SIACHEN-A Play for the Love of Soldiers by Siddika Allahdad Tarar, Second Year
Siachen, a play based on the highest battlefield with the iciest weather comes to Lahore with a warm breeze. This play by Dawar Ahmed is another masterpiece of Anwar Maqsood's unparalleled and emphatic writing skills that is packed with punches and witty satire.
The play revolves around the rank and file defending their borders at a height of 20,000 ft. and brings out the human side of the war. The play starts with the soldiers bidding farewell to their families and giving them hopes of their uncertain return and in the next moment they are on the bloodthirsty realm of Siachen where loneliness and iciness are ready to take their life apart from enemy's bullets. It particularly focuses on the fact that soldiers in spite of having a facade of heroism have human feelings and how they want a good and prosperous life for themselves but all this is overshadowed by their patriotism.
In one scene there is an exchange of words between Pakistani and Indian soldiers over the upcoming cricket match which is filled with classic Anwar Maqsood humour. This act is followed by the visit of an Indian soldier with a thick Behari accent who mistakenly stumbled into Pakistani territory and is now trying to prove that he is a citizen of Pakistan. This part is teemed with jokes regarding the history and politics of Pakistan and helps the audience to ejaculate some unrestrained laughter. Then in order to break the frigidity of Siachen, a female BBC journalist is introduced on the stage who because of her charm brings color to the whiteness of the mountains.
Another thing that is beautifully depicted in the play is the wait of the soldiers for any news to come from home and the thoughts of their family members which haunt them all the time. In a place where everything else freezes to death the warmth of these emotions can still be felt and depicts how naive and dewy-eyed man is at heart.
The play has its share of emotional scenes and dialogues that manages to pull out some tears from the eyes of the audience. But these scenes are somewhat short-lived and are over before one could show complete indulgence. The end act is intense and subtle at the same time(which I am not going to spoil).The performance of the actors is beyond good in spite of the fact that they are amateurs. In conclusion it can be said that this play was undoubtedly a reassurance of Anwar Maqsood's legacy which succeeds in unwrapping humor in the ghastly war-torn areas without losing its gravity and the sense of tragedy that is all the time prevalent there.
The play clearly deserves accolade and is definitely not something to miss. It is going to stay in Lahore for a few more days. So go grab your tickets right now or you will live to regret it.
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