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 Dramas
were also quite prevalent in those days and Sindhi
stage was in fact more active in Sind than it
has been in the post partition era. Mirza qaleech
Beg, a legendary figure in Sindhi literature was
also worshipped as the doyen of Sindhi stage.
A non-partisan, his writings and dramas were known
for their impartial approach and found an audience
in both Hindus and Muslims alike. Mirza's work,
'Mohinibai', was a glaring example in this respect.
In 1897 Diwan
Thakurdas Nagrani (Judge) established Dharam
Upkarak Amateur Dramatic Society in Shikarppur
This society proved to be an outlet for the
creative and acting urges of rich businessmen
in Shikarur who used to play parts in dramas
as a sort of hobby. Initially only Urdu dramas
were held namely, Safed Khoon, Mohabbat Ka Phool,
Dard-e-Jigar, Surdas Bilwa Mangal, etc. Known
for their exceptional talents in singing, Shikarpuris
always had two-three songs interspersed with
the script to showcase their singing talents.
Maharaj Pahlaj has been credited with playing
the role of Surdas wherein he used to give soulful
renditions and take the character to new heights.
Sindhi dramas followed in due course and attained
their place in stage and dramas.
Hyderabadis,
were also not far behind and in time Mirza Qaleech
Beg's dramas like Lobhi ain Thogi, Neem Tabeeb,
etc. were performed in Hyderabad also. Seeing
the success of dramas other Sindhi writers also
turned their attention to writing plays on social
evils like dowry, alcoholism, the zamindari
system, etc. Amongst them Kako Bherumal Meherchand,
Lalchand Amardinomal and specially Khanchand
Daryani, who established Ravindranath Natak
Mandli in 1923 which was inaugurated at the
hands of Rabindranath Tagore himself in Hyderabad.
The youngsters
of Karachi were also inspired and formed Ravindranath
Dramatic Club. Karachi and Hyderabad being broad
minded in their outlook and more literate had
many such dramatic clubs in Schools and colleges
where the students would host folk and cultural
programmes. In those days dramas were mostly
played as musical narratives and ballet form
and were rich in sufi kalaams, dohiras, songs,
etc., which gave it a more lyrical appearance.
Being conservative in those days, the female
characters were also enacted by male artists.
This soon became a challenging arena and many
a artist was known for specialising in playing
female leads. Notable amongst these were Dr.
Choithram Gidwani, Mangharam Malkani Jhamatmal
Bhavnani, Durgaas Advani and specially Nirmaldas
Gurbuxani. These portrayals paved the way for
a social acceptance of dramas an art form as
in those days dramas were not considered to
be a respectable form of activity and it was
only due to the efforts of the youngsters that
dramas started gaining a social acceptances
from 1938 onwards. New faces like Nanikram Mirchandani,
Jethanand Nagrani, Lekhraj Aziz, Leelaram Pherwani
and Ram Panjwani, started gaining prominence
and giving Sindhi stage a new look
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