A film by Sapna Moti Bhavnani
Duration: 61 Minutes/2019/India/Hindi, Sindhi, English with English Subtitles
A story of the largest migration of a culture in history told through ink.
‘I was 36 when I realized I was a daughter of a refugee. I remember being at concert in Mumbai and watching some Sufi Fakirs from Sindh perform, I was so blown away, I ran home and googled Sindh for the first time. When I found out Sindhi migration was the largest migration of a culture in history and I being a Sindhi had no idea, I knew it was time to start.
What is Sindh?
In 1947 when India was partitioned, Punjab and Bengal were divided but Sindh was left intact in Pakistan. In the province, it was believed that nothing would change -the Hindus had been a minority for centuries, they were the ones with the wealth and power. However, when the time came, the best they could do was escape with their lives. Hordes of prosperous people became homeless and penniless overnight. A large majority had never left Sindh before. They crossed the new border to settle in unfamiliar lands with unfamiliar food, language and customs, stepping from a zone of sparse rain into monsoon country.
There are lots of books written on Sindh and loads of information online but I did not want my film to be a history lesson. It took me 2 years to figure out how I want to tell my story. Finally, I decided ink was going to be the ink I would write their stories with. I figured, the best way to tell this story was to become the story.
My documentary includes many stories. Some from India and some from Sindh (which now lies in Pakistan) along with mine illustrating their journey on my skin. I aim at inking my legs using an art form from Sindh (Ajrak) and one from India (Madhubani) to tell the story of a land carried on the shoulders of its people and not rooted in any soil.’
© Sapna Moti Bhavnani
SAPNA MOTI BHAVNANI
As a pioneer entrepreneur, Sapna Moti Bhavnani founded the hair salon Mad O Wot 16 years ago in Bombay and changed the way Indian youth looked at themselves. Through her versatile avatars such as writing an intimate weekly column for a well-known publication and authoring a self-help book for teenage girls “Style O Wot” to launching the avant-garde clothing line “So Fake” and acting in NIRBHAYA – a searing testimonial play which won the Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award, The Fringe First Award and The Angel Herald Award in 2012 for cracking open the cone of silence around sexual and gender-based violence in India, Sapna Moti Bhavnani is a voice to reckon with. She traverses mainstream success with just as much ease as she skirts the underground youth art and culture movement. Ageless, Fearless, and Forever metamorphosing in her endeavours. Sapna is best known as Producer/Director of her award winning documentary Sindhustan and Producer of the feature Mehsampur.
This programme is open to all on a first come first served basis at the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata.
You can also watch the film online on the Goethe-Institut Kolkata Facebook page on the scheduled date and time.
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