"AVANTI" - The Grand Musical.

In last couple of years, Karachi has seen a wave of change in entertainment genre which the addition of premium Cinema houses, shopping malls, and last but not least the entry of Theatre plays in the category which the people of Karachi have welcomed with open arms.

Myself being one of the ardent fan of theatre, I just could not miss going for the recently put together play by Entertainment Xtra at Arts Council named "Avanti", directed by Mr. Javed Saeedi.

"AVANTI" Theatre Musical

It is amazing to see the amount of natural talent prevailing in our country. The youth of our country has a restless soul and given the outlets to rightfully utilize these abilities ends in yielding remarkable results. Having watched couple of plays put together by NAPA academy students, then there have been plays directed by Shah Sharabeel, but nothing could prepare me for the magic I was about to witness on the night "Avanti" came live on stage. Absolutely riveting performance by each and every player associated with the show. 

The story revolves around a girl who returns to her village to save the only place in the village for the Soulful art "Avanti" that was now left completely abandoned after she had moved to the big city to pursue her dreams and never looked back. Given that the story was an inspiration from the Indi Movie Aaja Nachlay, but that was about it as far as the comparison goes. The performances of the cast blew us away with skillfully choreographed group dances to timely delivered dialogues, right down to the perfectly cued events that would build up rythmetically into a choas and still make complete sense and not loose the audiences attention. The body gestures, expressions were full of energy from the start to the finish. I happened to notice that even while one conversation was the center of attention at a time the other dozen actors on stage would not loose character with the excuse of not being the focus but they continued to proceed with their character self. 

Since the play was whooping 3 hours long! hence there were moments when one would feel the stretch but then again you could always bank on a character being silently hilarious with their gestures and silly actions while continually being in character throughout. 

The most applauded performances of the night were of Saqib Muneer ( as Rana Sahib), Rana Majid ( as Shiela ) and Hashim Imran ( as the "Gajni" policeman ). All in all, it was a must see performance that left me and my husband reminiscing moments from the play for the next couple of days! 

I am tempted to post my favourite moments from the play but then I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't seen the play yet. 

Hats off to the cast of  "Avanti" and specially to Mr. Javed Ahmed Saeedi for putting together such a brilliant performance.    

Farewell ..

The truth about life seems fairly obscure.

I once went into a lapse of depression which had me wondering if we are all supposed to die how do we find motivation to work for something that is confined to only of worldly importance? Those who go around oblivious to the stark realities of life tend of enjoy it the most; whereas the ones who dare to think about the bigger picture bare the brunt of the truth.

Our life is not in our hands. We do not know, when we might part from this form of existence or what is waiting for us in the after-life. Those who leave us never look back. We never hear from them again.

The first time I ever saw a lifeless body was that of my playmates father who died of a sudden heart-attack while sitting on a rocking chair and reading newspaper. On the mourning day, I saw people sitting around the body crying while the man looked very much as though in a peaceful sleep and it didn't disturb me. I was a teenager ( not so small ) but never questioned life and its fragile existence.

The gravity of the situation hit me with the crash of AirBlue Flight 202 last year. So many people I knew, so many, were on that plane. That was the day I will never forget. From the moment of learning about the crash to discovering about a friend, a colleague, a distant relative, stretch to the length of discovering the sweet next-door Aunty ( mother of 3 small boys ) all dead. Visions of the last conversations I had with each of them would not go away. I felt as though being followed, scared of my own shadow. Thinking how am I still alive? How does Allah mia choose? Getting paranoid that I could also die any minute and not know it, just like they did not know it. That was the turning point in my life, since then I am aware of the temporary existence we are granted by Allah mia.

This year I have lost 3 grandparents one each month starting February.Yesterday, I lost my grandfather. He was an amazing man, to say the least. I can still hear the sound of his laughter, how he, while sitting with both legs crossed-legged up on a sofa in front of the telly, would take off this hat as a relfex rub his head with the other palm and wear the hat again while listening to the news. How he would say, "aur beta joove kaise ho app?" always with a smile, always. He was the only guy I knew who could solve the entire crossed word in one sitting and that too without cheating.

Dada Jaan ( my grandfather ) lost the love of his life 2 months before he parted with us too. My grandparents were married while they were in their teens and died in their eighties. How could have one survived without the other? Thats what he said during the duration he was alive.

Dada Jaan, the last time I talked to you I promised to teach you how to use facebook so that you could look at the pictures of your grandkids and great grandkids ( who live far away ) growing up. I promised to join you in your evening walks. I am sorry I didn't get a chance to give you more time. May Allah mai bless you with the best place in heaven. Ameen.

I will never meet him again. I will never hear his loud pitch laughter or see his humor filled eyes. The walking stick. The special sofa in front of the telly. Look for him standing in the gallery taking care of his cherished plants whenever we passed from the main road. The only thing I have left of him are the countless memories. I already miss you a lot. I miss being your granddaughter, a kid.

Please recite "Surah e Fateha" once for him.

Life is too short. Do what you feel like doing. We are all born the same way and die the same death, so no one is superior and only age makes us so. We are lucky to be blessed with life. Live it well, for yourself and for others.

More than a Park Slide.

I have been a victim of the curves on that slide and I know about the muddy finish at the end. I remember the pain when I slip off the finish and land on the ground. Still standing at the bottom, rubbing my behind while looking at the top with squinted eyes, dust my clothes off the mud.

Next thing I know, I find myself standing back on the top, vowing to get a grip this time. I will not fall.

Amazing things we are taught in our childhood. And you know whats more amazing, we do each round with a smile.

"Run for your Wife" A stage play.

Yes, it is a "for" and not a "from".

I must say it was a commendable show. Although, I believe the stage props were a bit on a narrow budget, but the acting surpassed Shah Sharabeels show Bombay Dream by a huge mile.

"Run from your wife" used a basic storyline of a guy, earning a living as a taxi driver, having two wives where both of them have no clue about the other ones existence. The story gradually weaves his friend into trying to save his ass when it spirals down into a complete mess of things, ending with a surprising twist. While the show had a few quirky dual meaning dialogues delivered with excellent comedic timings giving hilarious moments, all in all had a great time.

Good job done. Hope to see more of you guys! *thumbs*

Lastly, one thing which was very negative about their event was their management. End of the show, they held a ballet every night where they pick out random winners for the giveaways through sweepstakes. My husband happened to be on of the lucky winners, sadly they had no mechanism sorted out to do anything more than just announcing the name of the winners in the auditorium. Since it was a dress hence I (with a vested interest : ) ) even followed up with them, turned out it was just a promotional gimmick.

I liked the show and was ecstatic to have won something without expecting it. But, sadly, when I look back I see an over-promise underdeliver ruining my pleasant evening. 

Random

I feel like having a time-out. I mean like a real vacation. Or better yet, I would like to zap into the era when cell phones were unheard of, not invented. period. No, that does not in any way mean I do not love my iphone. I do. Speaking of which I better download the upgrade. Why am i so inconsistent! No like why?!. Ok I shall go on further only after I have plugged it in for the job. Ok, good now I can proceed.

Meanwhile, why is everyone after Afridi all of a sudden. We need to get a life. Poor guy, don't want to be in his position.

Watched a movie Gullivers Travel. It was pretty neat and funny. Although, my fav will always be the original. The orginal Gulliver had much more persona. Completely different jig.

So, Groupin has finally launched! The website itself looks really neat and fresh. And lets not forget Basic. Fresh and basic look. They are giving out a whooping discount on Sugar... Oook. Boohoo. Why isn't it exciting me? Got me excited when I heard they were coming ! Lets not be hasty and I shall hold back my emo reins till the next deal comes out.

Ok, download for the Iphone done. Why is it communicating in languages other than english? why is it saying emergency calls only? what have i done? ok, time to give it for repair!

Some good news is coming my way, I can feel it. *fingers crossed*

Cricket Fest!

Ok, so I know I am not the only one in the planet not interested in Cricket.. Am i ? * echoes ringing and coming back * shucks! really? 

A relaxing Sunday.

Today after a long time I enjoyed a sunday. It was my moms birthday yesterday, so we ladies spent our time pampering ourselves in the parlour. Hey! so what if my mom only deserved it because it was her day :p.. Had an awesome family dinner later. Lovely time.

After reading this, one might think if yesterday was all about fun instead of today then why was today so enjoyable. Well today I enjoyed the after-effects of a brilliant day spent :) ..

I don't feel like writing anything close to being termed as 'words of wisdom' but what i can share with you is that I learnt too slangs this week "Chirkot" and "Sharty" .. hehe. Good addition. and no, not planning on using it.

Anyway, enjoy this song.

Saturday Rides

My husband and I work at the same office. On saturdays, its our ritual to stop at Dunkin have breakfast and then proceed to office. Recently, we have made another ritual (pertaining to the ride to the office). Since the couple of weeks we ride to office on a sports bike. Its exhilarating. Open roads, early mornings ( well not-so-early ), pleasant wind, makes it all the more enjoyable. There are a few things you notice more, while you are out there. A car full of teenage boys gawking in awe as you speed away. My husband ( the show off that he is :) ) would speed up when he notices someone is looking for some piece of action. By looking at my surrounding, I comfortably adjust my grip because I can guess when we are about to get on rocket speed.

Anyway, what amused me was the level of excitement small college going boys have over bunking. Its like an achievement. Rebellion does have its own adrenalin rush.Such young adolescents learning the walks of life, unsure from the inside still trying to keep a chin up as though bunking would make them the bravest arse in the world. But its really cute to see it all happen.

p.s. by the way, this happened last saturday. Just didnt get the time to finish the draft.