Sadar and party puppet performance

Beautifil Bahauddin Zakariya University Campus

I felt a bit nervous and hoped that things would come together for Sadar and his party’s puppet performance. Azam Jamil sahib opened the doors to his college for the performance, and cleared some time in the students’ very busy schedules to attend. We picked up the the 4 person group then brought them back to the college.

Zohaib sahib and I grabbed two charpoys out of the guard room. The puppeteers stood them up with a bamboo pole suspended between them. They lay blankets and cushions around and the stage was set. We all drank some tea together, and each member of the group shared a bit about their work and the beautiful puppets.The students brought out cushions and made their way to the performance. I asked them to share a bit about their textile art with our puppeteer friends. They talked about the work, then brought out a few sample projects, which I thought was really cool. I asked Azam sahib to present the show, Sadar sahib to introduce the members and then the show began. I was recording using the various gear I had to get enough footage to put together a video to promote the group.Sadar came out and narrated. while the two female members of the group provided song and percussion. The fourth member performed with with the puppets, standing behind the stage. There were fantastic bits of comedy, curiosity, surprise and fun songs. Each puppet was introduced then performed their bit with Sadar providing the backdrop for each character’s entrance and performance via his narration. It was very satisfying to see everyone laughing, and enjoying familiar songs and just losing themselves in the performance. This was a very sort of modern crowd, worlds away from where these puppeteers are from, but their performance made an instant connection. By the end, the students were making musical requests for the musicians of the group. They too were laughing and I felt like all the struggles to get to this point finally started to amount to something more than mere ideas in my mind.We stopped the performance there, had a bit of a question and answer session, showed our deep appreciation for the artists, then started packing up. I took some more photos of puppets, then I walked with the group to a local dhaba where we enjoyed a delicious meal and come conversation. Afterwards, we walked back to the college to pick up their things. I recorded short introductions with each member. A few members seemed shy and one said he could not do a second take. I thought it might be because it has been while since they performed and so they feel naturally a bit awkward. They said a bit, but it is not really shyness.

When I watched the footage later on, I realized how emotional it was, after all they have suffered, to be appreciated practicing their art. It was difficult for them to even say their names and what they did in the party, I think because that core aspect of their identity has been such an intense struggle. I can barely even begin to imagine that pain. I have seen the smallest bit of that in the rapid decline of work conditions and work availability in the animation industry which has been very difficult, but that is nothing compared to the hardships and indignities suffered by these fantastic artists.I spent the evening with Azam, his family and a couple of additional artists. We enjoyed some snacks at night, but my mind was in a daze, thinking of my next steps to do the work I have come for as well as the joy of having been able to get this far with so much generous help.Days later, after many hours of work, I put together this video of the performance.