BHOPAL : The life of one of the foremost leaders of Indian freedom struggle, Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin, popularly known as Maulana Azad was described in 20 scenes in a soliloquy ‘Maulana Azad’.
The show directed by Dr. M. Sayeed Alam was brilliantly presented by renowned actor Tom Alter on Wednesday – the second day of the three-day Urdu drama festival at Ravindra Bhawan Auditorium. The festival is being jointly organised by Allama Iqbal Adabi Markaz MP Urdu Academy and Directorate of Culture.
The play focusses on the life of Maulana Azad and how he contributed to the Indian freedom struggle and educational development of the country. The saga of the life of Azad since his childhood till his old age has been shown in 20 scenes. It has also been shown that 55-year-old Azad is writing a book in Ahmed Nagar Jail between 1942 and 1945.
The play begins with the childhood of Maulana Azad, eventually taking the audience forward to a peep into his younger days. Events from Azad’s life were beautifully narrated by Tom Alter in the role of old Maulana Azad remembering the incidents of his life, including discussions on political and educational issues with Gandhi and Sardar Patel and also about their drawbacks. He also talks about Gandhi’s Satyagraha and non-violent movement and during independence, how this movement turned into Hindu-Muslim riots on a massive scale. While describing the saga of Indo-Pak partition, Azad says that “I don’t want to pay the price for Independence with partition. However it’s unfortunate that Gandhi and Nehru couldn’t stop this historical tragedy”.
He also uses talks about white jasmine tea, Tajmahal, poetry, cigarette, Makka et al. Sets, costumes and lights were used as per the mood of play. This was the 155th show of the play and the sixth in Bhopal.
Speaking about the play, Tom Alter said, “Of course, all credit goes to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. It is based on Azad’s book ‘Guber-e-Khatir’ of 245 pages which was written beautifully by him. What sets this book apart is that it doesn’t mention any political dispute”.
“Playing Maulala Azad is a dream come true for me. I want this show to continue forever. There is no need for any change in it,” he added.
He said that “I rehearsed twice for the show – first in the hotel and next on stage. I don’t meet anyone before the performance.”
