Typing up the Risalo script

It was Sunday, and I had just started typing the Urdu verses for the script the night before. I spent the whole day typing verses and notating cross references. Thankfully the page numbers I had written from the previous edition were almost the same, just 8 pages off, so it was not difficult to find the verses.I typed the whole thing up with a few naps in between. The electricity would go frequently, and through the sweat, I kept typing until it was done. Afterwards, I had some dinner and went to sleep.

typing surs

Meeting in Hyderabad and Funkadelic Bus

I had made plans to visit my friend Ustad Amb Jogi at Radio Pakistan in Hyderabad to discuss the music for “Risalo”. It takes a while to get to Hyderabad from Jamshoro via bus, so I thought I would try a rickshaw. Not a good idea.The rickshaw took at least as long, and went much slower. We stopped for gas for 20 minutes, then to make repairs, got stopped at a check point and the driver had no papers. It was quite a ride. Eventually, I got there and it was great to see Ustad Amb Jogi. After the roughness of the past week, he was a much needed friend.We grabbed some delicious lunch at a dhaba near by. The fish, karalai, and more fish were really good. I am even more strict on the bottled water thing now, after that last experience in Umerkot. I just don’t have the time or energy to deal with that.After lunch, we head back to the radio station, where we sat down and discussed the vision for the music. Ustad sahib gave me a bunch of names that came to his mind. Basically, we need to find people that can do the task of reading and performing poetry in a form and order that I have put together and fit into my budget. There is a lot to do, but having Ustad Amb Jogi on board is a huge relief.Afterwards we set aside the work talk and just caught up. It made me really glad to hear how with his generation in the family, they had gone from centuries of being wanderers like gypsies and had now settled down and focused on educating their kids. Many artists, including these Jogis and the puppeteers I met in Multan have had to face these drastic changes in their sources of income due to changes in how society consumes entertainment. Ustad sahib lacks literacy, but from a young age he focused his energy on becoming the best musician possible.Afterwards, I walked down the street to Hyder Chowk, to look for a few books I needed for “Risalo”. My copy of the Urdu translation was left somewhere, during all this crazy travel. Thankfully, I kept good cross referenced notes, so I can find all the stanzas of poetry I referenced, but I need that book. I checked one store, and they claimed that no one had that book. That seemed odd. I walked over to the book selling street carts in front of the building and the book seller assured me that he could get me several options.He offered me tea, then walked off to get the books for me from nearby shops. I waited, and watched the mad traffic around me. He came back with a few books. The same translation had been published by a different publisher as well, but I really wanted the same one so that I could reference the page numbers I had noted to find the bits of poetry I had chosen for the film.I also wanted a proper Sindhi version, as Ustad sahib and I had discussed the need for a script for both all the Urdu text and the Sindhi original verses so that singers could start learning them and working on it. That was my next task. After a couple of rounds of searching, I remembered that the publishers of that book were in the building upstairs across from me. I did not want to cut the book seller out of his commission either, but I needed to see the books myself to make a selection, so I let him know and walked up to the book shop telling him that I would just pay him whatever commission he would charge for the books. He was very nice and we had met briefly once before.Shah Latif’s poetry, upon which my film “Risalo” is based is huge. There are so many books on his work. Some contain partial verses, some contain a ton of commentary and explanation. I found the Urdu translation I was looking for easily enough. Next I needed to find a copy of the original Sindhi version that best matched the translation I was working from in terms of containing all the verses I needed.Since I don’t really read Sindhi, it was challenging. I found huge tombs filled with commentary and smaller sections of verses. I kept looking until I found an edition that was almost entirely verses and decided to pick up those two books. I got a sweet 40% discount from the publisher, then walked out with these huge books to the book seller on the street.He was very nice about it all. He did not want to take any commission for books he had not sold me, on principle. We sat down and drank some tea together. We got to talking about a few other books, and I ended up picking up a couple from him that sounded interesting, including a book of his own poetry, which I will need someone to read to me.I picked up a cheap, used digital camera from shopkeeper who seemed intent on not selling anything. I think because I was wearing traditional clothes, he assumed I was just looking and not going to buy. Weird, but hey, I pass as a local. What an honor to be treated like crap like a regular old local. At least the price wasn’t raised. I did not have the heart, or frankly the funds to buy a camera like the one I had, so I got this one.I hopped on a crazy neon bus to head back to Jamshoro. The bus would stop every few moments and start shaking. The lights would go out. One time, a woman panicked and tried to get off the shaking bus. The conductor spent about 10 minutes calming her down, reassuring her that we would get back.The inside of the bus was more decorated than most. We chugged along and somehow made it to Jamshoro by nightfall. I hopped on a rickshaw from there to get the rest of the way home. The rickshaw driver was a wirey guy, with jamming tunes. It was actually a lot of fun after all that other mess. Once we got there, I thanked him for the musical ride and head inside to rest.

Umerkot to Jamshoro

In the morning, Hosh Mohammed sahib dropped by and I had some breakfast. Every morning these kids bring me tea from their homes and replenish the water in the little out house/bath house for me. Sand is always blowing around in the wind so I get filthy pretty fast. Bathing over and over is pretty common. Hosh Mohammed was so kind, that he had taken my filthy clothes and had them washed and returned them in the morning.I can’t thank all the people I have met in Umerkot enough for their kindness. Though I did not have the information I needed, they tried their best to help me, and I am thankful to Fatah sahib for connecting me to them. From a work standpoint, this leg of the trip really messed me up, so spent most of the previous night awake trying to get my focus back. It has been a grueling trip. I have been very fortunate to have good people trying to help, but there is, as expected, so much that I must do for myself, and in regards to my work, coming to Umerkot was a foolish decision. I really felt like I needed to track down these puppeteers if there was a chance, but communication with my friend was impossible, and so was finding these mysterious puppeteers. I ran out of time and energy that is really needed for creating the project. Now I needed to regroup and pick myself up.Hosh Mohammed head to work. I got ready then called to see if the mandir visit was still on. There had been a death in the family, so that was off. I grabbed my bags, and walked through the dust storm, about a mile to the intersection, just like everyone else there does several times a day to go to work or school. I rode a qinqi to the bus to head back to Jamshoro.Along the way, my camera got picked from my pocket, and I lost all my photos of the previous week. I really need to get my stuff together, because it is really hard to keep a project going like this. Hoping for some willpower and the always welcome support of friends.I returned to the hostel and my friend Hisam encouraged me to go wash up and have some food. A good friend can certainly help cheer you up. I spent the afternoon writing, looking at family and friends on facebook to escape for a while and just resting.

Day in Umerkot

I sat around for most of the morning and afternoon resting and counting the hours. I felt pretty miserable about the trip. I really appreciated the kind people, but I had come for work, and I felt stressed that all I had done was over extended myself, fallen sick and grasped at straws based on half bits of information to try and find something that there seemed to be no sign of in the areas. I felt very foolish.Thankfully my stomach was feeling much better, and I felt less weak. I got tired of sitting around and decided to go to the city. My friends were at their jobs, so I walked about a mile in the perpetual dust storm in the area to get to a qingqi, that took me into the city. I passed Shakil sahib’s print shop on the way and made a mental note of its location before reaching Allah chowk, where I had arrived. I head over to the fort and checked out the museum which had been closed the previous time I went. It has some beautiful miniature paintings, calligraphy and a few displays. All the other architecture in the city is contemporary, roughly put together buildings with nothing much to say about them, so it was nice to see a glimpse of history. It is nice to see all the Hindu women walking around town with their traditional clothes, and bangle covered arms. There were several mandirs around too, but based on experiences in other cities in Pakistan, I would rather go with someone local to not cause any security fears.I walked over to Shakil sahib’s print shop as he had invited me to drop by the day before. He was out, but I sat for a while with the kids who work there. I had met them the previous day as well.I waited for about 45 minutes, then decided to be back on my way. About ten minutes later, the younger boy from the print shop rolled by on a motorbike (I am amazed at how little these kids are) and said Shakil sahib was calling me over. He drove me through back alleys to a tuition center that Shakil sahib had recently opened.We sat down and chatted for a while. He kindly got some fruit for me. He asked if I would like to do a little art lesson with the children and I said yes. I ended up showing the kids how to draw a little boy out of simple shapes as I have done in the past, as they followed along. Then I transformed the kid into a hygiene free little monster which gave us a chance to laugh and talk about the importance of hygiene. I would say that the kids were ht hilite of the day, and I felt a bit human again, like I had something to do.Shakil sahib’s cousin agreed to take me to the large local Shiv mandir the next day when the winds were quieter in the morning before I caught my bus to leave. Shakil sahib himself took me to visit a Hindu friend of his, with whom we sat and talked for a while.Afterwards we went back to the room, where some friends were waiting for dinner. Everyone was speaking in Sindhi, so I just sat on one said and killed time playing carom on my phone as I find myself doing over and over these days. Eventually more friends arrived and we enjoyed an amazing feast. I went to sleep shortly after that. My friend Sugarr sahib was out on his second night at the dargah celebrations, performing with his music teacher until early in the morning.

Sadiq Faqir Dargha

In the morning, I took some medicine that I had kept with me and ate some fruit. I felt pretty down, after the struggles of getting to Multan and the bit of relief in finding people, regardless of the challenges ahead who were puppeteers, and now I wondered why I was in Umerkot. The people were incredible. They are the example of kindness and friendship. I was beyond honored to be in such wonderful company, but my problem was that I was running out of time to do work, in just searching for what I needed to do it.I rested for most of the day, then Sugarr sahib took me to the musicians. They were performing at the dargah of Sadiq Faqir that night. I didn’t think I had the energy to stay up late for the music, but I needed to at least see the mela in case there was a chance of meeting someone or seeing something that could be related to any traditional puppeteersSugarr sahib took me all the way out there. We watched some beautifully decorated horses racing. Afterwards, we walked through the mela or fair. There were rides and a sort of side show along with stalls filled with food and sweets as well as toys, but the toys were more mass produced, plastic toys, so no luck there.Afterwards, I caught a bus back into town, where Sugarr sahib’s brother was so kind to pick me up and take me back to where I was staying. I felt pretty defeated and wondered what I was doing. I planned to leave the next day, but some other visitors dropped by and asked me to stay for a dinner the next night. I agreed, as they were so kind to me.

Ustad Shafi Faqir

The next day, one of Juman sahib’s sons, Mohammed Sugarr, who is a talented singer, kindly took me to his music teacher, Ustad Shafi Faqir. While waiting at his music space, I met some other musicians and students. I spent the day there, waiting, listening to practice, drinking tea, ate lunch, and also got to enjoy Ustad Shafi Faqir perform several pieces. He spoke to me at length regarding the subject material “Risalo” is based on, namely the poetry of Shah Latif and in particular the musical component to it. He also shared a lot about himself and his music. Again, the conversation began with, no knowledge of puppeteers and ended with that as well.I wished that I had more information from Fatah sahib, but heard nothing. The friends in Umerkot were all graciously asking around on my behalf. It was tiring, in the desert heat. The town is small, but is a rarity in Pakistan, with a Hindu majority population. There are still many muslims living there as well, but the positive relationship amongst the people there was really heartening. The hospitality on the part of my hosts and everyone I visited was humbling as well.Sugarr sahib took me to see the local fort and then a small monument to the birthplace of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. We visited a printer friend, Shakil sahib and a barber shop. People were very kind in calling their contacts to try and track some information down regarding puppeteers, but none recalled seeing any.I spent the night back at Juman sahibs’. The room I was outside of is kind of a club for the community, with people living in homes at some distance behind. This keeps the privacy of the community and allows guests like myself to hang out in front. I must have had some bad water or something, because my stomach was a mess all night. I suffered pretty bad.

Off to Umerkot

It took about two hours to reach the Badin bus stand in Hyderabad where I needed to catch the bus to Umerkot. From there, the bus had trouble starting and I marinated in my sweat with all the other passengers as we waited for an hour. Eventually we were on our bumpy way, and I got to Umerkot hours later feeling pretty dirty.Once there, I contacted Faazal sahib. He said he would be by. I waited a while, then called back after standing with my bags in the street for 20 minutes. He told me he was trying to find someone’s number to have me call. This happens a lot. There is a communication gap and it’s not a language thing. I asked him where he was, and just hopped on a rickshaw to get there. I sat down, met him and a few other people.He didn’t seem to know what I was looking for and as Fatah sahib had not told me what he had discussed, it was unknown to me. It became apparent that he only knew that I needed help with something. I told him about my search for puppeteers, and he made some calls. I was connected to Juman sahib, a well respected, elder in the community, connected to all things culture and literature. He had kindly opened his doors to me and agreed to see me.I was whisked down the way to him. We ended up spending the evening in a little room/shack with several people dropping in, including his sons. I asked about puppeteers. Everyone agreed they had no idea about that. Everyone discussed many interesting things about the local culture and community for hours. We enjoyed some food and then once again, it was confirmed that there was no knowledge of puppeteers, but based on the bits of info Fatah sahib gave me, that I shared with them, they would ask around.They put me up for the night, and his sons took good care to make me feel at home. I slept on a charpoy in the desert, under the stars, with dogs fighting around me, but the night was beautiful and I had no idea if anything could be found. I did not hear back from Fatah sahib, from whom I hoped to get a number of someone who knew a former puppeteer who now worked at a shop in Salamkot, which it turned out was another 120 km or so from there.

Waiting

The next morning, I waited and eventually was picked up by Ammar to see Fatah sahib. I ended up spending the day at his home, enjoying the company of his kids, who have grown up quite a bit since I first met them. It was nice, but the whole day, I was waiting to see Fatah sahib, as an endless line of people came to see him. I took a nap for a bit, then waited some more and before I knew, it was night and he had announced that he was getting ready to leave.There is a lot of time spent waiting on my end. It is difficult, and I am often trapped, dependent on others for information. In the case, the challenge is that I only have half bits of information, yet I have to see if there are puppeteers in Umerkot and call it done one way or another to move on. I have spent almost 2 months just looking for puppeteers. This is completely outside of the time needed to actually sit with them and musicians to create the film.I ended up getting a ride back to the hostel, as Fatah sahib was busy. I was disappointed and had hoped to get some of those phone numbers and names that he was trying to get for me, but even sitting in his home all day, I was not able to get through.Back at the room, I washed my clothes, then called the contact that Fatah sahib had given me the day before. I made plans to go see him.

Dr. Mubarak Ali at Mehran University

I worked on some drawings for “Risalo” and updated my blog. My friend Hisam invited me to a talk at Mehran University, given by Dr. Mubarak Ali, a well respected historian and writer of many books, including a few that I have read. Hisam’s brother dropped by to pick me up and we went off to Mehran University.I kept nodding off as we waited in the auditorium, for things to begin. I still needed more sleep. I managed to half sleep enough while waiting to pay full attention during the event. The introductions were flowery and long winded. It always bothers me when older people tell the youth that all hope is lost and the better years were in their own youth, and that alas nothing good could come now. That’s a pretty fantastic thing to say to a bunch of college students who are eager to do things in the world. I felt the urge to tell that speaker to shut up. To speak to youth without hope, as if you have no idea how things ended up as they are today really bothers me. Older generations should know full well the steps that it took to get into the current situation and I don’t think the youth need to be told that there is no hope. Perhaps there is no hope for those who watched and at times even participated in the dramatic decline of so much today to yearn for hope, for there may not be any worth seeking in them, but people with their lives ahead of them have things to do, so support with your wisdom, and help them grow into the leaders they can become, or step out of the way.Anyway, after the introductions, I really appreciated Dr. Mubarak Ali’s conversation about Youth and its place in creating change. How appropriate. That certainly made up for a few of the introductory speakers. It was a good talk and I was glad to have been there.Afterwards, I head into Hyderabad to visit Abdul Majeed Soomro sahib, who had graciously offered to take me to another possible puppeteer contact in the city. It took me an hour and a half or so to get to him, but it is always good to see him. He was busy with his work, and I got to catch up with a few Sindh University students who were there. We eventually went to visit the puppeteer, but it turned out that he did not really do traditional marionette puppetry. He had created one marionette in a somewhat more modern style, but his thing, like most, was hand puppets. In addition he did music and painting as well. I appreciated the time in seeing him and learning about his work, but it wears on me to be told that there is nothing to be done with traditional puppeteers in Pakistan and that it is a lost cause. Again, I don’t want to be told all the reasons that failure has occurred and will continue. I want to keep focused and seeing this through and making something of it. Anything else just detracts from what is already a daily struggle.Afterwards, Soomroo sahib took me all the way to visit Fatah sahib at his home. I’ve been trying for weeks to get some info on some puppeteers in Umerkot from him. He has been trying as well, and I have been unclear on the details of what he has found through his sources thus far. I am getting ready to go there to see once and for all, and need any contacts I can get.He was very busy with an endless line of visitors. I was supposed to see him in the morning, but the schedule kept getting pushed further and further on his end. The man never gets a chance to rest. It was nice to see him and his family and I did manage to scratch down a couple of bits of vague information. He asked me to drop by the next morning for more details. I wish I could just sort this out over a phone call, but, agreed to drop by again.

Jamshoro return and the oppressive heat begins

Those last 6 hours were grueling. I had to go back to my seat, and could not sleep. It was difficult to get the guy next to me to keep somewhat in his space (meaning occupying half of my space) and it’s no fun to sit next to filth marinated in sweat. The bus would have been fine otherwise.I was very grateful once we arrived in Hyderabad, and grabbed a rickshaw in the beautiful early morning to Jamshoro. My friend Hisam, once again opened up his room to me. I met his brother and a friend who were studying hard for a law exam. I slept a bit, then got to work making plans for my project. Many steps require finding the right contacts and information before proceeding. This can take time but is essential to getting things done…eventually.I feel much better, having met some competent puppeteers and established relationships with them. The project is still a massive undertaking and logistically and artistically very challenging, but some steps are becoming clearer and that is basically how this stuff gets done.I went for friday prayers with Hisam’s brother. We walked from the hostel. It got hot quick. After prayers, we stopped in to Hisam’s home for lunch. I enjoyed a delicious meal and wonderful company. Hisam and his younger brother are both amazing artists and I got to see some of their in progress miniatures. It was very inspiring. We picked up some fruit on the way back to the hostel and I refilled my phone and internet balance.The heat is oppressive and the mosquitos are relentless. I slathered on some mospel and chugged a 1.5 liter bottle of water while working on blog posts for the next few hours. I also managed some refinement on storyboards for the peacock and snake sequence of the film. Listening to the poetry and watching the animatic always reminds me why I am doing all of this. It really helps me to keep going, because it is the working blueprint of what this film can be if I can pull it off.At night, Hisam called me for dinner and we went to a University function related to a recent Syndicate election. It was in Sindhi, so that’s as much as I can tell you. I was happy to see a number of friends. I listened to a 40 minute scolding in Sindhi from on of the election winners directed at the entire audience. I felt like someone hadn’t done their homework and we were getting yelled at about it. From the bits I could make out, it was about the challenges and political divisions in the University and a desire to bring about change, and someone didn’t do their assignment and we were all writing lines for it.Afterwards, having paid the price, we ate dinner. The men descended upon the food tables like wild, ill balanced beasts. The food was quite good as we hovered over buffet tables to snatch up food as it arrived. There was a music program after, but my hosts and I were tired, so we head back to sleep.It is a huge relief to be back here, having met puppeteers with enough accomplished to begin work on music and various other daunting tasks. Being here in Jamshoro, I have the support of wonderful friends, so if this can be done anywhere, it is here.

Multan to Jamshoro

I shared some of the completed videos with the guest house staff as they were interested in what I was doing. It was nice to see them recall puppet shows and enjoy the ones I had recorded. I created a little one sheet for Sadar and his group so that I can put it in the Multan Design College. This way the students have his contact info to hire him as well as a link to the video I edited of the show at their college.I called for a rickshaw from the campus front gate, but none came, so I lugged my bags down the street and eventually got to one. I put my things in there and head to the Multan Design College, to see Azam sahib, and hang out until it was time for my bus. It was nice to relax for a bit, eat some good food and say thanks. Once it was time, I hopped on a rickshaw with my bags and head to the Daewoo station.Once on the bus, I realized that the passenger on the seat next to me and I were not going to fit easily on our two seats. He was large and sweaty and wasn’t about to close his legs. So, I sat on the seat behind us for as long as I could, nodding off and getting sleep for bits on and off, until several stops in someone had that seat number. The people around gave me dirty looks.

Another day of visiting puppeteers

I finished the reedit of the longer performance by Sadar sahib’s group, and I have to say it is much better and went from 18 minutes to about 11. I went to meet Sadar, and we took off to the area where there had been a death in the family a couple of days before. This community is also in Multan, just a bit further out.We got there and met several puppeteers. Mostly they really were not good. This was supposed to be the day when I would see the master puppet maker’s work. The puppeteers and their families certainly do talk themselves up. Specific puppeteers really are good, but all that talk gets very exhausting.

After recording several people, I really wasn’t feeling it. Two of the “puppeteers” were literally just pulling the strings and clearly were not skilled. This really annoyed me. The puppet maker, as I was already aware was in Karachi, but we visited his home. I saw two in progress head sculpts made of wood, that were quite nice, but apparently his collection was with him. These puppet sets are their treasure. They don’t sell them. These are for performances, and this is their heritage and livelihood. I did see more puppets that made it clear that they were not all hand me downs and that there were indeed puppets that had been created in the last couple of decades at least, but there is a severe lack of puppet making going on and of this group there is only one that actually continues that part of this beautiful art.After another day, where there was little quality and I felt like I was handing out money for nothing, I got annoyed. I told them that these were not proper performers. I did not wish to waste time and money on people who were not able to perform. If I did not want to be inundated by everyone looking to get paid to pull a few strings, I knew I needed to put my foot down and I did. This was it. The last day to see puppeteers before I head out to see others in Sindh. I explained how showing substandard puppeteers, even for a directory of puppeteers would not help to promote them and their art. There were several people that I was supposed to meet, but there was more talk and little sign of the actual work. I was very tired of this and let them know.We ended up heading back to Sadar sahib’s neighborhood with a senior puppeteer from the area we had come to visit as his puppets were there. He showcased a few nice pieces that I recorded and we called it a day. It’s challenging, but important to push back on stuff, otherwise you’ll be inundated by crap. Anyone becomes a puppeteer when there is some money to be made, but thanks to the recordings, I can select the ones that are best.I went back to the guest house exhausted and a bit dejected, but at least I felt like I had found some good puppeteers amongst the batch. Now on to the next mountain of tasks. I began making arrangements for my next stop.

More puppeteers in Multan

I tried to salvage the missing edit, without any luck. After a few errands, I went and met Sadar sahib to meet some more puppeteers. We had planned to go to an area near the bypass, across from a hospital, but there had been a death in the family the day before, so we visited people in Sadar’s neighborhood instead.

I spoke to several puppeteers, and made recording amid the chaos of children, livestock and running around. Some people were skilled puppeteers, others just kind of showed up to get paid. This was challenging. It really does no good to document people who aren’t very good at their skill, and nor would I plan on working with them. It was difficult to control that situation.

The puppets vary in quality, size and beauty, but they are the same set of core characters and they all perform the same bits of one larger performance. The quality of narration and music varies as well. I was chiefly concerned with the quality of performance with the puppets. I was not concerned whether the puppet was beautifully painted, or severely aged with peeling paint. It was all about the movement.

It’s tiring to go to all these places, talk to so many people and then make the recordings, but I appreciate that I could even be there thanks to Sadar sahib. I went home tired and treated myself to a kulfi ice cream shake before beginning the arduous task of reediting.

Back to Multan

Zafar sahib and Parmodji graciously dropped me at the bus stand and I began my journey back to Multan. It was March 23, a national holiday, commemorating the Pakistan Resolution. Along the way we past a few melas, or fairs, and these were the very traditional small town kinds with the wooden rides, toys, trinkets, snacks etc. I would have loved to stop in, but the bus does not stop near there. I would have to backtrack an hour or two to get there from Multan. I knew I needed to get back to do some editing on the puppeteer videos. That is one of the challenges of a working trip in that there are things that I would love to enjoy, but I really have to get these tasks done or this monumental effort to make this film will not bear any fruit.I got back around noon and spent the next 12 hours editing, subtitling and working on putting together videos for the puppeteers’ promotion. I learned some wonderful things about the importance of creating your own backups with Final Cut Pro X. The current version has an option to save a snapshot of your timeline. The auto backups are…not the most reliable. In any other program, I constantly version up and thus save multiple versions of files, but it is a bit annoying that the workflow of some programs discourages this. I had edited, subtitled and titled all 3 videos, when I lost the larger video edit. Needless to say, I went to sleep a bit defeated.

Um...Faisalabad?

The next day, I had to catch an early morning bus to meet a visiting friend in Faisalabad. While the campus is beautiful and away from the bustle of the city, it can be a challenge when on foot. I had to walk several miles before I found a rickshaw early on a sunday morning. I was worried that I would miss my bus. My legs were tired and I was covered in sweat by the time I reached the first rickshaw. I hopped in and we went for a bit, before the rickshaw sputtered to a halt. It ran out of gas. Once again, I was on foot, hurrying to the bus stand. If I missed this bus, the next would be late in the afternoon, and I would lose the day with my friend. I kept walking until I found another rickshaw to take me the rest of the way. Thankfully, I made it with 5 minutes to spare, and hopped on the bus.

Hours later in Faisalabad, I was picked up by Zafar sahib who was hosting my friend and some other guests who were coming in town to commemorate Bhagat Singh, a freedom fighter from independence movement from the British. They would be visiting his birthplace the next day, but I could at least see my friend Parmod Sharma ji who had come all the way from India.It was a bit of an odd day. It was fantastic to see Parmodji, whom I had not seen in 5 years, and don’t know when I might even get the chance to see again. His sweet daughters had made cards for me. I remember how naughty and cute Saba and Sana were from 5 years ago. The day itself consisted of press club visits and other manners of more talk and less seeing. I was embarrassed at the display at the press club. The other visitor from India had been visiting for the past 30 years and had worked I was told on peace building efforts. The “journalists" at the press club asked lots of dumb questions ranging from Veena Malik, to questions about things that only Indian Government policy and military people could answer. Similar to press conferences I have seen in India, while the cameras are rolling you see "journalists" asking their "zinger" questions and feeling satisfied and smug about it while wasting a real opportunity to connect people. It makes very clear to me that politicians and “journalists" such as these ones are equally a part of the problem.They have the platform to ask the real questions, to help clear up bigoted notions and strive to uphold accountability. Instead they used their platform and access to play games and posture. At the same time, the guest had nothing to say but, that the problem was all in Pakistan and that India was blameless of any possible wrong doing. No information was to be gained from either of these parties.

I felt that Parmodji, who stood up and only spoke for a few minutes had much more value to bring than all the other people in the room combined. He simply shared that politicians are on both sides would continue to do as they did, but connecting the general populace was in his opinion the key. He shared a few specific examples of how he was contributing to this effort through his organization Yuvsatta and the annual Peace Festival they hold which brings students from Pakistan and other countries to Chandigarh, India. When people meet and interact, then they can connect and find their common ground and love for one another, away from these politicians and “journalists" who are clearly on their own agenda.

We visited a library afterwards, from where Parmodji and I slipped out to walk around the city, to enjoy the clocktower, sites, bazaars and people of Faisalabad. We walked around for a while, then hired a rickshaw to take us around for an hour. There was not much to see, but I guess that is because Faisalabad is more of an industrial town, known for cloth . It was previously known as Lyallpur.

At night, Parmodji and I went out to run some errands, then came back and had some daal for dinner at Zafar sahib’s home. There was a nice mushaira (poetry recital) going on in the drawing room, which I attended for a bit. People shared some beautiful poetry, and I particularly enjoyed the Punjabi poetry. I would have stayed longer, but I was exhausted having been up and about since 5am. I went to sleep.

Visiting more puppeteers

I called Sadar (Khurshid Ali) sahib, the leader and narrator of the group I organized for the show yesterday. We schedueled to meet at 3pm to visit some more puppeteers in the area. I spent time catching up on tasks and running a few errands before heading out to meet him.We head over to where I had met Jameel a couple of days ago. We walked through the tent community, greeted Jameel, then mentioned how I wanted to record him with his puppets for the puppeteer directory I am setting up. As a true performer, he insisted on putting together a small setup for a little performance. He put up the two charpoys with a bamboo rod between and then draped them with sheets and a beautiful cloth with windows cut out for the front.Children from the community were excitedly gathering around as I setup my camera. Jameel demonstrated two dancing puppets. It was interesting to see how some of the puppets had limbs cobbled from dolls and toys. The kids around really enjoyed the puppetry as well. Though this is their community, it was clear that they don’t see this often. Though these master artists are right there, with puppet collections stored in chests, the simple fact that they are not being called often for performances made for an environment whereI feel like I am coming in and getting them to dust of their art and show me the dying embers of their legacy. Yet from the performance yesterday at the design college and these displays in the tent community, it is clear that people have a natural love for this art form and that these performers have the skill to showcase it. Jameel showed me many other beautiful puppets from his collection, and though he said that they can make puppets, it was clear from what I was looking at that they did not. The puppets are old, with chipped paint, in need of a touch up, which they can certainly do once they get some more gigs.

I next met Mohammed Shafi, who at just over 80 is one of the older members of the community. He recalled days gone by when he performed in segments for films such as “Patay Khan” back in the 1950s. It took a bit of coaxing from Sadar sahib to get him to pull out a couple of puppets and showcase them. The children around clearly loved it and he too seemed to perk up a bit once the puppets were in his hands. He performed with a beautiful ball throwing puppet and a dancing puppet. At Jameel’s place, I was shooting the performance with a large cow tied to a stake in the ground, just a few feet behind me. Here, I perched the tripod on a charpoy with throngs of children all around.Next we visited a singer, who performs with her husband who is a puppeteer.. I took down her husbands information so that I could include it in the directory, though he is currently working in Lahore. Each of these groups were very sweet in offering and insisiting that we have a soda. Many of the challenges they face are clear before my eyes, while others are not really said. I don’t pry on these things, because I’m not here to probe about the difficulty of their lives, to write an article on their misery. Instead, I want to showcase their art, and try to connect them to new opportunities. They have no computer or internet access of knowledge. I want to try and be a bridge for them to leverage these tools for their promotion.I left Sadar at his place before it got dark, then head out to the Multan Art Gallery to see Afzaal sahib and meet a friend of his involved in puppetry. My navigation reference was a Pakistani Chinese restaurant, but once i got there, it turned out there are two branches in the area. Afzaal sahib picked me up on his motorcycle and took me to the right one. We sat and chatted oin his beautiful gallery. Since I had the gear on me, I recorded a little video of him and his gallery. I’ll edit and subtitle it to get on here soon.

Waqas Falak sahib joined us at the gallery. He shared some exciting work that he is doing with puppetry with his organization Neengar Society. The held a puppet festival last December and are planning a film festival this year. He is a puppeteer himself, with a focus on modern techniques.It was a lot of fun to compare notes and share experiences. Afterwards we grabbed some delicious Chinese food, then Waqas sahib graciously dropped me off. It is a lot of fun to meet all these people doing interesting artistic work.

Sadar and party puppet performance

Beautifil Bahauddin Zakariya University Campus

I felt a bit nervous and hoped that things would come together for Sadar and his party’s puppet performance. Azam Jamil sahib opened the doors to his college for the performance, and cleared some time in the students’ very busy schedules to attend. We picked up the the 4 person group then brought them back to the college.

Zohaib sahib and I grabbed two charpoys out of the guard room. The puppeteers stood them up with a bamboo pole suspended between them. They lay blankets and cushions around and the stage was set. We all drank some tea together, and each member of the group shared a bit about their work and the beautiful puppets.The students brought out cushions and made their way to the performance. I asked them to share a bit about their textile art with our puppeteer friends. They talked about the work, then brought out a few sample projects, which I thought was really cool. I asked Azam sahib to present the show, Sadar sahib to introduce the members and then the show began. I was recording using the various gear I had to get enough footage to put together a video to promote the group.Sadar came out and narrated. while the two female members of the group provided song and percussion. The fourth member performed with with the puppets, standing behind the stage. There were fantastic bits of comedy, curiosity, surprise and fun songs. Each puppet was introduced then performed their bit with Sadar providing the backdrop for each character’s entrance and performance via his narration. It was very satisfying to see everyone laughing, and enjoying familiar songs and just losing themselves in the performance. This was a very sort of modern crowd, worlds away from where these puppeteers are from, but their performance made an instant connection. By the end, the students were making musical requests for the musicians of the group. They too were laughing and I felt like all the struggles to get to this point finally started to amount to something more than mere ideas in my mind.We stopped the performance there, had a bit of a question and answer session, showed our deep appreciation for the artists, then started packing up. I took some more photos of puppets, then I walked with the group to a local dhaba where we enjoyed a delicious meal and come conversation. Afterwards, we walked back to the college to pick up their things. I recorded short introductions with each member. A few members seemed shy and one said he could not do a second take. I thought it might be because it has been while since they performed and so they feel naturally a bit awkward. They said a bit, but it is not really shyness.

When I watched the footage later on, I realized how emotional it was, after all they have suffered, to be appreciated practicing their art. It was difficult for them to even say their names and what they did in the party, I think because that core aspect of their identity has been such an intense struggle. I can barely even begin to imagine that pain. I have seen the smallest bit of that in the rapid decline of work conditions and work availability in the animation industry which has been very difficult, but that is nothing compared to the hardships and indignities suffered by these fantastic artists.I spent the evening with Azam, his family and a couple of additional artists. We enjoyed some snacks at night, but my mind was in a daze, thinking of my next steps to do the work I have come for as well as the joy of having been able to get this far with so much generous help.Days later, after many hours of work, I put together this video of the performance.

Puppeteers in Multan!!!

I had set two meetings with puppeteers. I would have taken a rickshaw, but Azam sahib rightly suggested that Zohaib sahib could take me on his motorcycle. Zohaib sahib picked me up in the morning and we were off to meet the first puppeteer.

We reached the dhaba (roadside hole in the wall restaurant) that Sadar (Khursheed Ali) had told me to call him from. I could not reach him on the phone, so we asked the dhaba folks about puppeteers and he pointed us down the road. After several more calls and asking around, we reached a spot in a back alley. Sadar sahib came and met us there. He generously bought Zohaib and a couple of sodas from the shop we were in front of. He shared the beauty and challenges of his art. He knows many of the puppeteer families in the area and having understood that I am trying to make a directory of them, was quite willing to share that information.

Khurshid “Sadar” Ali, puppeteer

Like the other families of puppeteers scattered about the area, his family migrated from Rajasthan during the partition of India and creation of Pakistan. They had continued their art of puppetry, but the last 30 years in particular saw a serious decline due to television and a lack of support from the public and government.He showed me a script from the Health Department of the Pakistan government. It was a modified version of the script for his show which included a few lines of health awareness thrown into the mix. These artists then travelled to remote villages and performed. This brought the villagers out, providing entertainment and a bit of much needed education regarding health. What a fantastic idea! This project helped promote health awareness as well as supporting the puppetry artists. Certainly, this is something that can be continued.After several generations in the area, he was finally able to buy a small piece of land, but lacking further funds, he lives in a small makeshift hut on the land. The recent rains washed sewage into their lanes and home. They are suffering terribly, and not for a lack of skills or initiative. Just a bit of support and they can continue this art and benefit others.He told me about one elderly puppet maker who is currently in Karachi, working as a laborer to work off a debt. These are fantastic artists and performers, who yearn for audiences to share these traditions handed down by his account for a good 300 years. Their puppets are not mere dolls to be bought and sold, but honored performers, handed down generation to generation. He did not have puppets with him, but agreed to arrange a group for a performance. Now I just needed to arrange for a space, and I could hire the group for a show. I felt that this would be the best way to get a feel for their work.

Jameel Akhtar, puppeteer

After this, we head over to meet another puppeteer named Jameel, who had been referred to me by an NCA filmmaking student named Hamza (referred to me by Suffi sahib) who had hired him for a segment of his short film. Hamza had generously provided me with lots of helpful information regarding his experiences as well as Jameel’s number. We met at another dhaba near the main bus stop; Laria Adda.We sat and spoke for a while. I explained about the need for a directory of puppeteers to cut out greedy middle men who restrict access to these performers as well as funding. This way, people could contact them for work and hire them directly. We had spoken about this on the phone. He didn’t offer up any other contacts, but he brought a book with letters thanking him for performances at schools around the country and other venues where he had performed. This was quite a good resume, showing his past experiences. He had a book of photos as with information as well. He kindly brought a dancing puppet and gave me a little demonstration. I could clearly see his that he was skilled, and with more regular performances, he could shine again.Much of the conversation revolved around the very real issues being faced by these traditional puppeteers. He wondered why with all the arts organizations in Pakistan, that traditional puppetry had not figured into the equation regarding support and funding. I agreed with him. I did not ask a lot of questions. Much of it was just listening. At the end, I requested to take a few photos. I did not carry much money and had paid an advance for the puppet show to Sadar sahib, so I did not have money to give Jameel sahib. This is why I did not pull out my camera to record the performance he gave. I don’t think he would have stopped me from recording, but I feel like we have to understand and respect the situation these artists find themselves in. When we make recording, we should certainly pay something where possible and make a point that when we put that on facebook etc, that there should be contact information for the artists so that they can be hired and known. I plan to return for that. We had some tea. These puppeteers were very generous. They insisted on us having tea etc. James sahib even wanted to buy us dinner and entreated that we not shame him by not accepting.

Multan Design College presentation

It doesn’t take much to give another human being the respect that they are due. I hope that I can do that for these artists. Zohaib sahib and I could not stay for a meal, so we bid farewell and head back to the Multan Design College where I gave a short presentation on my animation work to the students who are busy with exams. The textile students were very appreciative. Besides my demo reel, I show students my short film “Gul” and show them footage of the Girnari Jogi Group who created the score for it. I try to instill in students a sense of using this cultural wealth in new ways to stand apart from the pack and while doing so, to make efforts to support and sustain the practitioners of it.

Afterwards, Azam sahib took me to a beautiful hilltop shrine in the old city. There is a really cool handicrafts shop, called the Multan Craft Council there where I got to meet several excellent artisans/artists. I got some ideas on how I could leverage and incorporate some of these works into “Risalo” as well. Azam sahib, his wife Zareen and little son Shahzain have really helped make this leg of the project a lot easier and more fun.

As if all of that was not enough to make for an amazing day, we visited the Multan Art Gallery afterwards and I got to meet Afzaal sahib, the owner of a gallery of beautiful art. He has started an art scene here and it is great.

Multan Arrival

The Daewoo bus was way more comfortable than the train. I head out in the morning with my cousin Faiza baji. There was a little bit of confusion regarding the departure, so she stood in front of the bus as I scrambled aboard, keeping it from leaving. That was pretty hilarious.I ate some snacks, and sandwiches that my cousin packed for me. Seriously, my cousins are incredibly sweet. They really look out for me. Faiza baji has also been instrumental in helping me with language skills for my Punjabi comic and another, as yet unannounced project I have been working on over the years.

I saw some interesting art at the rest stop along the way.

We made it to Multan a few minutes early, and I have to say it was a much better experience than the train. I contacted Azam Jamali sahib and grabbed a rickshaw to meet him. He picked me up from the University and took me to the Design College of Multan, which focuses on textiles. The building has a lot of beautiful wood carving work.Later, he graciously took me out with his wife and little son. He drove me around the campus a bit and then around the city, giving me some great insights into the layout of Multan. It’s kind of like a mini Lahore, with of course a rich culture of its own. His son is a cute little ball of energy, who seems on the verge of learning to talk.

This travel is made so much easier thanks to all these talented artists and arts institutions that I meet along the way. I really love meeting so many artists with passion and creativity, who share fantastic insights and take time out of their busy schedules to generously spend with me.

Rest in Lahore

I rested. I slept a bit extra, and just relaxed. Sometimes you have to slow down for a bit. I spent the day sleeping, watching crows and falcons from the roof and talking to my relatives.Besides that, I thought about “Risalo”. Each step of the way, I have to reevaluate the process to accommodate all kinds of variables. I have two contacts of puppeteers in Multan whom I plan to meet. From all that I have researched thus far, it seems that the art of making puppets is more or less finished in Pakistan. I need to meet as many puppeteers as possible, assess their skill level and try and figure out how to get all the parts of this film shot and recorded. I think I will focus on meeting puppeteers, then move on to recording while I wait for some of the puppets to be made. By whom, I’m not sure, but we’ll see, once I have met all the puppeteers I can find.I find it challenging to work this way, but in many ways, these challenges are why the work needs to be done. It is hard to find these artists and it is difficult for them to sustain themselves, so I hope by taking the time to seek them out and figure out the best process to work with them, we can make something interesting.