An iconic play staged at Dr MCR HRD Institute

Jubilee Hills: Dr MCR HRD Institute of Telangana, in collaboration with Heritage Club of SPIC MACAY, presented an internationally famous play, 'Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya O Janmya Hi Nai,' (one who has not seen Lahore, has not been even born), at Dasarathi Auditorium.

Breaking away from the stereotyped theme of violence and hatred, relating to the partition of the country, the play, instead, explores and celebrates the inspiring stories of compassion, magnanimity, and universal brotherhood among the people belonging to different communities in those trying times. The play highlights the triumph of humanistic message of religions over religious fanaticism.

This play is about a Muslim family that migrates from Lucknow to Lahore during the partition times and enters the Haveli allotted to it in Lahore. The family is taken aback by the presence of an elderly Hindu woman who has stayed back in the Haveli.

However, as time passes, the animosity between the old Hindu woman and the Muslim family is transformed into a friendly bond, despite the deliberate attemts by many a anti-social element to sabotage the Hindu-Muslim unity. The play received thunderous applause and multiple standing ovations by the audience.

The play, written by Sri Asghar Wajahat, a recipient of Sangeet Natak Academy Award, was first performed by Naya Theatre under the direction of Padma Bhushan Sri Habib Tanvir in 1989, who subsequently took it to Sydney, New York, Dubai, Karachi, Lahore, and all over India. The play was preceded by the distribution of prizes by BP Acharya, Director General of the Institute, to the trainee civil servants who took part in the essay-writing and folk painting competitions.