Some days are slower than others. There's still a lot of work being done, but there's less to share in terms of stories. I've been waking up around 5am and getting in a good days work before breakfast. I shot some interviews with some of the Phool Patti team, that I'm editing, bit by bit. I've been refining the "Risalo" animatic, and continuing my research.
Fatima doing what she does from Adnan Hussain on Vimeo.
While I was editing, this little sweetheart came to visit. She waddled over to me while I was editing interviews. I picked her up and plopped her on the chair next to me. It was a fun morning seeing what silliness she's up to. The mornings are so quiet, and it's a great time to do some work and play with an unexpected assistant. Little Fatima is already picking up her father Haider's paint brushes. The kids have a way of taking me out of that rigid focus on work, and reminding me to sit back a bit and enjoy a silly moment.
Afterwards, Haider and Mumtaz took me to visit another group of Phool Patti artists. People are incredibly gracious. Everywhere you go, as always people offer you tea, or a soda, often both. The truck workshops are very rough around the edges, but the excellence in artistry shines through. This isn't work that people are just knocking out. There is so much care and pride put into every brushstroke.From there, we rode three on the motorcycle, with me in the back trailing a heavy backpack. I'm proud to say that I managed to stick to the seat with every muscle in my body over every bump and through each turn and every exciting near death experience. It's actually pretty exhilarating and incredible.We ended up at the Culture Tourism and Antiquities Department Government of Sindh to see my friend Fatah Daud Poto. He has been among a group of cherished friends who have made it possible for me to see these ideas of projects through. He was the one who initially connected me to the Girnari Jogi Group in the past, and once again, I find myself reaching out to this same group of friends, with a few additions each time, without whom none of what I do here would be possible. In return, I try to honor this gift by giving everything I can to create meaningful projects with this culture and to support and promote the practitioners of it, who graciously allow me to collaborate with them.