Struggle to Keep Islamabad Lively

The federal capital has always been known for being a strange hybrid bubble. A city possibly you could belong to, but never actually originally ‘from.’ It’s more of a city where people come from different places to settle. Despite its apparent beauty, cleanliness, comfortable size and the traffic that one can still wade through, its lack of history has been pointed out time and again. Its bland image has been compounded by the lack of entertainment, even more after the high security measures which have perhaps affected all residents of Islamabad. But the small art lovers’ crowd of the city is refusing to be drawn back by the drawbacks.
Over the years a few individuals in Islamabad have persevered to stay true to their art forms whether it is music, theatre or just providing the arts to the rest in Islamabad. Those who aim to nurture their own artistic altar ego are also filling the void of art by creating spaces for others to join in. They have created spaces for artists to express themselves in a city that goes through fazes of volatility.
Zeejah Fazli, a pharmaceutical marketeer by profession, wears a few more hats. He is a businessman and an avid musician. Known best for playing the guitar superbly, Zeejah has opened his doors to music lovers since 2004. A private home in F-6 was a haven for those who could play different instruments and for those who could equally appreciate the talent and passion of the musicians. People would walk in quietly find a place to sit without fussing and watch with awe as the bongo, drums, acoustic and electric guitars would fuse together to create a magnetic field around the room. Couples would be lounging around, holding each others hands, tapping their feet to the beat, while some sitting up straight reaching out to a tin can they turn over so as to join in. The ‘jamming sessions’ would start late and last in to the small hours of the night. The same people performed week after week creating a place for music lovers to enjoy the art.
But this didn’t seem enough to Zeejah and of course ‘complaints from neighbours started pouring in’ he says ‘So I wanted to create a place that was completely ours and farther away,’ he chuckled while talking from his mega project site near Rawal Lake. He has invested two years of time, money, labour and certainly emotion in making a music amphitheatre, audio studio, theatre arena and cafeteria. The theatre arena can have 500 people, the lawn has a capacity of 1,000 people, the café and party area both can have 100 people. Even though his site may become the pulse of the city’s entertainment, he says it has happened by default, ‘I’ve done all this just because I have a passion for music,’ he says.
Nadine Murtaza also does it for the art. She owns the Paper Microfone a quaint café in Super Market. A soft spoken and poignantly intelligent individual and a teacher by profession, she also hosts an open mic night every Saturday to anyone who wants to perform anything. As youngsters trickle in, she begins the evening by expressing her hope and encouragement for people to perform what they wish, to an audience who will not judge but watch. Readings and short snippets of plays were popular at first with readings from Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Habib Jalib and Sandra Cisneros and an extract from the play ‘The Suicide’ by Nicolai Erdman. The most recent open mic night happened after a long stint and yet despite Nadine’s doubt of adequate performances, there were series of varied acts – from live singing, both classical and contemporary, which involved sitar and acoustic guitar to stand up comedy and readings. My personal favourite was a band called ‘Bumbu sauce’ with its two members, Shehryar and Ali Mufti, who sang songs while beating the top of a taboo box, an alternative to a drum or bongo. ‘I didn’t even think people would show up – I like to perform and I just thought there should be a stage. I thought if there was a space eventually people would be emboldened to do stuff,’ says Nadine.
Young people are beginning to think out of the box, learning that going commercial is not the only way, and realising that it isn’t even about the money, but more a place where they can let their hair down and present their views and thoughts true to who they are.
Arshad Bhatti’s restaurant, Civil Junction near Jinnah Super also offers its space for social, political, and environmental causes and is a meeting place for the rights activists. It has cheek in tongue names on the menu like ‘Military intervention,’ ‘ISI’ or ‘Pak-Bharat Dosti’ encouraging more creative dissidence. Known earlier for its random jam sessions, now it hosts comedy nights as well.
Junaid Malik is yet another giver who seems to be the kind of man who will work tirelessly to achieve something he believes in. With an academic and professional background in drama from the USA and India, he currently works for a telecom company. But theatre is his passion. That’s why he has set up what he calls the Empty Space Theatre inspired by Peter Brooke’s book The Empty Space in the basement of his house. ‘Learning to build the foundations right so that we can build mega productions in the future. I feel we get so caught up with the idea of making theatrical works with appeal of grandeur that we fail to even get the basics right,’ he says. He has hosted Brazilian martial arts, monthly salsa nights, cozy concerts by Zeb and Haniya, Arieb Azhar, Rocklite and Ari Roland Jazz Quartet. ‘I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all I need for an act of theatre to be engaged.’
In a country where we live on the fringe of unpredictable situations and insecurity, these open spaces are service and possibly the few avenues available for staying sane in an insane state.