‘The Seagull’, translated from one of the best plays of the Russian dramatist, Anton Chekov’s, opened at the Arts Council on September 26, 2009. The play is a tragi-comedy, which, at its Russian premiere in 1896, failed to win the audience’s approval. Only the jurist and literary enthusiast, Anatoly Koni, believed the play had achieved something new and important. It did - and went on to gain worldwide popularity with translations in 25 languages.

The Urdu version, performed by NAPA, did well as far as its team was concerned, with seasoned names such as Zia Moheyuddin, who directed and acted in the play, Rahat Kazmi, Talat Hussain, Arshad Mehmood, Nyla Jaffri and NAPA’s repertory actors. The story revolved around each character suffering unrequited love and a successful actress-mother, torn between narcissism and love for her son, an unpopular and much criticised playwright who constantly wallows in self-pity.

Western classicism can be difficult for an Urdu-speaking audience to relate to, although credit must be given to the elaborate stage set and acting abilities of the characters. As tribute perhaps to the original drama, dialogues in Urdu spoken by characters with names as Konstantin Treplyov and Yevgeny Sergeyevich Dorn, caused to distract. One also felt the duration of the play stretched beyond expectation, as each time the curtains closed one wondered if the play had finally ended. The play is not for those looking for light entertainment; the appreciation will come only from a select audience, unlike the applause for the more popular ‘Kanjoos’ staged a few months ago. One hopes that NAPA’s efforts to draw a bigger crowd are also the dawn of quality stage plays - a medium that in the past was not taken seriously.

To raise awareness on suicides, its causes and prevention, Aga Khan University (AKU) and the Suicide Prevention and Research Interest Group (SPRInG-AKU), in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, recently hosted Pakistan’s first national seminar on suicide prevention.

Dr Murad Moosa Khan, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Psychiatry, AKU pointed out that Pakistan has seen a dramatic rise in suicide cases since the mid-1990s: from a few hundred to the current estimates of 6,000 to 8,000 a year. Causes may be attributed to social factors such as poverty, unemployment, lack of social support and education, and psychological factors such as depression. Common methods include hanging, shooting and ingesting insecticides. More men than women kill themselves but more women than men attempt suicide. The socio-cultural and religious aspects of suicide have not been sufficiently studied yet and in fact, there is no official data yet on suicide provided by Pakistan. The reason that may be attributed to punishable laws against suicide and the social stigma attached to it. Dr Khan pointed out that though mountainous regions are considered a peaceful abode; there is a high rate of female suicide cases in the Gilgit area, the cause of which is yet to be determined. Dr Haider Naqvi, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, underlined the need for more research in this area and explained that suicide is one of the three leading causes of death among young people. Dr Ehsanullah Syed, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry pointed out causes such as parental separation, divorce and family discord, child abuse and use of alcohol and drugs and stressed on making psychological counselling available in all educational institutions. Human rights campaigner and lawyer, Zia Awan of Madadgaar, a non-government organisation, stressed on the importance of communication as means of prevention-communication within the family and outside and said that all relevant organizations must collectively work towards forming a center for victims and to-be victims.