I went to Nasarpur with Azam to see innovations in ceramics work. We hired a car to get there, as it is out in a much more rural area, away from bus routes.
There was a lot of beautiful farm land along the way. Once we got there, they shared their process, innovations, career, goals and life story. In addition Poto sahib took us to a govt. funded site, with better facilities for similar work, that is in disrepair due to disuse of the machinery and what seems like a general disinterest in doing work. I see a lot of this when I travel. People share all the things that are decaying and all but destroyed and lost in this country. These things are real, but it sure is depressing. I also see people making very real efforts to make things better.
It can be difficult to have all the miseries of every aspect of life around you dumped on you each place you go. I need to figure out how to politely end those conversations. I’m here to do something, and while much of what is shared is real, it is less relevant than what each of us is doing on a daily basis. All that negativity makes it very difficult to maintain the energy you need to do things that are difficult. It is certainly challenging to do work in Pakistan, but I am fortunate to be able to spend time with students and artists working to do something positive despite some very formidable odds.