Kathmandu:

When the world suffers from violence, art-ists cannot remain indifferent. Great works of art produced during war and in the aftermath are evidence of this. Most of our contemporary works of art have also taken the existing violence as the theme.

Organised by the Kaalbhairav Event and Management a group of 50 artists presented Anti-Doomsday, the picture of our present situation at the Shiva-Parbati Dabali, Hanuman-dhoka on January 17.

The programme consisted of an art exhibition and a performance on the consequences of violence and the need for peace.

The play started without any formal announcement — perhaps the performance itself was enough to show what the artists wanted to say.

One of the remarkable aspects of the performance was the live music given by five musicians, which was apt with the mood created by the performance both of sadness and hope. The performance was successful in depicting the psyche of the survivors effectively.

The show was more for the eye than the ear as there was very little dialogue. It was visually very effective in that it was able to move the audience emotionally.

A lady in the crowd was heard saying, “I can’t watch this. It’s too horrible, I want to leave.” But the ampitheatre was so crowded that she could find no way to leave the theatre.

The show ended with the lighting of candles for peace and on a positive note from noted critic Prakash Sayami.