Using a variety of art-forms - theater, music, song and dance - and featuring works spanning centuries - from kaafis by Guru Nanak, to the ecstatic sufi compositions of Bullhay Shah, to revolutionary poetry by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and Dalit poetry, to name a few - the show weaves together a diverse narrative of voices living and breathing despite all odds.

Themes and Featured Works

The show, a series of skits tightly woven together, unfolds as a dramatic portrayal of voices rising up in the face of suppression, in various contexts in South Asia. Using satire, irony and sharp wit, and contexts we can all relate to, the show challenges us to ponder some of society's burning questions such as - What is identity? Why do we draw these boundaries around nationality, language, and ethnicity? Why does society still dictate what a woman can and can't do? Who determines what is "cultured" art and what is "uncultured" art?

The show derives its strength in large part from the amazing body of work it draws upon. Poets whose works are featured include Habib Jalib, Baba Bullhay Shah, Shah Hussain, Guru Nanak, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and Venkanna, a Dalit poet/singer - who have all written eloquently about the burning issues of their (and our) times, and challenged authority in the face of dire consequences.

Theatrical Performances
by various bay-area artists

Music

Ustad Surinder Mann (Tabla) - A disciple of the world-renowned tabla player Late Ustad Allah Rakha, Ustad Mann has been playing Tabla since the age of six. Currently he teaches tabla, sitar and vocal at the Mann Music Academy in Sunnyvale, CA.

SAWAAZ (Musical Ensemble) - Sawaaz is a SF-bay-area based Pakistani-American music band.

Credits

Directed By: Moazzam Sheikh
Born in Lahore, Moazzam Sheikh is a writer who currently makes his home in San Francisco. He is the editor of "A Letter from India: Contemporary Short Stories from Pakistan" [Penguin Books India] , which was published in January 2004.

Written by: Shikha Malaviya and Moazzam Sheikh
Shikha Malaviya is the publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Monsoon Magazine - an electronic journal and web-portal that is dedicated to the creation and sustenance of a vibrant dialogue between emerging and established South Asian practitioners of the creative arts, along with its supporters.

Produced by: Ijaz Syed
Ijaz Syed has been an activist right from his college days in Pakistan. He has continued that trend here in the bay area, and one is of the founding members of Friends of South Asia.