from Dilli Haat and discussed shopping plans at Janpath.

She, and her friends from the group, said they felt completely at home in Delhi – whether it was bargaining with the shopkeepers or doing the bhangra to the Indian drum. Like teenage girls anywhere in the world, Meeran and Risham are looking forward to shopping in Delhi and their two-day-long trip to Amritsar, where they will be performing again.

In keeping with the spirit of the festival, these youngsters have been mingling with other delegates, exchanging notes on their culture and history.

Dressed in a saree, Israeli delegate Shani was welcomed into the conversation as she said Namaste and struck a pose. Risham took the lead and taught a few steps of Bhangra. In return, Shani taught them a few words in Hebrew.

"Wouldn’t it be great to have a name like Ambassador of Peace, peace being the family name," Risham asked.

The next two days will see performances at the festival by Israeli group Yoram Loewenstein Acting School (Second Life), South Korea’s Edu-Art and Therapy Cotbbat (Paper Window), Iran’s New Experience Theatre (I can’t, we can) and Finland’s Youth Theatre Floppi F Raasi (Dawn Breaks).

Over 5,000 children from 30 countries are participating in the four-day festival that was opened by Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal yesterday.

The first day saw a peace march and participants painted their thoughts on a Global Bus for Peace. The high point was a performance by students from all countries based on A R Rahman’s Vande Mataram.

Students of Ryan International schools in the Delhi region are performing street plays and dances to add to the rich experience that the festival is offering.

NNN