ISLAMABAD: Line Green Visual Art Space in collaboration with Purana Pakistan and Travel Names hosted a two-day event Hamara Watan Chapter Two -- Sindh Ki Chund Kahaniyan that provided a unique opportunity to the capital residents to have an experience of story-telling with live musical performances and illustrations and to have a new appreciation and deeper understanding of Sindh’s culture.

The thought-provoking stories and spaces of Pakistan were coupled with a mesmerising live musical performance by the renowned flautist Salman Adil.

Alina Akbar, Founder and Creative Director Line Green, created digital illustrations based on the curated set of stories from Sindh.

She said: “This is an annual collaborative project; we covered Punjab last year and this year we are delighted to explore and share Sindh. I created the illustrations based on the story-telling aspect of all the stories; the stories had a transportative element which allowed me to illustrate the essence of the tales.

They incorporate the spiritual, the cultural, the social and the geo-political and it is a deep delight and privilege for me to be able to envision and illustrate these beautiful, remarkable stories.”

Laraib Asdaf, founder of Purana Pakistan, said, “Purana Pakistan acts as a public archive where I strive to highlight social and cultural history. I try to get to the root of the things that explain what our identity is – Where do we come from? What is the rich lineage, the heritage that comes from the land we are in? I also try to share the stories of individuals who have contributed to Pakistan in some shape or form.”

Mahhad Nayyer, founder of Travel Names, said, “Travel Names is a repository of geo-locations of all types of places in Pakistan: havelis, gurdwaras, forts, deserts, lakes, everything. It is a work in progress and by collaborating with Purana Pakistan and Line Green we convert those locations into narratives, stories and art works, to create an interdisciplinary exhibition that educates the visitors by telling them about our rich history and heritage, architectural marvels and civilizations.

Travel Names intends to create an open source, public repository of all these places over a map and give access to everyone.”

Schanze Asdaf of Team Purana Pakistan said, “Our philosophy is that to get confidence in your life, it is very important to know yourself first and this is true both personally and as a people it is very important to understand your heritage and your legacy. As you learn about your origin and your ancestors you are able to tap into the heights of your own potential. We at Purana Pakistan want to empower Pakistanis by bringing the past to the presence to make a better future.”

The exhibition also shared the story of the Ajrak and its enduring legacy; It is a fabric, that can be traced all the way back to people of the lower Indus Valley civilizations, that is Mohenjo Daro and Abyssia (Larkana), who had found a way of cultivating “tree cotton” (Gossypium arboretum) and perfected the art of making cotton fabrics from that.

While Ajrak is a cloth that is universally appreciated and honoured in Sindh, the oldest specimen of it was found on the bust of a Priest-King in Mohenjodaro, whose single shoulder was draped with the fabric embellished with red pigmented small circles, dating back to 2500 BC.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2024