Feature

Flakes & Ashes

Rajiv Ashrafi

IT was a hot, sticky Tuesday evening. Unicorns were trotting around looking for hapless heroines to eat; zombies were roaming around aimlessly, politely asking humans for their brains; and women in burkhas were performing choreographed song and dance routines with their bearded loves on the stupendously beautiful streets of Dhaka.

My heat-induced high came to a low as I found myself seated in a rather stuffy room in an oddly named shopping mall in Dhaka. The room was being used by a 'performance literature' group called Brine Pickles. I was there to witness their latest presentation “Flakes & Ashes” a show fixed with incessant metaphysical ramblings on society and life, or something to that effect. According to their brochure, the show would explore the ironies of life that is self-deception, the “sham” of commitments, alien cultures and so on. I remembered that I had been to one of their previous shows and they had been very good.

First up was Tanvir Hasan Malik, a guest and a recently published writer .He recited his poem 'Put It Up' which was about women in burkhas having fun with their lovers (men with beards, probably?) in rickshaws with their hoods up. If that sounds ridiculous to you, it's because it is truly ridiculous. The poem explored themes of struggle and societal norms, but that may be my English degree talking. What I actually thought the poem was about: bumpy rides, pesky beggars and villainous parents. To be honest, I liked it, and so did the audience. It was also host to a one-liner which many boyfriends will surely be using on their girlfriends in the centuries to come: “Pleasure delayed is pleasure denied.”

Having done reading his poem, Malik read an excerpt from “Gifts”, a short story published in his book “Short Takes”. Once more it had to do with man's place in society and the expectations placed on him. This is where the problem with the show began: that story may have been decent reading material, but listening to someone read it out without zest and conviction made it lose its impact and felt monotonous and boring. On the other hand, Kazi Sarmad Karim's reading of Idrak Hossain's “Shadow” was excellent and captivating. He put up what I felt was a real performance, as he spoke with sincerity and spewed out swear words with just the right amount of passion.

Moving on, Theotonius Gomes was present with his guitar, serenading the audience with music. His guitar-playing skills and his lyrics had soul in them. There were poems, too. Risalat Khan, Sameeha Suraiya, Asif Iqbal and others did a great job at reciting their poems. The centerpiece of the show was a play, which felt confused and trite. It brought up questions of desire, the eternal battle between the heart and the brain, society (not again!), freedom of rules and boundaries set by society. However, thanks to this beautiful piece of dialogue delivered by the awesome Karim “Shit knows how to float!”

As I stood up to leave, my head was filled with questions about ur society, culture and whatnot. But then I realized that I was here to be entertained and not given a lecture on how our lives are bound by societal norms and commitments to other people.Aside from a few bright spots, I left sorely disappointed; their last show was better and funnier.

Photo credit: Sabhanaz Rashid Diya
(Student of United World College of Hong Kong)