I didn’t really know what to expect from the Pakistani Student Association’s annual Jashn show, but I was pleasantly surprised when I was kept in stitches for the night. The script was well written and there were some characters that were played by very talented actors, who really came into the roles over the course of the evening. It was nice to see repeat performances from the Asian Awareness Night Show, another wonderful display of talent. The costumes were beautiful, and the performance was amazing. The show started a little late, but given that the audience was running on Indian Standard Time, no one seemed to mind.
Once Andrew Kayserian ’09 (the master of ceremonies) managed to wake up and appear, the evening got started, opening with a performance of the American National Anthem by Erin Wiltchik ’11. While she had a lovely voice, I’m not a fan of Mariah Carey. More specifically, I’m not a fan of bad Mariah Carey. Her interpretation of the National Anthem was out of place at the show; her performance would have been better suited to American Idol. The Pakistani National Anthem was then performed by a graduate student Atif Majeed. Majeed didn’t have Wiltchik’s voice, but the performance was better suited to the event.
The show started with an E-Board skit, which included the PakSA Executive Board finalizing plans for the show, while Kayserian rapped about each member. The skit seemed a little out of place, and it may have been more amusing for those who were familiar with the production process than for the audience.
The scene opens with the classic love-at-first-sight moment. The lead male, Salman (Nabeel Ali ’12), and lead female, Aaisha (Saira Atif ’10), bump into each other, at which point Salman realizes that he is in more than just love; he is in lowe (a much stronger word for love). Then, being a slightly quirky guy, he decides to follow her home and watch her through the window. He is, of course, then caught by Aaisha’s father (Wasif Khan ’09), and hilarity ensues. Salman claims to be admiring the “foundations of the house.” Aaisha’s father doesn’t catch on and eventually decides not to throw his other shoe at him. The transition to the scene is interrupted, however: When the word “bomb” is uttered in conversation, lights and sirens go off and three men wearing suits and sunglasses storm the stage. “Public Safety” proceeds to question the actors and eventually let the production get back under way.
After that little mix-up is straightened out, the story line really starts to pick up. The next scene is where Salman meets the amazing young man that Aaisha’s father was raving about ealier, Ali (Shantu Ahmed ’10). The young man with a quadruple major and a 4.5 GPA (which seems to go up a point every time it was mentioned), embodies a Pakistani version of Steve Urkel. Ali and Salman become friends, and it comes up in conversation that Salman has fallen for Aaisha, even though Aaisha’s father expects her to marry Ali. Ali explains that he wants to finish his engineering degrees and accomplish things, like curing AIDS, before he gets married so he doesn’t want to get married, for 13 more years, when he’ll turn 40.
After Aaisha’s dad and Salman meet formally at prayer, Ali and Salman attend a cultural show at RPI. But, before the show, the two start talking about impressing women and strut across the stage, to the uproarious laughter of the crowd. The b-word (bomb) is then mentioned again, and Public Safety reappears. Things are once again cleared up and the show within the show starts.
There was overlap between this cultural show and the Asian Awareness Night Show: The show began with another fashion show at this point, showcasing fashions from Pakistan and India, as opposed to all of Asia. There was also a better-prepared Chinese Yo-Yo demonstration. There were some mistakes, but the show carried on and ended well. RPI Tech Support then gave another impressive performance blending contemporary and Indian styles. The act concluded and made way for an intermission.
After the intermission and refreshments, the audience learns that Aashia has a boyfriend, Aamir (Neil Desai ’09). Ali and Salman learn that Aamir is actually engaged to be married and that this is why he hasn’t made a commitment to Aaisha. Not knowing a better way to break it to her, Salman and Ali invite her to come to the dholki (bachelor/bachelorette party) for Aamir and his bride. It is at this point that Aamir’s mom (Sarah Kidwai ’11)—whom I wish we had seen more of—while yelling in a very heavy accent, drags her son upstairs to get him appropriately dressed and out of his “bling-bling.” After a brief pause (IST time again), Aamir is properly dressed and our leads arrive. Aaisha realizes where she is and slaps Aamir (accompanied by a delayed sound effect) and then the fiancée does the same (another delay).
The story line then progresses more typically for a boy-meets-girl, boy-falls-for-girl story. Aaisha is heartbroken about her boyfriend, and Salman comforts her. She then falls for him as he had fallen for her, and it is now mutual lowe at first sight. The entire cast, as Salman’s family, comes with Salman to ask Aaisha’s father if he will allow the marriage. A selling point for Aaisha’s father, who has some mannerisms similar to Ali, is when Ali says that Salman is a better student than he, with a 7.5 GPA. Being a good father and wanting his daughter to be happy, he allows the marriage. Before the actual ceremony though, there were several beautiful dance performances, but they probably would have made more sense if they had been added to the cultural show.
As someone who has cried at every wedding she’s attended, I was disappointed. The “wedding” consisted of the happy couple walking up from the middle of the stage, passing at the front of the stage, and then exiting.
Overall, the annual Pakistani Student Association’s Jashn show was an evening to remember. The show was a true delight, and I was practically rolling on the floor at times. From Ali’s antics to the appearance of “Public Safety” not once, but twice, the show rolled from one joke to the next. The performances given by Ahmed, Ali, Khan, and Kidwai were wonderful. It was also great that, while there were terms that might not be familiar to everyone, an effort was made through the writing to explain them either literally or through context. Both Kidwai and Khan played on some of the stereotypes of the culture and parents, but they made for a very funny performance and helped introduce the culture to those that may not be familiar with it. The show was surprisingly accessible for someone that isn’t very familiar with the culture, and I would recommend that whenever there is another performance done by PakSA and you are looking to have a good night at a great show, you mark your calendar.
