I am never giving up my chance to watch a live theater again. Unlike the regular audience, I got my seat on the floor, up close to the stage and I didn’t miss a moment. Time flew and I haven’t seen anything so mesmerising. This was no new to me. The team was trained to perfection, the sync, the lights, the brilliance with which the actors portrayed their characters, the depth with which the dialogues were delivered and their voice modulation according to the situation and character.
The theme of the drama, revolved around the principle and ideals of Gandhi Ji [The Father of Nation] and how the modern world is skeptical of his ideas and belief. They tend to accept some ideas and then reject some according to their needs and understanding.
The story was set after independence and the partition. Focusing on the huge cultural gap between the Hindus and Muslims, the drama kicked off with a Hindu family, who had adopted a muslim orphan at a very young age. The Hindu family had lost their child in a Hindu-Muslim riot, and the kid had lost his family to the same. The imperfectly perfect family was constantly critizied by the society, both Hindu and Muslim alike, for adopting or being adopted into a different religion.
Years passed and the family still struggled with these issues. Aftab, the kid, now all grown up, was now exposed to various different ideas and situations. He witnessed the hatred of the fundamentalists and the detoriating conditions of Muslims. Lost within these twisted ideologies, Aftab Khan was at constant argument with himself and his father who strictly followed Gandhi’s ideology.
Like every other teenager, Aftab left home and but was manipulated and instigated to join a terrorist group,that promised freedom and dignity to all the Muslims in India. They promised freedom and dignity to all those who were oppressed or suppressed. Aftab, raised on Gandhian principles, later on found the methods of the terrorist groups disturbing and totally unacceptable.
Back home, Aftab’s father read on the news about a terrorist attack and then was later told that his son was also a part of this group. Shattered by this news, Aftab’s father, drowned in grief, blamed the society for not even trying to bridge the gap, and the constitution for not following the principle of secularism.
Meanwhile Aftab returns home with a heavy heart and explains the attack to his parents. He finally understood that these groups were fraud and their promises were fake. They were liars and often manipulated the truth to serve their needs. They controlled the masses, with fear or religion. The drama followed a full circle, with a Hindu family adopting a Muslim child and then as the child grows up, he himself adopts a Hindu child. Towards the end, we understand the depth of the situation. Aftab’s father followed Gandian principal because it gave hope in his darkest moments and Aftab’s sympathy for the people of his community was twisted to something very cruel. All Aftab wanted was better living conditions for the people of his community. Aftab remained nonviolent and in the most important moment, chose to save a life, irrespective of religion.
Aftab’s returning home was a symbol of his acceptance that every struggle is harsh and hard, and following the path of truth, is the only way to win any war.
– Pratyushi Shrivastava
