Broken remnants of partition

Published December 27, 2017
Suitcases of the refugees of the 1947 partition displayed at the exhibition.
—White Star
Suitcases of the refugees of the 1947 partition displayed at the exhibition. —White Star

KARACHI: It is a painful walk through history, among the broken remnants of the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, an immersive exhibition that transports you to a time that marked the separation of not just a piece of land, but also of families, neighbours, and hearts.

“Home1947” is an exhibition by Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, open to the public at the Dolmen Mall in Clifton. First showcased at the Manchester International Festival in the United Kingdom earlier this year, the installation was co-commissioned by the British Council as part of its programme to celebrate 70 years in Pakistan and its work to strengthen cultural ties between the UK and Pakistan.

Also read: Partition — An interactive project by Dawn exploring stories from 1947

Historical documentation greatly neglects the first person narrative, which is where Ms Chinoy’s installation aims to fill in the gaps. She takes the lives of ordinary individuals directly impacted by partition and presents it through various mediums — short drama and documentary films, corridor installations, projection room, pop-up museums, virtual reality as well as sound and music.

Photos were also displayed that documented the firsthand voyage of individuals before and after partition.
Photos were also displayed that documented the firsthand voyage of individuals before and after partition.

The tales are narrated from different people’s perspectives. One recalls a friend she spent her childhood with and the promises they kept when they were young. One laments leaving behind a father’s grave and wishes to bring back a handful of soil from his grave. Parents are shown to have been lost in the senseless violence, alongside sanity and peace. The names of these individuals do not matter. Neither does their religious affinity or place of origin. All that matters is the home they lost and yearn for even after seven decades.

Ms Chinoy explained how she wanted to do something different which would allow people to themselves experience partition. “We wanted to explore the personal side of the partition of the Indian subcontinent and what happened to the people versus the political aspect of it,” she said. And one integral element of the installation is the absence of the origins of the stories.

“We made a very deliberate effort in the entire exhibition never to talk about what side of the border people walked across from. There are no fingers pointed at anyone in the way language has been used and in the way people are telling their stories,” she said.

Technology has been used cleverly to give a more authentic feel to the installation. One room is dedicated entirely to showing, with the help of virtual reality, how people lived in the 1940s. You can step inside the suburban home with virtual reality glasses and see the distinct architecture and the windows and doors of that time. The mosaic flooring and the elaborate ceiling are also captured and this realistic depiction was appreciated by many.

Oral histories of those who experienced partition on both sides of the border were narrated.
Oral histories of those who experienced partition on both sides of the border were narrated.

For Sharmeen, “anybody who has to leave their home leaves it not knowing where they will go and what the future is going to hold. That is the feeling we wanted to capture, of trepidation and nostalgia.” And thus one of the rooms in the installation is titled “Suitcase of memories”, which is among the most poignant. It showcases suitcases of the few scant belongings of the refugees who left their homes in a hurry in an attempt to escape the rampage. These items, though meaningless in the grand scheme, are priceless and reflect and translate a lot at the same time — the thought or lack of given when having to choose what to take with the looming threat of a merciless mob; the need to cling to tangible objects that give intangible meaning to lives; as well as how utterly unprepared these people were and unwilling to leave behind their homes.

The rush and hurry with which people left behind hair brushes with hair still visible in it, clothes strewn here and there, photos, newspapers, mementos are all foreign yet familiar and relatable to those viewing the exhibition. It personifies the home, as a living and breathing form, every nook and cranny, every crevice and defect it may possess, which we in our daily lives may take for granted.

She also recalled how most people walked away from this installation with feeling that this is “our” story, a shared experience. “This is about 1947, but it is also about displacement and has universal themes,” she said.

‘Home1947’ is open to the public till Jan 15.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2017

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