INDEPENDENCE BROUGHT about a split in the gigantic sub-continental landscape, giving birth to India and Pakistan. The demand of separate nations was raised long before Independence and the political stalwarts missed no chance to get their piece of territory to rule. The Sri Ram Centre auditorium at Mandi House witnessed an introspective stroll over the history lane, on February 18, 2009.
Saaye Hamsaaye takes one on a journey, which starts with Asghar and Asghari, a Muslim couple who along with their family friend, Pathak, are highly involved in the freedom struggle and their effort to lay the foundation of a progressive society. That period saw a forced migration of the people across the border drawn between the two newly born nations, India and Pakistan. Communities were alerted to seek a safe refuge in the specific nations as per their religious identity.
In India, members of several Muslim families stayed back as they were emotionally tied to the land where they were born. Eventually, with the growth of right-wing groups in India, a new social situation emerged where marginalisation of communities other than the majority became the norm.
This play grows with the family of Asghar and Asghari and Pathak as the key integrators of the society. Asghar’s kids grow up in independent India and follow ideologies, which they believe in. Everything shatters when the ‘Babri Mosque demolition’ takes place. Asghar’s son, Anwar falls prey to the situation and his political aspirations take a different course, which is based on hate.
This could be an experience of several such Anwars and families as Asghar’s. The play grows gradually in the same fashion as did the Indian nation. All the major milestones come in front of the audience making them feel the historical progress of India. An apt effort of symbolising the socio-political development in India, since Independence, through dramatic situations has been made in the play.
Performance wise, the presentation stands no less than a top quality drama. Asghar, Asghari, Pathak, Abida, Anwar and Sarwar lead the audience to a walk down the memory lane, in a very introspective manner.
The storyline is good but the script went little loose as it was claimed by the director that the character of Asghari, the wife of Asghar a political activist, represented the system and at a point when she disappears while seeking refuge at their family friend Pathak's house. That signifies the chaos in the system. Her purpose in the play was to keep her family and friends integrated without getting affected by right wing's separatist motives; she did not want her family to run blindly on the religious fundamentalism which could nurture a sense of otherness in them nor she was open to the idea of all Muslims aligning with any other nation due to their Islamic identity.
At every point in the play, the marginalisation of the community has been shown as the cause behind the suffering of the community which takes the entire community on a ride.
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