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    NAPA Young Directors Theatre Festival 2015: 'Sakha Ram Binder'

    Written by: Sadeem Shaikh
    Posted on: November 24, 2015 |

    Champa, Lakhsmi and Sakha Ram

    The first ever Young Directors Theatre Festival was launched at the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) last Wednesday night. The brainchild of NAPA Repertory Theatre director Zain Ahmed, this 12-day festival is an innovative model for young theatre enthusiasts to introduce and showcase new ideas in the performing arts. Testing the boundaries of current theatre adaptations and challenging them in widely creative ways, this newborn festival seeks to focus more on ideas and their contextual relevance rather than on content. The six enlisted plays are all directed by NAPA alumni, with several cast members still enrolled at the institute.

    Sakha Ram's first meeting with Champa

    Sakha Ram's first meeting with Champa

    This past weekend, the festival commenced its second play, ‘Sakha Ram Binder’. Trusting the audience to “keep a soft heart” and facilitate such newfangled ideas, Zain Ahmed inaugurated the show with a humorous two-minute monologue. A five-person act, Sakha Ram Binder is an Indian adaptation of Vijay Tendulkar’s play, directed by a 2014 NAPA alumnus, Shahzad Jalbani. It follows a linear narrative of an Indian working class man, Sakha Ram, who believes that all will work well for him, so long as he is truthful. Giving no regard to societal and cultural values, Sakha Ram takes in other men’s discarded women as sexual servants. However, he fails to account for the broader repercussions of such a dangerous arrangement, which later put everyone involved in grave jeopardy. Set entirely in Hindi, the play features Saad Zameer as Sakha Ram Binder, and Asiya Alam (Lakhsmi) and Marya Saad (Champa) as his domestic servants and sexual partners. Khalid Sherwani and Kaleem Ghauri take on the roles of Binder’s neighbor and Champa’s husband, respectively.

    The play featured quite a bit of foul language, but still managed to obtain countless rounds of laughter from an audience that comprised people from all age groups. Placing most scenes in a village setting with a simplistic outlook, the story highlighted a number of important themes that are widely relatable, especially in the Pakistani context. Sakha Ram’s obsession with male dominance and female subordination brings socially relevant bearings to the forefront. Binder gets offended when Lakhsmi and Champa passive-aggressively try to defy his power. Binder also holds his social status in the highest regard, and defies anyone who tries to challenge it. In the backdrop of this blatant class differentiation, we find a widely segregated society with Lakhsmi and Champa settling for the lowest social status.

    NAPA Young Directors Theatre Festival 2015: Play Sakha Ram Binder

    The play also discreetly touches upon the theme of religion. Despite Binder’s strong sentiments concerning masculinity and social status, he accepts his Muslim neighbor as a close friend and confidante, and often encourages him to join in on Hindu praying rituals. Binder simultaneously justifies all of his actions with a steadfast belief in staying truthful about one’s personality and principles. Holding on to such dictated and seemingly contentious views, Binder finds his life falling apart when other people from Lakshmi and Champa’s lives become involved in their arrangement. His relationship with the two servants takes a turn for the worse, as he becomes increasingly fearful and insecure, and ends up murdering Champa in the process.

    Seeking to bring out creativity and fresh perspectives amongst young theatre lovers in Karachi, the NAPA Young Directors Theatre Festival has definitely been the talk of the town in these last few days. Sakha Ram Binder is only the second one in a series of six plays scheduled to air in the coming week. The festival features four more acts, and will conclude on the 29th of November.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021