What happens when gifted actors present a great storyteller's vignettes on stage? Sheer magic, writes Kavitha K who watched Naseer, Ratna and Heeba in Ismat Apa Ke Naam 
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It's in the genes: Naseeruddin Shah with daughter Heeba</td></tr>
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Articulate: Ratna Pathak Shah Pics/ Vinod Kumar T</td></tr></tbody></table>"I'd be honoured if all of you switched off your mobiles, Blackberrys, i-Phones, laptops and such other fearful weapons," said Naseeruddin, pacing the stage before the curtains went up on Ismat Apa Ke Naam. His twinkling eyes and his flawlessly worded appeal set the mood for the rest of the evening. He began by introducing Ismat Khannum Chughtai (1915-1991), the controversial writer from Pakistan known for her bold feminist writing. He dwelt briefly on what inspired him to put together Ismat Apa Ke Naam. And he described, in a most delightful manner, the gist of Chui Muee, Mughal Bachcha and Gharwali. For the next two hours, the Shahs took turns to lead us into the world of the 1940s the period when the scathing stories were written. They achieved this, not through grand props or rich costumes, but through their sheer brilliance as artistes. In fact, the austere sets made sure the focus stayed on the performers and the stories. In Chui Muee, Heeba went from uncertain 17-year-old to cantankerous 70-year-old in the blink of an eye. She was specially good as the groveling waif, who forces her way into a reserved compartment of a train, delivers a baby, mops up the mess and jumps off the train with her precious bundle, leaving her pampered and privileged co-passengers marveling at her spontaneity and strength. In Mughal Bachcha, Ratna was magical as coy Gori Bi, a bride-in-waiting, as well as arrogant Kale Miyan who is a lesson in debauchery.u00a0 Watching Naseer in Gharwali, the final act of the evening, was like being a part of a very privileged world. His blustering speech as the prudish and hypocritical Mirza Baig stood in stark contrast to his suggestive manner as Lajo, the voluptuous prostitute who lays siege to Mirza's heart and hearth.u00a0 As we dragged our feet back home, scared to break the spell even with conversation, most of us had just one yearning: to read Ismat, not in translation, but in the language she breathed, lived and wrote in. Till we achieve that, watching Naseeruddin Shah bring her alive will keep us going.

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What happens when gifted actors present a great storyteller's vignettes on stage? Sheer magic, writes Kavitha K who watched Naseer, Ratna and Heeba in Ismat Apa Ke Naam

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