Diary: Allama Iqbal Airport

Tabhi announcement huyi ki hum Lahoremain hain. Ab flight land hone waali hai. Maine jhat neeche dekha. India se alag to nahin tha. Khet hi khet the. Kahin Lahore Punjab ka gaon to nahin, maine socha.

Dheere dheere khatkhatati huyi flight land ho hi gayi. Alaama iqbal airport. Mujhe sirf iqbal clearly samjah main aaya. Hum sab flight se bahar nikle. Baingani air hostesses ab bhi nahin muskurayin.
Rony ne kaha ki apna letter sambhaal ke rakhan aur visa form bahar nikal lo. Waha bhi immigration check ho gaya. Phir do na muskurane wali aurtein thi. Who pista green colour waali khoobsoorat baala dubaara nahin dikhi.
Wahn se hum luggage collect karne ke liye khade ho gaye.
Luggae trolley par daal kar nikal hi rahe the ki ek officer ne humein rok kar poocha ki kahan se aa rahe hain, luggage check karvaaiye. Rony ne kahan ki we are on a scholarship at BNU aur phat se letter dikaha diya. Officer ne badi khushi khushi kaha oh ho ho good good. Welcome.
Rony ke paas kuchh Pakistani rupaye the, who porter ko de diya gay. Haalaanki koi khaas madad nahin ki thi usne.
Ab tak airport ki hi gandh thi meri naak main. Main vyakul ho rahi thi yeh jaan ne ke liye ki Pakistan ki gandh kaisi hai. Airport se bahar nikle. Rony ne bataaya tha ki humein receive karne college se koi aayega. Rony ne kisi ko pehchaana. Maine rony ke kandhe ke peeche se jhaanka. Daadhidaar aadmi tha. Kya main bhi unse haath mila sakti hoon. Maine aadatan namaste kiya. Unhone khud hi haath baraaya. Arre wah, daadhidaar admiyon se haath milaya ja sakta hai. Phir muh lagaa ki shayd yeh unke training ka hissa hai. Fiannly main Lahore ki zameen par thi. Ek gehri saans li.
Ahaa!!! Yeh to bilkul waisi hi hai jaisi manto ki Lahore ki baatein parhte waqt aati hai. Ab main khush thi. Manto mere saath the. Main ab manto ki jagah par thi. Maine Mumbai se pyaar kiya hai njaise Manto karte the aur main Lahore se bhi pyaar karoongi, jaise Manto ne kiya tha.

Diary: 12/09/07,Delhi Airport

Hum andar gaye. Har waqt mujhe yeh dar laga rha tha ki kahin mujhsse kuchh galt na ho jaye. Kuchh aisa na kar doon ki flight chhot jaaye. Uff!!!! Itna confusion tha. Paise dollars main change kar liye gaye. Luggage check in ki line kidhar se hai pata hi nahin chal raha tha. Wahin mera pehli mulaqat huyi ek Pakistani se aur pehle comparison suna meri is Lahore yatra ka. Ek sajjan jo apne bet eke saath Lahore jaa rahe the. Hum sab PIA se hi travel kar rahe the. PIA ka full form Pakistan international airlines hai, jise mazak main please inform allah ke naam se bhi jaana jaata hai. Zaahir hai iska yeh naam unki kharab service se paraa tha. Is dauran mujhe Bangladeshi passengers bhi dikhe. Ek tabke ke log thok main travel kar rahe the. Main unki position main nahin hoon is baat ka ehsas khushi hi de raha tha. Aise maukon par damle sir ki baat yaad aati hai ki jab bhi ksii ke saath bura hota hai, aapko uske liye bura kam lagtaa hai aur is baat ki khushi zyaada hoti
hai ki aapke sath waisa nahin hua hai. Yahi hota hai jab kisi ki maut bhi hoti hai. Aapko ek tarah se itminan ho raha hota hai ki chalo hum bach gaye.
Airport par dubara aate hain. Ab check in ki line ke confusion min hum sab hi khade the. Sab ek doosrese pooch rahe the ki jaana kahan hai? Is par un sajjan ne kaha ki yeh aisa yahin hota hai. Yahan in Indians ko sambhalna hota hai iliye itna waqt lag raha hai. Yahi agar Pakistan airport hota to kab ka chaek in ho chukka hota. Main muskura di, meri muskan main eh haami thi ki haan bhai Pakistan main aisa nahin hota hoga. Par yaar India itna bura bhi nahin hai.
Phir unhone poochha, “is this the firsttime you are traveling to Pakistan?”
“yes”
“why are you going?”
“We have received a scholarship to study art at BNU”
“why are you going to BNU?”
“Oh that’s because we have received the scholarship to study at BNU”
“but you should have gone to NCA or Indus .”
“hmmm”
Isi dauran kuchh aur Pakistani dikhe.nighat syed khan bhi dikhin. Unse main hello kaah . unhone kahan ki Lahore pahunchne par muhe zaroor milna. Apna card to who pehle hi de chuki thi. Ek bahut hi khoobsoorat pakistani baala dikhi. Pista rang ka salwar kameez pehne, chiffon ka dupatta sar par odhe ek ajeeb si muskan liye ghoom rahi thi. Airport wali uske muskan ka raaz mujhe kareeb 8 mahine baad pataa chala. Who raaz dheere dheere apne aap ufold ho jaayega. Main yahi soch rahi thi ki shayad yeh log shopping karne India aaye honge. Unka check in badi jaldi ho agya tha. Shayad who buiness class se travel kar rahe the. Kahir hamaare luggage ka security check ho hi gaya aur hum check in ki line main lag gaye. Luggage check in karvaane ki hamaari baari aayi. Maine rony ke saath hi luggage baant diya taaki extra luggage ke charges kam lagein. Is confusion main ek alag utsah tha. 4500/- cash dena padaa. Theek hai. Koi bata nahin maine khusd ko samjhaya. Ab baari thi immigration check ki. Rony pehle aage barha. Waise rony poore raaste hi aage aage tha. Waise theek hi tha, wahi pehle sab jhel le rha tha. Lekin kahin na kahin main bhi yeh sab jhelna chhah rahi thi. Kuchh to excitement ho, kuchh to utaar chadhaav ho emotions ka. Kayi baar to who itna aage nikal jaata tha ki yeh lagtaa tha mujhe ki hum saath nahin jaa rahe, aur kayi baar lagtaa tha ki jan boojh kar mujhe daraane ke liye who kar raha hai. Dono ki reasons sahi baith rahe the hamaari situation par. Immigration check ke liye bhi wahi pehle aage barha. Kuchh waqt lag gaya. Ab meri baari thi. Maine tay kiya tha, ki jo bhi poochhe mujhe naraaz anhin hona hai. Smile ko hamesha saath rakhna hai aur uttejit nahin hona hai. Mujhse poochha gaya, “ oh aap bhi scholarship par ja rahi hain”
“ji”
“kyun?”
“government ki tarf se scholarship mili hai”
“who ladka bhi aap ke saath hai?”
“ji”
“to aap bhi final year ke liye ja rahi hain?”
“ji, lekin main pehli baar ja rahi hoon”
“to aapke mummy papa ko koi problem nahin hai?”
“nahin nahin, who to abhty khush hain”
“so you are from Bombay?”
maine pehchaan liya tha ki I officer zaroor up ya bihar ke hain, maine bhi bade khushi khushi kaha “but I’m originally form bihar”
unke chehre ki aadhi hansi poori muskaan main badal gayi.
“oh ho ho you are from BIHAR”
“ji”
“where in bihar?”
“supaul, par haamre relatives ab all over bihar main hain, zyada tar patna main, gaon main dada, dadi aur bade papa, badi mummy rehte hain”
“how many days are you going for?”
“9 months sir”
“so aapke papa kya karte hain?”
“ji who film journalist hain”
“arre wah!!! Kaun se paper main kaam karte hain?”
“ji, dainik jagran”
“achha kya naam hai?”
“ajay brahmatmaj”
“hmmm”
SMILE
“hmmm”
SMILE
“hmmm ok study well”
“ocourse sir, har baar to mauka nahin milta hai”
“yes yes”
“thank you so much sir”
SMILE

Rony mujhe dekh kar pareshan tha ki itni der kya baat ho gayi. Phir usne bataay ki luggage main yeh log pooch rahe thi ki itna luggage kyun hai? Maine 50 rupay pakdaa diye.
“HAWWWW!!!!! You bribed them? My god!!!”
mujhe rony ki dileri par achraj ho raha tha. Lkin haan chalo hum us jhik jhik se bach gaye. Ab intezar tha. Kuchh der yun hi baithe rahe. Saamne duty free shopping area tha. Daaru ki botlein dekhti rahi main.
Ali se thodi baat ki.
Phir flight board karne ke liye waiting lounge main chale gaye. Badi udaas si jagah thi. Wahan kuchh aur Pakistani mahilaon ko dekha. Pista colour waali baala phir dikhi. Wahi muskan. Uff!!! Yaha tak ki umardaraz aurtein bhi balaa ki khoobsoorat thi. Mujhe lagne lagaa I main to inferiority complex se mar jaaongi. Kya karoongi main is desh amin jahan har aurat aisi hoor si lagti hbai. Kya who mujhe pasand karenge? Tabhi announcement huyi ki LAHORE jaane waali PIA ki flight ke passengers tayyar ho jaayein. Main last calls kiye, varsha, ali, papa, ma. Bas phir line main lag gayi. Oonchi oonchi awaz main main rony se baat kar rahi thi. Man tha ki koi meri baat sun kar kuchh to poochhe. Mission successful. Usi khoobsoorat baala ne poochha, “ is this your first trip to Lahore”
“yes” man main bola yes yes yes!!!!!!
“are you on a tourist visit”
“no, I’m there on a scholaraship at BNU”
“BNU? Oh, good. That’s great!”
“yes! I know, I’m quite excited too”
“that’s really nice. You’ll love Lahore. It’s a beautiful city”

Cafeteria Culture

Clear hollow spheres climb up success
And what becomes of them?
The cold green veil makes its person look green too.
The specks of red have become one in this sticky paste which has spurted like blood
10 sets of 4
One green slab in the center
One of them holds the clear hollow spheres and also 1 empty green veil
Green blinds
Colour of abundance
Present here in abundance
Abundance also in the rotten smell of the fresh eggs
2 sets of 3 wings give each other company with 1 set of 4
The long wire makes a trap
It waits eagerly at the door step
Gharrrgharrranggghrrrram
becomes one with the equally annoying place
The place is still except the figure in the dress of the west
4 drab virgin buttons look eagerly at the shining whores
The tiny transparent balls play under the green veil which hides nothing
One of them starts to slip from the tip of the transporter
Slow.
Picks up speed as others join in
The vertebral gets disturbed and the olfactory devices get connected to the lips
The ends of the lips point towards the equator
Tut tut tut chuk chukChhsh chhsh Chhsh chhsh Chhsh chhsh
Sound of the greasy biryani
The tiny, white, wriggly, curly being falls out of the sound and struggles to be alive
While the light comes from various unreachable sources, some warm green looks nosily at me and the holed gray
Tiny screeches of being molested
The hand and the tiny screeches in harmony
The holder is displaced and the second set of three asked to go to sleep
The person in the veil dies slowly
The red blood still sits there shamelessly
Green is home
Spit. Spill. Sit.
Spread the smell around.
The incandescent form reflects in the cracked glass, the veil of glass that covers/uncovers the territory of the green.
Comfort
Amidst the artificial smell of the biryani there is a transcend to a hospital room
The white lump warms the green under it
The rest of the green remains unused
The black clot plastered on its forehead
Bindi from India
The pattern on its dusty black leg moves and falls still.

दिवाली की शुभकामनाएं

जगमगाता हुआ दिन,
झिलमिलाती हुई शाम

कुछ पुराने दिए
पैकेट वाला

सफ़ेद मोमबत्तियां
पाक

नवम्बर की में लौ की गर्मी
खीर पूरी की दावत
खीर: सफ़ेद

घर की याद
शहर लाहौर

रंगी हुई स्कर्ट
सफ़ेद कुर्ती
सजने का

नारियल के लड्डू
मीठे और नर्म
भुरभुरी सूखी खोल
सफ़ेद
नए यंत्रो पर मिलते संदेश
रति-रतायीं शुभकामनाएं
रंगहीन सफ़ेद

गर्मी, रौनक, रंग, खुशी
सब कुछ समेटने की चाह
कोलाहल के बीच सन्नाटा सफ़ेद

Sakunthala

Lemonade expanse

Slim, modern. Fresh!!

Hands quivering under the weight of the tangy wrap

Fingers press the buttons that are the color of the sky

White not blue

Rococo curls rest and listen to the mesmerizing voice of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

The tummy rests too, after being subject to the endless jokes about it holding a baby.

A white flower peeps from behind her shoulder.

A similar one rests on the other bed with its face away,

referring to the unexciting company

Jugalbandi of the feet

Strange!

Looks dead to the world!

YES YES YES.

No disturbance

Figure performs a Baroque on the pink bed

Marylyn’s eye winks from the left breast

Lips are potted in perfection, ready to be glossed

Few words of consent take a trip

Neoclassic folds

Olympia

White folds of the Greek sculptures.

The candle, the doll, the bottle, the fan, the leaves;

in tough competition

Kingdom of The Sleeping Beauty

The thumb rests in the middle of the index finger.

All fingers stare and glance away

Gaze conscious

The hands shape a V ready to spell some nameS

tringy innumerable lines of the forehead invite attention

Cavity in the sour bed sheet is seen

The cavity leads to the corner of the bed.

The wall is white with one little dent

Butool’s masterpiece has left 10 marks of it’s descend

Wait to fetch sympathy and the memories

Tête-à-tête of the pink laced white and the dark, handsome shadow of the vast green minus blue

Love is happening

Perky, dizzy, thoughtless, idle

Love nevertheless,

with unkempt eyebrows and dark elbows

Slumber of the tiny mole beneath the gloom of the frail lashes

Deceit with the lemonade bed sheet

Affair with the ebony under it

Prayer Room

Olper’s milk pack pajamas talk about how babies are born
Matching slippers enter the room with eh! Strange!? Boys?
Matching slippers leave the रूम
Oho!!!
Re-entry
Eh! Boy? Again?
4 pairs of matching footwear lie around AttentivE
2 rest lazily under the feet
Hard juicy orange balls light up her wrists
How do you have sex???
The question floats around
Suddenly reminded of the class
Envelopes are de-creased
Red rides up the pajama’s neck
Bulbs have left their sockets
12 in all
4 on each side
2 on the top
1 shared by all three sides
Eyes of the three men pass after permission, with the men.
2 more
Pink clip sits like a bud to the left of the face, ready to be nipped
Hairy legs peep out of the envelope
Studded thongs on the feet hide some hair
Sparsely dyed orange nails match the lower envelope
Limo juice dupattas
Open door is shut by the guards
Prayer room is too tempting
Give in after Id
Tall lady with matching slippers passes the room
Study conversations happen all around
Glittering thongs crown the white skin
The green bag matches nothing.
It is not its dayWonder why it exists.
Find it a partner! So what if it is Ramzan?
The black hair stays unmoved
The smile touches the telephone
2 pairs lie ignored
Olper’s milk: Rs. 13 for 250 ml

BAAJI NAAMA

Baaji Naama as the name suggests [Naama - treatise, history] is a visual story of Baaji. Baaji is the lady responsible for cleaning the rooms at the hostel.

With course of time and situation I have become really close to her. She was the only person in this city that I was close to and had spent most amount of my time with. Baaji for me is representative of women I get inspired by because of the juxtaposition of values they live by and values people assume they possess.
This series is an ode to her personality and way of thanking her for all the love she has given me. Over time we have become confidants of each other and also cigarette buddies. I am often subjected to her epics of her life which are spoken in Punjabi. I understand only 30% of the story - telling.

The drawings have been done on orange paper, the colour I associate with the colour of her skin. Her body - Language amuses me and I thought it would make an appealing series. Pen and ink has been my favourite medium since a few years and is extremly apt for work that needs to be quick in order to preserve its charm. the fine line quality of the crow - quill pen offers the opportunity to add in great amount of detail without looking over - crowded and kitschy.

लाहोरी बच्चे

लाहोरी बच्चे

लाहोरी बच्चे

लाहोरी बच्चे

Lahori Bachchey

young boys and young girls,
characters, plots and fantasy worlds,
loads of imagination.
young ladies in their mother's shoes
pilots and chaiwalas
nightgowns and pigtails
babys and babysitters,
frocks, chappals and handbags
a gubbarewala.
children in their many avatars.
four to fourteen,
from eight to ten.

Being away form my own country in a new place made me conscious and attentive of what I noticed around me. What distinguishes the children here from children elsewhere?
I have tried to maintain the nuances of their identity. This particular age group of children interests me the most because they present themselves oblivious of the correctness of appearance. The naivety pulls you towards the stories that surround them and engages you into a conversation with them.
This series is a conscious effort to express the city of Lahore from an individual point of view. These children have been my muse on a daily basis.

Postcards 01 - 04

Postcards 05 - 08

Postcards 09 - 12

Postcards 13 - 16

City : Anchors : Conversations

This was my first project in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. This series of 16 postcards was an innocent response to the experience of an Indian in Pakistan. The question I tried answering was, ‘What do people back home want to first know about my being in Pakistan?’
The 16 postcards mark the first 16 days of my stay in Lahore and also as a trigger to the city based projects I took up for the following 9 months of my stay in Lahore.

Proposal for the Project

What is my project about?

The project is about generating an increased level of curiosity in the minds and hearts of the viewers relating to the subject of the situation between the two nations, India and Pakistan.
The seed for doing this project was sowed when I, Vidha Saumya, Indian artist/designer, went to Lahore for a period of nine months for an independent study program. I entered the country with a bit of fear, a fear of the unknown and a fear of what I thought life in Pakistan would be. Embolden and encouraged by the words of Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto, I began the emotionally charged journey that was my life in Lahore. I was pleasantly surprised at how misinformed I was.
There are several questions that an educated, informed and aware individual must ask himself or herself when put into a situation like mine: An Indian in Pakistan. Being a victim of strong propaganda, and prejudiced with a completely different idea, and then to be able to experience the completely different side of Pakistan, though Lahore, can leave a person feeling lost.
So did I.
Then the need to learn, and re-educate ones’ sensibilities takes over, and to present the true picture of what and how things really are, becomes overpowering.
I am surprised, no, appalled at how easily one believes at whatever (mis)information comes across through media, general psyche of people and ignorant opinions of people without feeling the need to crosscheck and validate, and how one is so easily satisfied with information that has so many gaps.

Creative concept for implementation

To present a holistic perspective of life in Pakistan in general, and Lahore in particular, based upon a personal experience of my stay. To present a 360 degree view of life, touching upon the cultural, personal, and apparently minor facets.
I will then apply the same investigative lens to Mumbai so as to compare similarities and differences.


What is the problem or area of investigation, exploration and study?

The idea is not to create a tourist guidebook, nor to expound theories on comparative socio-political-economic conditions of the two countries.

My concerns are the problems and contents of everyday life, and how lives of people from two completely different cities include flavours of religion, nationality, food and cuisines, dress and fashion, perceptions of each other etc.
The fact that there are points of comparison, will enable us to see how similar or different these two cities, and countries really are.

Any knowledge that I had of Pakistan before visiting Lahore has been purely limited to books and films or what the media portrays Pakistan as. The political thought prevailing in both countries misinforms and misguides. Most of the information is because of the false propaganda.
As an Indian in Pakistan I closely encountered what India and Indian means to Pakistan and Pakistanis. I was an observer.
India is something they look up to. India is the diversity they want in their life, India is Bollywood, India is vegetarian, India is where every individual is trained in music and dance, India is where women have a lot more freedom, India is where women ride bikes.India is where people come together and celebrate, where women and men are allowed to celebrate together.
How many Indians know that Pakistan is diverse too, that every Pakistani is not a non-vegetarian, Pakistan is not where women have to be clad in burkha all the time and they don’t work, or they don’t have any freedom. Women don’t ride bikes, but they drive cars. There are women traffic police.
A regular question that has always come across is that why would anyone go to Pakistan for study purposes?


What is the need for the project?

India and Pakistan may be the only two countries that are so deeply intertwined. A common history, a common cultural past, and a bitter rivalry that has lasted for sixty one years, connect the two countries in a way that is difficult to ignore.
With the changing socio-political situation between India and Pakistan, it is important for us as human beings to also present the human side, the details, and the fine print as it were, that define the common people.
There is a need for an emotional evolution for the subject “India-Pakistan”
The content of this project has to be efficiently communicative. It will be something that can be touched, felt, viewed and understood.
My project proceeds with a mindset that it is as normal to be different as it is to be same.


How and where is the project located within a wider control of Art, Design and Technology?

The project operates on a variety of levels. First it remains as an honest account of what happened before, during and after my stay in Lahore.
It then draws parallels between two cities Mumbai and Lahore and presents a comparative analysis.
From an artistic point of view; it makes the viewer enjoy the expression of the delight, confusion and experience of two cities. It will be in a form that can be moved around and is understandable on a universal level.
However as a design student there will be conscious effort to position this work as a resource for ideas, reference material and a palette of experiences.
The approach of viewing the work should be multilayered.


My position as a Designer/Artist?

As a Designer/Artist, my role is to not only design a package, but to design the content itself.
I have made myself a guinea pig and allowed myself to get consumed in the alteration of experience between India and Pakistan, Mumbai and Lahore.
As a designer/artist I consider it my responsibility to present an unbiased account of the parallels drawn between the two cities and countries. I will apply a personal lens to the dialogic exchange and imagery witnessed in Lahore and Mumbai.


Research questions

What is the Pakistani idea about India?
What is the Indian idea about Pakistan?

What is the Pakistani idea about Indian and Pakistani?
What is the Indian idea about Pakistani and Indian?

Images? (Real, media portrayal, personal)
Words? (Tone, language, slang, accent, influences)
Description.

What does the partition mean to either side?

Why did I get attached?

What are the links?

What were the barriers, problems, culture shocks? (How much is it because I am an Indian? How much is it because I am from Mumbai? How much is it on pure human level?)

What are the issues raised or to be raised?

What picture do I want to draw as a solution to my problem?


Intent

Approach/ Process

The project will be an account of the lives of test case in both Mumbai as well as Lahore; A comparative documentation comprising of interviews and direct observations. I will revisit the places and spaces in Lahore through memory and the bank of images, conversations and drawing I have carried with me. These will help me to focus on areas of observations in Mumbai.
I shall touch upon the history, politics and economics of both the cities only to a level that is necessary in knowing the origin of the nature of my observations.


Material and resources

The ethnographic research will be done to answer questions that rise when I am putting forth a certain observation.
Research will then be in the areas of food, language, fashion and dress, travel and transport and the visual culture that comes across in both the cities.

Drawings
Illustrations: experiences, people, objects, narration
Photographs: places, people, objects, colour
Words
Objects
Sound
Video

Research methods

The independent projects done during my entire course of stay in Lahore are not a coherent, singular body of work with specific market intent or target audience, but a palette of research and observation created for future reference. This will serve as the point I will start from

Document conversations from Lahore and Mumbai
Questionnaires and surveys
Map ready data so to make categories
Build a narrative that will comprehend information and give way to new questions
Illustrations
Objective( portraits, character building)
Subjective (to create ambience)


Learning and Outcome?

Being a student of fine art and design I have had the opportunity to work on projects that have made me confident with various techniques like colour, illustration, typography, graphic design. However during my study years I have not got the opportunity to bring all my learning together.
I look at this project as compilation of not only my experiences but also my art and design skills. The project will go beyond a single genre of communication and this will compel me to push my limits as a designer and a creative individual.
With limited time I will learn to stick to deadlines and work systematically. The diploma project guidelines have been very helpful in making me analyze work and think beyond the obvious. The practice to think ‘out of the box’ and ‘trial and error procedure’ is that I hope to perfect.


What do I gain and learn from this project?

What I gain from this project is the satisfaction that I utilized the opportunity of being in Pakistan. Because of the parallels that I wish to draw between two cities I gain a closer look at a city that has been my place of residence since 18 years.
Most important I wish to forward a view and experience of an Indian in Pakistan and provide a perspective to one’s own country.