Delving into a Sufi tale about a simple village girl held hostage in the fortress of a powerful king, this film grapples with questions of freedom and imprisonment, longing and belonging. It weaves together the zaahir and the baatin (the apparent and the hidden meanings) of this tale, which is at once spiritual and social, personal and political, historical and timeless, about a woman, her lost homeland and the struggle to remember who we truly are.

A film by Shabnam Virmani
Featuring poetry of Shah Latif, sung by waai/folk singers of Kutch with reflections by Abdullah Hussain Turk and Rita Kothari.

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Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai is widely held to be the greatest Sufi poet of the Sindhi language. His poetry is collected into the 'Shah Jo Risalo' which has thirty ‘Surs’ (poetic chapters or musical modes), based on well-known folk stories, love legends and historical events. Some are based on the lives of ordinary people – weavers, blacksmiths, potters, fishermen. Evidently, Latif had himself walked, breathed, sweated, delighted in, and known the lives of the ordinary people of Sindh, making him not just a great Sufi poet but also a great folk poet.

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Abdullah Hussain Turk, or 'Bawa Bha' as he was fondly called in Kutch, Gujarat, was a man whose heart was steeped in the poetry of the famous 18th century Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and the sounds of the Kutchi Sindhi raag. Abdullah bhai lived in a small village called Dhrab near Mundra in Kutch. He started singing at the young age of 10 and remained completely absorbed in Sufi thought and poetry ever since. Through his renditions of the songs, he could interpret profound ideas in Latif’s poetry in simple uncomplicated terms for his audience. He was also a wonderful raconteur, organiser of festivals bringing together Kutchi folk and Sufi artists, and a guru to several young singers. Abdullah bhai passed away in 2015. He is remembered in Kutch as ‘Ghazi’, the fighter.

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Rita Kothari is a scholar, translator and professor of English at Ashoka University. Deeply connected to questions of place, language, and identity, her scholarship spans multiple languages and disciplines like literature, cinema, anthropology and cultural studies. Rita Kothari is the author of 'Memories and Movements: Borders and Communities in Banni, Kutch, Gujarat' (2013), 'The Burden of Refuge: The Sindhi Hindus of Gujarat' (2019), and 'Translating India: The Cultural Politics of English' (2008). She has also translated some key works of Gujarati and Sindhi literature into English like the novels of K.M. Munshi and partition stories from Sindh.

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The soft-spoken and deeply learned Umar Haji Suleman belongs to the camel rearing nomadic community of Fakirani Jats, and lives in Asari Vaandh village of Kutch, Gujarat. He was initiated into 'Shah jo Raag' by listening to his father Haji Suleman sing the Surs of Shah Bhitai, a love that he nurtured while grazing camels, goats and cattle carrying a copy of the precious Shah's Risalo with him. During the pandemic, Umar Kaka has created a learning space in his home to teach children, especially little girls from the villages of his region, the poetry and music of Shah Latif. He can be contacted at 91-99259-76663.

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Film Credits
Direction: Shabnam Virmani
Editing: Vrushodh Subramaniam, Yashwanth S
Camera: Manjushree Abhinav, Shabnam Virmani
Artworks: Shilo Shiv Suleiman, Roy Varghese
Animations: Shilo Shiv Suleiman, Radhika Agarwal, Shivam Kumar
Motion Graphics: Yashwanth S
Logo Animation: Yashraj Surana
Songs: Mooralala Marwada and Bharmal Vagha (and mandlis), Mitha Khan, Sumar Kadu and Jaan Mohammad, and Saidu Ibrahim
Poem Translations: Shabnam Virmani and Vipul Rikhi
Social Media and Publicity: Masoom Parmar
Production Support: Psalm Paul
Field Facilitation Support: Soorvani (Bhuj) and Mazharuddin
Solidarity and Outreach: Aruna Madnani, Sindhi Culture Foundation
Financial Support: Embassy Group, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art Design and Technology
Produced by: Kabir Project @ Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Bangalore
Presented by the Kabir Project & Sindhi Culture Foundation as part of their Doorway to Sindh webinar series

September 04, 2022