Gogi inspires students to extinguish the fire of terrorism

Islamabad
Gogi Studios has contributed its share towards reviving the spirits of survivors and parents affected by the Army Public School (APS) tragedy by scripting a puppet show which not only offers entertainment, but also serves as a trauma counselling tool. Before taking the show to Peshawar, a performance was staged at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST).
The show was attended by students of City School, Trillium School, Mashal, and NUST School for Children, and judging from the spontaneity of the young audiences’ reaction, the puppet show proved to be an instant hit. And why not? It took over three months of gruelling rehearsals and hard work to produce a show that would instil hope and positivism among children and inspire them to remain undeterred by such cowardly attacks even in the future.
The story revolves around a household that experiences the APS trauma, and is then offered professional help by a trauma counsellor. Trauma counselling is offered by Gogi, who accompanies the Rooster ‘Tikka Ji’ to their home. The children are then told to perform a certain healing exercise.
The students were amused when, in the opening scene, the hen ‘Sajji Bi’ and her friend the crow ‘Kain Kawwi’ break into a ‘bhangra’ exercise for weight loss. They also found the huge Gorilla ‘Bugga’ extremely funny when he enters in panic saying: ‘Help me, help me, I am being attacked,’ followed only by the smallest character, the mouse ‘Chuhiya Bi’ with a little stick in her hand.
The show also included an exceptionally heart-warming song, ‘Hum Bachhay Pakistani Hain, Dushman Ko Mitaa Kar Dum Lain Gay; Jo Ilm Say Nafrat Kartay Hain, Unhain Sabaq Sikhaa Kar Dum Lain Gay.’ The lyrics of the song, as well its composition, were truly inspirational.
The song articulates children’s determination to extinguish the fire of terrorism from the face of earth. It terms the enemy as a ‘coward’ who loves war, and who derives pleasure from attacking schools and students. The song exhorts children to expose the real face of the enemy, and concludes with the line ‘Hum Apnay Ilm Ki Taaqat Say, Har Badla Chukaa Kar Dum Lain Gay,’ which translates as ‘We will not sit back until we take revenge with the power of education.’
In the end, the founder of Gogi Studios Nigar Nazar, who is also Pakistan’s first lady cartoonist, decorated all students with a Gogi badge which read, ‘Champions of Change — Education, Our Revenge.’