Write Move

On the occasion of Essay Communications’ theatre festival to celebrate the completion of its tenth year,it seems apt that a tribute be paid to Saadat Hasan Manto on his birth centenary,” says Salim Arif,the group’s founder director. They draw heavily from Urdu literature and Manto is one of the greatest Urdu short-story writers. “As a group,we are committed to the idea of bringing literature on stage and that’s why,we keep going back to texts,” he says. Snatches from Manto’s short stories such as Kali Shalwar,Nangi Aawazein,Khol Do and Aakhri Salute have been interwoven into a play called Manto Mantra that was staged yesterday at Prithvi Theatre,Juhu. The festival,which started on Sunday with Arvind Gaur’s Gandhari,features three plays written by Gulzar on the final three days. Kharaashein,a play that tells stories of middle-class families caught in riots,will be staged on July 18,10 years after it made its debut in Mumbai. Sunte Ho on July 19 brings together Gulzar’s adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Streer Patro and his short story,Mard. “The theme — that of women being answerable to men — remains true irrespective of the times,” Arif explains. The festival of literary work on stage will culminate with Gulzar’s humorous adaptation of four short stories by O Henry,titled Arre O Henry.