They ransacked the whole place - under the chairs, near the flag, beneath the tree - looking for it. "It assured their safety," they said. But, what were they looking for? Deshbhakti (Patriotism).
The answer lay in the street play "The Trump Card" that was performed here on the ocassion of the 29th National Street Theatre Day on April 12.
Performed by Khalsa College's theatre group 'Ankur', the play highlighted the importance of being 'patriotic' in the present Indian society.
Organised by the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT), the celebration saw two more performances including 'Hawalaat' by Bigul, an independent theatre group, and 'Ek Aur Durghatna' by Kirori Mal College theatre society 'The Players'.
Using dark humor to make their points, 'The Trump Card' took a satirical dig at contemporary Indian politics, and 'Hawalaat' saw three individuals beseeching a police official to put them behind the bars.
"I do not need to talk about the times we are living in today. Today, performing plays in schools and colleges are considered anti-national.
"Even the two plays that you saw here were not allowed to be staged at the college fests. This is how we decided that we will invite them to perform here," says Sohail Hashmi, the elder brother of the late Safdar Hashmi.
'Ek Aur Durghatna' was an abridged adaptation of Italian actor-playwright Dario Fo's 'The Accidental Death of an Anarchist'.
Safdar Hashmi, whose birthday is celebrated as 'National Street Theatre Day' across the country, was a famous playwright, actor and poet and was murdered in 1989 while performing a street play, 'Halla Bol'.
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