Journeys to democracy

Below, details of two exciting and significant cultural events in Karachi starting this weekend (for more events, visit the Danka website)

TEHRIK E NISWAN’S 2ND TLISM THEATRE AND DANCE FESTIVAL for Peace and Disarmament March 19- 28

Venue: Arts Council Karachi. All programmes will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for Rs 300/- available at venue (also has food and handicraft stalls). Contact Tehrik-e-Niswan tel: +92-21-35857190 email: tehrik@gmail.com. Programme details at Tehrik website,- also copied below. The festival is a tribute to Mr Ghanshyam, who introduced generations of Pakistanis to dance and yoga. See Sheema’s note below.
And the KARACHI LITERATURE FESTIVAL, Mar 20-21, 2010, 10 am – 7 pm, Carlton Hotel (next to Creek Club, D.H.A. Karachi).
Evening Performances start at 9 pm at the Karachi Arts Council

TLISM: Sheema Kermani writes: “Mr Ghanshyam was my first dance teacher and it is to him that I owe the success of my career as a dancer and performer. I learnt not only many dance forms from Mr Ghanshyam but also learnt what goes into making a good performer, choreographer and director. For almost 35 years Mr and Mrs Ghanshyam ran their training institute in Karachi where Classical and Folk dance, Classical Vocal and Instrumental Music and Yoga were taught. In 1983 they were hounded out of the country and sought asylum abroad. They are returning to Pakistan and I want this Festival to be a tribute to them.”
TLISM Programme
Day 1: Fri 19 March – Song of Mohenjodaro – a ballet (Sat 20th and Sun 21st Performances for Karachi Literature Festival, OUP and British Council)
Day 2: Mon 22 March – Insha Ka Intezaar – a tragic-comedy based on Samuel Beckett’s famous play “Waiting for Godot”
Day 3: Tues 23 March – Rang Badal Lo Bhai – a satire
Day 4: Thurs 25 March – Peace Dreams – modern dance ballet
Day 5: Friday 26 March – Zikr-e-Nashunida – an anti-war play originally directed by Prasanna Ramaswamy, India, drawing upon episodes from Euripides “Trojan Women”, Julia Starzky, Kabir and Les Smith
Day 6: Sat 27 March – Jang Ab Nahin Hogi – based on Aristophanes Greek classic, Lysistrata, an anti-war comedy for adults Adapted by Fahmida Riaz and Anwer Jafri – To Celebrate World Theatre Day
Day 7: Sun 28 March – Classical Dance Recital – Tribute to Mr Ghanshyam.

KARACHI LITERATURE FESTIVAL
Open to the public and free of cost (organised by Oxford University Press Pakistan and the British Council). Aims to provide a platform for dialogue between Pakistan and other countries, promoting contemporary writing and thought from Pakistan, and bringing contemporary writing from around the world to local Pakistani audiences. The Festival will also promote young writers through a creative writing competition and an educational strand to video-link students in the UK and Pakistan using debate around contemporary writing. Programme can be downloaded from Pak Tea House (Also copied as text below)

Programme (subject to change):
DAY 1: SATURDAY 20 MARCH
10am – 11am LAWN Formal Inauguration; Speakers: Mashhood Rizvi, Asif Farrukhi, Ameena Saiyid, and Anita Ghulam Ali
11am – 12 noon: MAHARANI – Transplanted Flowers -Readings and in Conversation with Aamer Hussein- Moderator: Muneeza Shamsie
MAHARAJA – Readings and in Conversation with Kishwar Naheed – Moderator: Durdana Soomro
11am – 1pm: SAHR 1 Workshop on creative writing by Adrian Hussain
12 noon – 1pm: MAHARAJA – Panel Discussion: Literature from Pakistan: Old, New and Across Languages Moderator: Asif Farrukhi – Panelists: Kishwar Naheed, Aamer Hussein, Masood Ashar, and Intizar Hussain
MAHARANI –  Readings and in Conversation with Bapsi Sidhwa  – Moderator: Ishrat Lindblad
1pm – 2pm – LUNCH
2pm – 3pm: MAHARAJA – Readings and in Conversation with Mohammad Hanif – Moderator: Sadia Shepard
MAHARANI – Literature and Humour with Sarfraz Manzoor – Moderator: Asif Noorani
3pm – 4pm: MAHARAJA – Panel Discussion – Literature and Activism Moderator: Sunil Sethi. Panelists: Mohammad Hanif, Mohsin Hamid, Fahmida Riaz, and Arfa Syeda Zehra
MAHARANI – Book Launches: Zakhm Ka Nishan by Susan Abulhawa translated by Masood Ashar; Shadianey by Naguib Mehfouz translated by Fahmida Riaz; Moderators: Obaid Siddiqui and Ghazi Salahuddin
4pm – 5pm: MAHARAJA -Talk by Shamsur Rahman Faruqi -“Urdu ki Majmooi Sooretehaal”  –  Moderator: Iftikhar Arif
MAHARANI – Readings and in Conversation with Zulfikar Ghose  Moderator: Ishrat Lindblad
5pm – 6pm: MAHARANI – Readings and in Conversation with Sara MacDonald, Sehba Sarwar, and Sadia Shepard; Moderator: Raza Rumi
5pm – 7pm: SCELLINAS Urdu Poetry Reading (Mushaira) Conductor: Fatima Hassan; Participants: Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Iftikhar Arif, Zehra Nigah, Fahmida Riaz, Kishwar Naheed, Saher Ansari, Anwar Shaoor, Shahida Hassan, Harris Khalique, Ajmal Siraj, Imdad Hussaini, and Kashif Hussain Ghayar
6pm – 7pm: MAHARANI – Readings and in Conversation with Maniza Naqvi and H. M. Naqvi; Moderator: Ayesha Tammy Haq
9pm onwards: Song of Mohenjodaro – Dance Performance by Sheema Kermani and Group – Venue: Arts Council, Karachi
DAY 2: SUNDAY 21 MARCH
10am – 11am: MAHARANI – A Tribute to Quratulain Hyder; oderator: Raza Rumi; Panelists: Intizar Husain, Fahmida Riaz, Aamer Hussain, and Arfa Syeda Zehra
SAHR 1, MAHARAJA, BOARD ROOM 1/ BANQUET OFFICE Reading and story telling sessions for families and children Authors/ Story-tellers: Saman Shamsie, Zara Mumtaz, and Musharraf Ali Farooqi; Moderator: Raheela Baqai, Nida Dossa, and Seema Khan
11am – 12 Noon: MAHARAJA – Book Launches –  50 Poems: 30 Selected 20 New by Zulfikar Ghose; Home Boy by Husain Naqvi; Moderators: Amberina Kazi and Ishrat Lindblad
SCELLINAS – Launch of The Oxford Book of Urdu Short Stories Selected and Translated by Amina Azfar; Followed by discussion on the world of Urdu short stories – Intizar Hussain to launch; Moderator: Asif Farrukhi; Speakers: Hasan Manzar, Asad Mohammad Khan, and Aamer Hussein
12 noon – 1pm: MAHARANI -From Manuscript to Bestseller – An interactive session with Ameena Saiyid and Asif Noorani; Moderator: Ameena Saiyid
MAHARAJA – Panel Discussion: Sufism and Literature; Moderator: Raza Rumi; Panelists: Samina Quraeshi, Amar Jaleel, and Mahmood Jamal
1pm – 2pm – LUNCH
2pm – 3pm – MAHARAJA – Book Launch –  Look at the City from Here: Karachi Writings –   Selected and Edited by Asif Farrukhi; Anita Ghulam Ali to launch; Moderator: Obaid Siddiqui; Writers: Amar Jaleel, Hasan Manzar, Fahmida Riaz, and Harris Khalique
MAHARANI – Readings and in Conversation with Iftikhar Arif; Moderator: Ghazi Salahuddin
3pm – 4pm – MAHARAJA – Panel Discussion-  Literature in Translation; Moderator: Musharraf Ali Farooqi; Panelists: Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Fahmida Riaz, and Durdana Soomro
MAHARANI – Readings and in Conversation with Intizar Hussain and Asad Mohammad Khan; Moderator: Harris Khalique
4pm – 5pm – MAHARANI – Readings and in Conversation with Mohsin Hamid;  Moderator: Sunil Sethi
MAHARAJA – Readings and in Conversation with Fahmida Riaz – Moderator: Raza Rumi
5pm – 6pm – SCELLINAS – Crossing Borders; Readings from Eqbal Ahmed by Zohra Yusuf Moderator: Irfan Husain; Panelists: Mohsin Hamid, Mohammad Hanif, Fahmida Riaz, and Wasif Rizvi
MAHARANI – Readings and in Conversation with Victoria Schofield – Moderator: Ayesha Tammy Haq
6pm – 7pm – MAHARANI  – Panel Discussion; Contemporary South Asian English Literature: Its Role and Challenges Today; Moderator: Muneeza Shamsie Panelists: Mohammad Hanif, Sarfaraz Manzoor, Mohsin Hamid, and Sadia Shepard
MAHARAJA – Readings and in Conversation with Zehra Nigah – Moderator: Fatima Hassan
9pm onwards – Play by Tehrik-e-Niswan (Sheema Kermani and group) – Venue: Arts Council, Karachi

Filed under: Pakistan | Tagged: dance drama karachi, ghanshyam, karachi literature festival, literary festival karachi, sheema kermani |