In a surprising gesture of cultural resonance and artistic courage, a Pakistani theatre group named Mauj staged the Hindu epic Ramayana at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi, despite the ongoing India–Pakistan tensions

It was recently reported in the media that a theatre group called Mauj had collectively staged the play Ramayana in a theatre, the Arts Council of Pakistan at Karachi.

Despite the environment of enmity because of the gruesome killing of 26 Hindus in Pahalgam by Pakistani terrorists, drawing a devastating military response by India in the form of Operation Sindoor, and the events preceding and following, the Ramayana’s staging sold approximately a thousand tickets, as reported, and the show was enjoyed by the entire audience. Incidentally, a hitch was that a part of the audience did not understand the word ‘Mundrika’; the Pakistanis are more familiar with ‘Anguthi’, meaning ring, which was presented by Hanuman to Sita when he reached Lanka in search of her.

All the actors in this play were local Muslims; the director, Yogeshwar Karera, was the only Hindu, and the producer’s name is Rana Kazmi. Perhaps the Ramayana epic has not been staged as a theatre performance earlier, but both our epics did command a large audience when they were screened on Doordarshan in 1987 and 1988.

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