"Before recession could hit Pakistan, terrorism did.” — Saadaan Peerzada
When an event has not only been sustained for 25 years but has improved since inception, it seems only natural that the government takes a measure of interest in it. Since the festival encourages the culture of Pakistan and solders ties on an international level, it makes perfect sense that the government, often isolated on the international front, would want to become a stakeholder in it.
It was learnt from reliable sources that the Governor House in Lahore this year maintained an austere front in terms of helping the arts. Khalid Maqbool was also seen at the World Performing Arts Festival (WPAF) 2008 buying tickets for his family, participating in whatever capacity he could. However, no one even heard the sirens of the entourage of the new Lahore Governor graze past the Alhamra. According to Saadaan Peerzada, one of the directors at RPTW, Shahbaz Sharif helped in terms of venue and security and personally assured the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) of full support after three explosions took place in close proximity on the second-last night of the festival.
What was reassuring for the Peerzadas was the presence of the public as families were present at the venue in tow with children the very next day. These were the people stereotyped to be at best not interested enough. They came to light candles, watch puppets and to show they were not scared. RPTW is a family affair. It is run by the Peerzada brothers with their sister and their next generation either working for it or contributing to the arts. It is a rambling organisation sprawling all over the performing arts.
Alena Peerzada, Saadaan’s daughter, is the director of programmes at the theatre company. Young, rather fierce and completely in control of any situation, she was seen busy coordinating visas and travel plans for an upcoming sufi festival in France. An antithesis to his daughter, Saadaan is fluid, energy simmering under the surface, bubbling over every now and then when he speaks of ideas or plans. As this was the 25th consecutive year the festival, there were grand plans, plans that never saw the light of day due to the declining economic and political situation throughout the country. Speaking to father and daughter individually, one could feel the fabric that held the festival tightly together was home spun, which was why the problems that the festival faced seemed shared.
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So why did the Peerzadas decide to take on the last night of the festival after something as serious as three explosions? The answer is simple — to cancel the show was to let the terrorists win.
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Inviting hundreds of foreign delegates every year, the festival turns out to be more than a pinch on the pocket. Prior to 9/11, Saadaan said that most international delegates required no airfare as they would reach Pakistan and then the festival would house them, feed them, entertain them and provide transportation. Since then, RPTW arranges for visas, pays visa fees, schedules flights, covers airfare and then from the moment the artistes land to the time they take off, their expenses are covered. And of course, each act is paid for performances on stage.
All these costs climb every year with raising foreign currency exchange rates and the nuisance cost of getting anything done in Pakistan. Even year when the WPAF has a sponsor, the latter acts as a partner since a tremendous portion of the cost is still incurred by the theatre company. This year, the year of their grand celebration, the corporate industry had a few minor glitches of its own (strange, as their massive ad campaigns never reflected any issues whatsoever with cash flow).
For Alena that was a glaring issue. She admitted that taking on such a festival cannot be a sole venture. In her opinion “multiple small support systems in the form of organisations and the government can offer help in a myriad of ways.” To her disappointment no one stepped up. If the festival changed its flavour to a more Bollywood event, the corporate interests would change, she added. Since the event is oriented towards promoting performing arts of all kinds, especially those stemming from multicultural heritages, it is not viewed as glamourous as are the many black-tie balls held in Lahore that sell one ticket for one night worth twice the combined value of a ticket for all the music nights at the WPAF.
There is a reason the explosions have not been the highlight of this article as it seems a shame to hand over attention to the events that were supposed to deter people from partaking in the performing arts. Saadaan was asked to list problems that this year’s festival faced, terrorism was the first one on the list. “Before recession could hit Pakistan, terrorism did,” he said. So why did the Peerzadas decide to take on the last night of the festival after something as serious as three explosions? The answer is simple — to cancel the show was to let the terrorists win.
Published in Images, Dawn on November 30 2008
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