Jahane Rumi In search of the unsearchable: O, my soul! where would you find your house?

22Jan/104

Folklore sans frontiers

There is no alternative to peaceful coexistence within South Asia, says Raza Rumi

As we crossed the blood lined Waagah, after three hours of soul-destroying bureaucratic tangles and multiple forms filled in by the guardians of our borders, nothing changed. It was an eerie reminder of how the two Punjabs are but one. The roads were dusty and rural life remains as time-warped as ever. The street vendors were selling dirty, unhygienic food items wrapped in a thick cover of flies; and the money changers and CD-sellers attacked you with a frenzy that one is used to back home.

I was part of a delegation from Pakistan that was driving to Chandigarh to attend the SAARC folklore festival organized by Punjab’s legendary writer Ajeet Caur. This was a motley crew: ten Punjabis of various stripes, and five Sindhis who have travelled all the way from Bhit Shah to Lahore. We were greeted with garlands and the usual Punjabi warmth by our hosts at the border. This was my first trip to India via land or, as they say on visa forms, “on foot”. One could not escape the strange sensation of striding across a “hostile” frontier.

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22Nov/090

Sub-Continent’s Berlin Wall

I am posting Shivani Mohan's article where I have been quoted with reference to the recent folklore festival held under the aegis of SAARC. Another piece on the folk performances can be accessed here.

This fortnight saw the 20th anniversary celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall. So liberating and decisive, when a vast multitude of people chose to see sense and forget trifles that generally incense mankind, when the similarities between two peoples became more important than the differences; when cultural affinity conquered meaningless rivalry.

So it was at the recently concluded SAARC Folklore Festival. Writers, scholars and folklore artistes from eight SAARC countries — Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan- converged to Chandigarh for four days full of rapturous singing and dancing and ?discussing folklore.

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21Nov/090

SOUTH ASIA: The Ties that Bind: Artists, Writers Forge Peace

By Irfan Ahmed

CHANDIGARH, India, Nov 18 (IPS) - Imagine writers, scholars and folk performers from eight South Asian countries coming together to share their common heritage and culture while promoting peace and harmony at the same time.

That is precisely what 200 members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) did early this month, prompted by a collective aspiration to pursue their common objectives.

The move—which took place in this city—was deemed highly significant in a situation where the political leaderships of these states had been unsuccessful in making any major breakthroughs towards peace.

Filed under: Afghanistan, Arts & Culture, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, SAARC, South Asian Art, South Asian Literature, SouthAsia, folklore, heritage Continue reading
   

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