Today I decided to head into Hyderabad, which is the nearest big city. I had my usual anda paratha breakfast with chai, then head out to the “phaatak” via rickshaw, from where I hopped on a bus to get into town. It’s interesting to see the neighborhoods, huts and river along the way. There are fishermen in brightly painted boats on the river, just as Shah Latif described in his poetry, the the dam stops the flow of water flowing south, creating puddled stretches of land.I sought out a few places to try and pick up a book and CD set. Traffic is seriously nuts. I mean…there is no right way on these streets. I feel like it has only become worse. People push their way through with their vehicles form all directions, unwilling and really unable due to driving styles here, to let anyone pass. I think that way of thinking exemplifies a lot of the issues here today. Everyone needs to get their inch and they don’t care who they trample to get that momentary benefit, while burning any possible long term gains. This is interesting, because in basic interactions, many people are incredibly kind, but in official settings it is a ruthless place.
I went to a few bookstores without any luck in finding what I was looking for. The music CDs I was looking for were also not available. In figuring that out, I went to a bunch of different places, switching rickshaws to go to Gul Center, the Press Club, Hyder Chowk and the museum. The museum, while run down, had amazing displays showcasing traditional instruments and crafts as well as scenes of different types of artisans at work.
It was a fairly tiring trip. On the way back, I hopped on the outside of a bus to get back to the phaatak. It took a while before enough passengers got off at stops before I could get inside, but it was ok. I got off just past the phaatak and took a chingchi (these are motorcycles lobotomized with a carriage in the back) to the Adabi (literary) Board of Sindh. It was closed. My friend Mangi sahib came and picked me up with his son. We went back to his place, and I was able to check some email etc, hold his third child for a bit and chat. I enjoyed another delicious meal at his home (I’m going to gain some weight on this trip). Afterwards, we dropped by my room. Najeeb sahib joined us with his adorable little daughter and we went to hang out. We enjoyed some snacks at a sort of family club, then head over to hunt for books. They are so kind, that we went around to several bookstores, just to try and find this book. Mangi sahib also called a few friends, and eventually we found a place that has an Urdu translation I was looking for while driving back via a phone contact. We’ll visit that place another day. On the way back I was once again treated to delicious snacks. This time it was kulfi faluda in a cool little clay boat. Even during all of this time we spent together, I would pick up enough of Sindhi conversations that my friends would have over the phone while I was hanging out with them to know that they are calling all kinds of folks to help me find puppeteers in Sindh.
I’m basically making my way north, looking for puppeteers. It is a dying art form, particularly here in Pakistan, with only a handful of practitioners left. I’m trying to find them, with the best people to help me do it. Mangi and Najeeb sahib dropped by my room once again at night. This time I gave Mangi sahib a proper presentation of the animatic for “Risalo” and the thoughts that go with it. He started looking at the introductory pages of the book I have been basing this work on and found names that he knows. Now that he, Najeeb and Ustad Amb Jogi have a clear idea of the project, they will be able to add from their wealth of knowledge and contacts who have much more deep understandings of the material and the music I am attempting to compile in this film.