SAWITRI Theatre Group – Todmorden Mills- Papermill Theatre –Gujarati full-length play with English surtitles – meaning of home – displacement – refugees, political conflicts – 3 performances – Mississauga artists.
Mississauga – SAWITRI Theatre Group in partnership with Todmorden Mills, Toronto, Toronto History Museums presents a full-length play in Gujarati! Titled “Jene Lahor Nathi Joyu Ae Janmyoj Nathi” translated by Dr. Sharifa Vijaliwala. The original play titled “Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya, O Jamyai Nai” in Hindustani (literally meaning, ‘He who has not seen Lahore is not even born’) by the award-winning Hindi scholar, fiction writer, novelist, playwright, independent documentary filmmaker and television scriptwriter, Dr. Asghar Wajahat, written 25 years ago continues to remain relevant globally!
Before the partition of India in 1947, the city of Lahore, the provincial capital of the province of Punjab, was a rich and flourishing urban centre of business, learning, culture, performing arts, Sufism, and fashion. In the midst of this wealthy city, was a 22-room mansion of one of the most successful jewellers of Lahore, where a lone, old Punjabi Hindu woman gets left behind during the Partition of India. When she is discovered by the Muslims – locals and immigrants who left India to move to Pakistan due to the Partition – she refuses to leave, saying that Lahore is her home. How the new Muslim migrant family who is allotted her mansion as their home and the resident Hindu lady navigate the meaning of home forms the heart of this play!
Lahore here is a metaphor. When new borders are drawn, where and what does one call home? Do shifts in the geopolitical spheres dramatically shift emotional landscapes? Is there place for love and harmony amidst hate-induced violence? The play raises existential questions on the driving and dividing forces of life. This is one story of many, many stories of that time, of a people directly devastated by the Partition. Do they choose to stay or leave? Do they survive or perish? Do they choose love or hatred? This important and heart-warming tale is a veritable “…paean to humanity” in the words of Wajahat Ji. Sadly, this tale remains ‘timely’ especially in the face of so many current wars and conflicts – Russia-Ukraine, Palestine-Israel, the very recent India-Pakistan and the unhappy situation with the USA and Canada.
SAWITRI Theatre Group – Founded in 2003 by Artistic Co-Directors Jasmine Sawant and Shruti Shah, SAWITRI Theatre Group is an award-winning, incorporated not-for-profit organization presenting original works featuring established professionals as well as emerging artists. SAWITRI’s mandate is to educate, inform, entertain, and heal through South Asian theatre arts that foreground women and the new generation, and to highlight issues of socio-political importance with works in some of India’s many languages including English. Winner of the 2016 Martys Award for excellence in theatre, SAWITRI Theatre is also the producer and presenter of the Mississauga Multilingual Fringe Festival (MMFF), the only multilingual fringe festival in North America. Operationally, SAWITRI Theatre Group is partly funded by the City of Mississauga and the Ontario Arts Council, as well as by The Open Space, Nitin Sawant, and the unstinting support of family, friends and volunteers. SAWITRI’s festivals are partly funded by Canadian Heritage.
Venue: Papermill Theatre, Todmorden Mills, 67 Pottery Rd, Toronto, ON M4K 2B9
Performance Dates: 16th May 7:30 & 17th May – 2 pm & 7:30 pm. Duration: 2.5 hours including intermission
Parking: FREE but limited Tickets: FREE but registration required https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lahore-theatrical-performance-at-todmorden-mills-tickets-1345282308599
Contact: www.sawitri.ca
@SawitriTheatreGroup
@sawitritheatre
@SawitriTheatre
Additional Information
Dr. Asghar Wajahat – Is an award-winning Hindi fiction writer, novelist, playwright. He has published 30 books of fiction and non-fiction. Well known Bollywood actor/director Aamir Khan is producing a film on this play. His work has been translated to many Indian and foreign languages, including Italian. He was awarded the prestigious national award by Sangeet Natak Akademi (National Academy for Music and Drama) in 2015. He was also awarded ‘Shalaka Samman’ (highest literary award by the Delhi Government) in 2016. He was awarded the ‘Vyas Samman’ in 2021 by the K. K. Birla Foundation.
Dr. Sharifa Vijaliwala – Recipient of the Gujarat Sahitya Academy award five times, and the Delhi Sahitya Academy award once, she is also awarded many awards from the Gujarati literary organization. She is a teacher of literature by profession and writer by passion. She has translated many literary master pieces in Gujarati from national and international languages. She is also a very respectable critic. Her honest and fierce criticism has created an impact in literary circles. During Covid she conducted lectures for students through YouTube. These did not remain limited to her own students, but many others also benefitted from them. These lectures have now become a regular feature.
Jasmine Sawant – Actor, producer, writer, manager, Founder and Artistic Co-Director of the award-winning SAWITRI Theatre Group (sawitri.ca), Jasmine works extensively in the arts, especially theatre, in Mississauga. Jasmine’s stage acting credits span a career of over 40 years. Her film credits are on www.imdb.com She’s indebted to the late Mahendra Joshi, her Guru in theatre. An award-winning writer, she has written and co-written plays for SAWITRI Theatre Group and other arts organizations. Jasmine is equally passionate about community-engaged arts projects and frequently collaborates with social service agencies on unique projects. Jasmine is also the Executive Director of the award-winning Sampradaya Dance Creations and serves on the board of other arts organizations.
Shruti Shah – Actor, writer, designer, and Artistic Co-Director of the award-winning SAWITRI Theatre Group, Shruti has worked extensively in professional theatre in India. In Canada, Shruti’s acting credits in films include her principal role in ‘Dowry’ and in theatre, include her lead role in SAWITRI Theatre Group’s Saree Kahaniyan – Saree Stories and Koi Pan Ek Phoolnu Naam Bolo To? Her writing credits include Ab Kya Karey? and Meri Saas Meri Jaan that she co-wrote with Jasmine Sawant. Born and raised in Mumbai, India, the city of dreams, she has loved Bollywood films since she was a little girl, and remains an avid viewer of these films, and a reader of all that is ‘filmi’ or Bollywood. In May 2018, Shruti directed SAWITRI Theatre’s 12 short plays by Tanuj Khosla, presented as Hindi Shorts and three short plays for Hindi Shorts 2019. She is the Festival Director for the SAWITRI Shorts Theatre Festival (SSTF) each year as well as SAWITRI’s Mississauga Multilingual Fringe Festival (MMFF).
Nitin Sawant – has a deep passion for the arts. An excellent actor, he prefers to work behind the scenes. He applies his project management skills to producing theatre and cultural events with a professional approach. He has supported SAWITRI Theatre Group since its founding, first as the Founding Director and President and now as the Technical Director. Nitin has managed several performing arts events in Mumbai, and later in the Middle East. After moving to Canada in 1996, Nitin went on to produce arts and cultural events as well as a volunteer at festivals and at events organized by the Marathi Bhashik Mandal, Toronto.
Naimesh Nanavaty – has inherited the love, passion and creativity for theatre from his parents and it was consistently nurtured by his family. He has been involved in theatre as an actor and director for more than 40 years. He has acted and directed in Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, English and Marathi theatre in India, Canada and USA. He is affiliated with SAWITRI Theatre Group, The Hive Performing Arts, Swar Sadhana and Mizaaj Arts.
