.
Mudy Ji :
A sensible Article by Irfan Husain's daughter - seems to be having a dig at Gropper Gilani and Gropee Sherry :
COMMENT : The Revengerââ¬â¢s Tragedy: a Pakistani production ââ¬âMiranda Husain
It would be inaccurate to describe The Revengerââ¬â¢s Tragedy as a one-man show. In the absence of a pocket full of kryptonite, The Revenger has found that he needs sidekicks
Pakistanââ¬â¢s very own production of The Revengerââ¬â¢s Tragedy has been running for nigh on three years.
Its theatrical debut in February 2008 played to packed houses. Audiences were dazzled by the sheer creativity in ridding the script of its original Jacobean feel before replacing it with a contemporary Pakistani twist. A twist seemingly rooted in the nifty employment of artistic licence to avoid typecasting. A technique wholeheartedly exploited by our Nobel Peace Prize-winning man in Washington in his infamous beyond-bullets-and-bombs speech.
To be fair, initial performances did not disappoint. The new regime, playing the title role, managed to spectacularly maintain Pakistanââ¬â¢s Most Dangerous Nation in the World ranking. And the added boost this has given to that old relic known as the Pakistan Tourist Board ââ¬â well, who can deny? Ever since the regime came up with that nugget of pure advertising gold ââ¬â Come Visit Pakistan and have a Blast! ââ¬â the Board has been so overrun with international interest that our diplomatic missions worldwide have intervened to turn away potential visitors left, right and centre. Just ask any Westerner not working for a US private security firm how difficult it is to obtain the suddenly much-coveted Pakistan visa.
Nevertheless, it would be inaccurate to describe The Revengerââ¬â¢s Tragedy as a one-man show. In the absence of a pocket full of kryptonite, The Revenger has found that he needs sidekicks. Plural.
The Native Orientalist represents the first contender. He is the feisty daredevil who claims pragmatism in a sea of heady emotionalism. Thus he throws his intellectual weight behind The Revengerââ¬â¢s ordering of military interventions in the Tribal Areas; urges the US to send more troops to Afghanistan to prove its unwavering bullets-and-bombs commitment. And yes, he does rather admire the American-installed Afghan ruler.
Yet his performance has failed to win over drama critics. Indeed, those watching from Britain and the US have simply written off the Native Orientalist as a Brown sahib. They scoff at the sight of a man with ideas so clearly above his station spending so much time down on his knees grovelling. This Agent Provocateur, forever willing to sell his conscience to the one who always wears Prada, has but one ambition: to secure a place on the fast track of the American-Zionist agenda promotion programme. Presumably, they believe their own adopted host governments to be innocent of such go-getting.
His nemesis is the Desi Occidentalist, a man who spends little time on his knees and most of his energy viewing developments through the prism of his own conceit. A Brown sahib who believes that he alone has the answer. Not the Whities or, indeed, those trying to emulate them.
Thus anyone challenging his viewpoint is immediately accused of consensual indoctrination by the Western media. Naturally, the Desi Occidentalist ignores Western media quotes of Pakistanis happily spewing forth on the countryââ¬â¢s never-ending season of discontent. And let us not forget his trump card of last resort: the deliberate belittling of those who have left, temporarily or otherwise, Pakistanââ¬â¢s green and dismal land. Indeed, he reserves the full force of his contempt for those Brown sahibs who had the audacity to be brought up in the remnants of the Empire, old and new. This is his only means of achieving his goal of independent thought discouragement.
However, most critics have conceded that the Desi Occidentalistââ¬â¢s fundamental character flaw is his failure to recognise Pakistanââ¬â¢s Information Technology baby-boomer generation. Plugged into the global pulse, they pose a real and imminent threat to his dreams of thought control.
But, of course, no tragedy would be complete without an appearance by the Pakistani Woman. For, rather predictably and unfortunately, only the promise of nudity and female subjugation appears to keep audiences firmly rooted to their cheap seats.
Inevitably, however, she is given no more than a cameo role, intended simply to enhance The Revengerââ¬â¢s stage presence.
Under pressure to go after his belovedââ¬â¢s murderer, he hides his true face behind the Pakistani Woman. From there, he instructs his coterie of neophyte sycophants to cross all political divides in order to titillate his dissenters with bills pledging to criminalise acts of domestic violence, sexual harassment and acid burning against the Pakistani Woman.
Of all his political manoeuvrings, this should be the one to most distress the critics. The Pakistani Woman, has, after all, long suffered great and grave injustices. She is treated as property, yet receives no tax payment. Like a freefalling commodity is she floated on the open market to the highest bidder. She is raped, stripped naked. [color="#FF0000"]And if she happens to be cast in the role of politician, [size="5"]she can look forward to being groped publicly[/size][/color]
Perhaps the time has now come to bid farewell to The Revengerââ¬â¢s Tragedy. To let the curtain go down and the entertainer take a bow.
The writer is a Lahore-based freelance journalist and is currently working on her first novel. She can be reached at humeiwei@hotmail.com
Cheers
Mudy Ji :
A sensible Article by Irfan Husain's daughter - seems to be having a dig at Gropper Gilani and Gropee Sherry :
COMMENT : The Revengerââ¬â¢s Tragedy: a Pakistani production ââ¬âMiranda Husain
It would be inaccurate to describe The Revengerââ¬â¢s Tragedy as a one-man show. In the absence of a pocket full of kryptonite, The Revenger has found that he needs sidekicks
Pakistanââ¬â¢s very own production of The Revengerââ¬â¢s Tragedy has been running for nigh on three years.
Its theatrical debut in February 2008 played to packed houses. Audiences were dazzled by the sheer creativity in ridding the script of its original Jacobean feel before replacing it with a contemporary Pakistani twist. A twist seemingly rooted in the nifty employment of artistic licence to avoid typecasting. A technique wholeheartedly exploited by our Nobel Peace Prize-winning man in Washington in his infamous beyond-bullets-and-bombs speech.
To be fair, initial performances did not disappoint. The new regime, playing the title role, managed to spectacularly maintain Pakistanââ¬â¢s Most Dangerous Nation in the World ranking. And the added boost this has given to that old relic known as the Pakistan Tourist Board ââ¬â well, who can deny? Ever since the regime came up with that nugget of pure advertising gold ââ¬â Come Visit Pakistan and have a Blast! ââ¬â the Board has been so overrun with international interest that our diplomatic missions worldwide have intervened to turn away potential visitors left, right and centre. Just ask any Westerner not working for a US private security firm how difficult it is to obtain the suddenly much-coveted Pakistan visa.
Nevertheless, it would be inaccurate to describe The Revengerââ¬â¢s Tragedy as a one-man show. In the absence of a pocket full of kryptonite, The Revenger has found that he needs sidekicks. Plural.
The Native Orientalist represents the first contender. He is the feisty daredevil who claims pragmatism in a sea of heady emotionalism. Thus he throws his intellectual weight behind The Revengerââ¬â¢s ordering of military interventions in the Tribal Areas; urges the US to send more troops to Afghanistan to prove its unwavering bullets-and-bombs commitment. And yes, he does rather admire the American-installed Afghan ruler.
Yet his performance has failed to win over drama critics. Indeed, those watching from Britain and the US have simply written off the Native Orientalist as a Brown sahib. They scoff at the sight of a man with ideas so clearly above his station spending so much time down on his knees grovelling. This Agent Provocateur, forever willing to sell his conscience to the one who always wears Prada, has but one ambition: to secure a place on the fast track of the American-Zionist agenda promotion programme. Presumably, they believe their own adopted host governments to be innocent of such go-getting.
His nemesis is the Desi Occidentalist, a man who spends little time on his knees and most of his energy viewing developments through the prism of his own conceit. A Brown sahib who believes that he alone has the answer. Not the Whities or, indeed, those trying to emulate them.
Thus anyone challenging his viewpoint is immediately accused of consensual indoctrination by the Western media. Naturally, the Desi Occidentalist ignores Western media quotes of Pakistanis happily spewing forth on the countryââ¬â¢s never-ending season of discontent. And let us not forget his trump card of last resort: the deliberate belittling of those who have left, temporarily or otherwise, Pakistanââ¬â¢s green and dismal land. Indeed, he reserves the full force of his contempt for those Brown sahibs who had the audacity to be brought up in the remnants of the Empire, old and new. This is his only means of achieving his goal of independent thought discouragement.
However, most critics have conceded that the Desi Occidentalistââ¬â¢s fundamental character flaw is his failure to recognise Pakistanââ¬â¢s Information Technology baby-boomer generation. Plugged into the global pulse, they pose a real and imminent threat to his dreams of thought control.
But, of course, no tragedy would be complete without an appearance by the Pakistani Woman. For, rather predictably and unfortunately, only the promise of nudity and female subjugation appears to keep audiences firmly rooted to their cheap seats.
Inevitably, however, she is given no more than a cameo role, intended simply to enhance The Revengerââ¬â¢s stage presence.
Under pressure to go after his belovedââ¬â¢s murderer, he hides his true face behind the Pakistani Woman. From there, he instructs his coterie of neophyte sycophants to cross all political divides in order to titillate his dissenters with bills pledging to criminalise acts of domestic violence, sexual harassment and acid burning against the Pakistani Woman.
Of all his political manoeuvrings, this should be the one to most distress the critics. The Pakistani Woman, has, after all, long suffered great and grave injustices. She is treated as property, yet receives no tax payment. Like a freefalling commodity is she floated on the open market to the highest bidder. She is raped, stripped naked. [color="#FF0000"]And if she happens to be cast in the role of politician, [size="5"]she can look forward to being groped publicly[/size][/color]
Perhaps the time has now come to bid farewell to The Revengerââ¬â¢s Tragedy. To let the curtain go down and the entertainer take a bow.
The writer is a Lahore-based freelance journalist and is currently working on her first novel. She can be reached at humeiwei@hotmail.com
Cheers