We have Wings!!

Our participants from Pakistan:

Mufleha Javaid is a 20 year old pursuing Bsc Hons at Forman Christian College. She is the Joint Secretary of Red Crescent Youth Group and a Core member of the Youth Parliament of Pakistan. She is interested in working with societies and NGOs, documentary film-making, and enjoys Painting, Listening to Good Music, Sports and watching good, informative movies.
You can write to her at: libra_horoscope@hotmail.com

Sabtain Amjad is a 22-year old pursuing Bsc Hons at Forman Christian College. He is a member of the Journalism and Urdu Society of FCCU and is interested in Discussion on social issues, and documentary film-making.
You can write to him at: sabtain786@gmail.com

Zain Riaz is a 21-year old, and has completed his Bsc Hons from Forman Christian College. He is a member of the Journalism Society of FCCU and is interested in Acting, Direction and Documentary film-making.
You can write to him at: zainriaz@hotmail.com

Risham Waseem is an 18-year old from LACAS and is a member of the Mehargarh Leadership Camp, Punjab Theatre, IRC and is the President of the Social work Club. She likes acting, reading watching movies, Yoga and Classical singing.
You can write to her at: rishamwaseem@gmail.com

Amjad Nawaz Tarar is a 21-year old pursuing BSc.Hons at Forman Christian College and is a member of the Mass Communication Society (FCCU) and enjoys Gardening, documentary making and history.
You can write to him at: beautiful_rosel1@yahoo.com

Meeran Kazmi is a 19-year old graduate from LACAS and is a member of Ajoka, Punjab Theatre, Youth Parliament and has interned at IRC, AGHS, IPSS. She enjoys classical dance, the violin, painting, acting, swimming and yoga.
You can write to her at: milleniumgal@hotmail.com

Naveed Hameed is a 22-year old graduate from Forman Christian College and has been involved with FCCU, IRC and PTV. He enjoys writing plays, poetry, documentary making, watching movies and documentaries.
You can write to him at: naveedhameednotnavi@gmail.com

Our participants from India:

Mohd. Asif Ali is a 22-year old pursuing his graduation in History from Jamia Milia Islamia and has been involved with ITIHAAS, Aga Khan Trust for Culture and enjoys visiting historical sites, and gathering information on the heritage of India.
You can write to him at: wise2030@gmail.com

Khushboo Arora is a 19-year old pursuing her graduation in English from Jamia Milia Islamia. She has previously volunteered for the South Asian Film Festival and enjoys listening to music, drawing, and painting.
You can write to her at: khushboo_arora2002@yahoo.co.in

Apoorva is a 20-year old pursuing her graduation in mass communication from IP University, and has been a dedicated Volunteer at Pravah. She enjoys reading books, watching films and theatre.
You can write to her at bajajapoorva@yahoo.co.in

Vertika is a 19-year old pursuing her graduation in Political Science from Lady Sri Ram College where she is a member of the English Debating Society, Interact Club and Scholastic Readers Club. She enjoys social networking, reading and writing.
You can write to her at: vertika.lsr@gmail.com

Jaspal is a 20-year old pursuing his graduation in English from Jamia Milia Islamia. He has previously volunteered for the South Asia Film Foundation and is a member of Film and Drama Club. He enjoys classical english poetry, instrumental music, and all sorts of cinema. He is also interested in sculptures.
You can write to him at: jjjstop@msn.com

Nasreen is a 20-year old pursuing her graduation in Journalism and has volunteered for Ahwaan, Greenpeace and Photography club. She enjoys writing, blogging, traveling, documentary film-making, rock climbing, and trekking.
You can write to her at: nasreen.301@gmail.com

Jasmine is a 19-year old pursuing Psychology at Mata Sundri College. She is a member of the Cultural Society and volunteers for Anubhuti- an animal welfare NGO. She enjoys dramatics, dance and cares immensely for animals.
You can write to her at: jasmine_scout90@yahoo.com

Madhulika is a 19-year old pursuing her graduation in Economics from Sri Ram College of Commerce and has been actively involved with EYES, Udayan Ghar, Pragati-Sustainable Development Society, and the Youth Parliament. She enjoys photography, reading fiction/nonfiction journals and collects erasers!
You can write to her at: parul_madhulika@yahoo.co.in

Rahul is a 19-year old pursuing his graduation in Mathematics from Kirori Mal College where he is also a member of the Film and Photography club. He is an avid reader, and enjoys photography, traveling, exploring and documentary making.
You can write to him at: rahul.bhattu@gmail.com

Nandan is a 19-year old pursuing his graduation in Economics from Ram Lal anand college and has been a member of the debating, dramatics and ecology society where he was the Vice President.
He enjoys listening to music, singing, traveling, teaching and reading articles based on Economics and Politics. He collects stamps and coins as a hobby!
You can write to him at: nandan_abhi1988@yahoo.co.in

Soaring through..

After numerous samosas, and discussions over scripts, we finally got down to shooting.. Some rushed to Chandni Chowk, some to Sarojini, some wandered towards hospitals, construction sites while some took to the road. There were yet people who shot with 'actors' following them through buses and well.. some just couldn't catch up with the actors who ran away!!

After a hectic three-day shoot we found our little Edit "khopcha" where life was air conditioned beyond imagination merged with the desire to capture, cut and edit all in one day! Frustrations, last-minute ideas, and hopeful eyes kept up the spirit of Editing! And with a film based on Manto, we had a first Rough Cut preview!

Looking forward to a music video, some thoughts on Terrorism, Manto-ness, and a Graveyard Shift, Films With Wings is proceeding onto its last phase...

The emotions though, and findings are too many to be buried ... and through the films, we hope a lot of voices will splurge out..

Until Then,

Cheers!

Pakistan- India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy

Sorry Guys.. just saw this in my inbox... though the date has gone.. some of you may wish to get in touch with these giuys as part of your reserach is you so desire... :)
Pakistan- India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy
(Delhi chapter)
Invites To
A Public Meeting

Ongoing Dialogue between India and Pakistan: Way Forward


Date: September 19,
Time: 5 p.m. - 7p.m.
Venue: Press Club of India,
1, Raisina Road, New Delhi.

Speakers: Tapan K. Bose,
Praful Bidwai

Contact: Harris Kidwai: 9811081240, Ravi Hemadri : 9871415186

Real Heroes

SIR GANGARAM IS A REAL EXAMPLE OF THE GENTLE INTELLIGENT AND COMMITTED MAN.

FOR THE REASON MUST SEE BELOW,

Introduction

Faith in God and pride in his country served as turbines in the young Ganga Ram sensibility to generate a fervent patriotism. However, it is an ironic testament to the imperial and national history of the Punjab that Ganga Ram is only remembered as an Executive Engineer, the builder of Lahore, that is for career in imperial service, which he gave up prematurely in 1903 at the age of 42.In the popular imagination, he surfaces as messiah, who invested his personal fortune earned through imperial service, business and industry in education, health and welfare of the common people of the Punjab. However what he really strive to achieve in the next 24 odd years, goes much beyond his contribution as a builder or philanthropist. It is all but forgotten that, being an agriculturalist at heart, he struggled to revolutionize the economic conditions of India agriculture. He stood what one may call the emancipated mind, the mind which is free from narrow prejudices of race or language, province or dialect, religion or caste. We had in Ganga Ram the civilized mind. There is no doubt that we will not see the like of him again.

Ganga Ram is tirade against M.K.Gand hi’s gospel of re-building Indian economy and agriculture through hand spinning with the charka-which’ he through was fit only to be burnt as firewood. His practical critique of swadesi politics, and his scientific solution to the question of Indian poverty, demonstrates a grasp of details, which when as a counter posed to the emancipator narrative of Hindu and Muslim nationalism, reveals the hollowness of nationalist politics in colonial Punjab. His radical proposal to the Indian Industrial Commission in 1920 to abolish land revenue and settlement in the Punjab, the apparatus of basis of his scrupulous calculation of enhanced economic productivity in agriculture goes unnoticed in the class analysis of Marxist historians of the Punjab.

A Brief Background of Sir Ganga Ram

Ganga Ram was born in 1851 in Mangtanwala about forty miles from Lahore and fourteen miles from Nankana Sahib, his father, Doulat Ram, who was a junior Sub inspector at a Police Station in Mangtanwala, later moved to Amritsar to become a copyist of the Court. Here Ganga Ram passed his matriculation from the Govt. High School and joined the Govt. College Lahore in 1869 Afterwards he obtained a Scholarship to the Thomson Engineering College at Roorki in 1871, where he passed with the gold medal in 1873. He was appointed Assistant Engineer and called to Dehli to help in the building of the Imperial Assemblage. Impressed by his work, Lord Ripon sent him to Bradford in the U.K to get further training for two years in Water Works and Drainage. He came back to India and served the Punjab Goverment in various districts and builtn courts and goverment offices in Lyallpur, Sheikhupura. He was honored as Rai bahadur when he came to Lahore in 1885.

The Genius That Was

It was in 1873 that Ganga Ram appeared in his final examination, which he passed, standing third in order of merit, and topping the list in the project paper. This success won for him gold medal, a much-prized distinction, and it was instrumental in securing for him almost immediate recognition. He was appointed assistant engineer, and posted to Lahore, to serve his apprenticeship under the late R. B Kanayyah Lal then executive engineer of Lahore. Ganga Ram had covered a span of twenty-two years, and before him lay the unopened book of his career.
Rai Bbahadur kanhaya Lal the executive of engineer Lahore, who was considered a very great man those days, gets down the following remarks about him.
Lala Ganga Ram made a vivid impression on my mind. I still remember his white turban and Kullah, his well-chosen dress posture, his laughing face, and above all the slanting scar on his right eyebrow, which shone like a star and added to his appearance. And he was wearing boots, which were, then, rarely worn by Indians.
He had prepared the table showing the population of India classified according to age, the estimated quantity of food required for each person of the specified age per head, and the total quantity of food required for the whole population. It might be urged. He said, and with considerable force, that the average of 16Oz. per head per day which I have assumed for the adult population of India will not, ordinarily, suffice for the total rural adult population and still less for the male portion there of 8Oz. per head day to the male adult rural population of the country. In addition to this. Some allowance must be made for sweets. etc, which form an important element of consumption at marriage and similar festive occasions. For this purpose, I have taken an average of 1 Oz. per head per day. This gives us a total quantity of 3208008 tons for the whole of India for one year.
In 1900, Ganga Ram was selected by Lord Curzon to act as superintendent of works in the imperial darbar to be held in connection with the accession of King Edward the Seventh. He finished the work at the Darbar managing its manifold problems and challenges but his name was not included in the New York Honors list. The bureaucratic jealousy blocked him from being rewarded for his valiant achievements. Consequently , he retired prematurely from service in 1903.

In my opinion the greatest service which GANGA RAM rendered was to teach people of every religion that there are two aspects of religion. One separates and differentiates and create hatred. This is the fake aspect. The other, the true spirit of religion, brings people together , it creates understanding, it lies in the spirit of service in sacrificing the self for others. It implies belief in unity, in the essential unity of things. And this is a lesson for all those who want to form factions based on language or caste or creed and aim to destroy the unity of our life. The disease which ails us today is that small and narrow loyalties have succeeded in gaining the upper hand. We are more attached to the little groups and do not fully comprehend the biggest group. We have to subordinate our matter loyalties to our bigger ones. It is not necessary to break the smaller loyalties to our bigger ones. It is not necessary to break or destroy the samaller loyalies.It is not necessary that we cease being a Sikh, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Parsi but we muat put the whole mankind first before we can be worthy being called a true, Hindu, a true Muslim, a true Sike, or a true Parsi. The life of Sir Ganga Ram offers a radiant example of this ideal. this is what we need most at present our policies and in social set up.

The Achievements of Sir Ganga Ram for Lahore

|||| Railway Station Lahore	|||| Aitchison College Lahore

Lahore is a modern city with a rich history. It has kept the marks of great men in its folds for centuries. SIR GANGA RAM was one of such men who contributed immensely to Lahore’s development as a modern city, but was forgotten millions of the people are acquainted with his name because of the Ranga Ram Hospital, nobody knows that who Ranga Ram was. He dedicated a major part of his life to Lahore as a disfurnished engineer and a warmhearted philanthropist but the name of his hospital is in people’s consciousness. He supervised the construction of high court. Cathedral and constructed the Aitcheson chiefs college. He also gave Lahore new water works in addition to many other building. For twelve years he was the executive engineer of Lahore, a period which, in retrospect, has been called as “Ganga Ram period of Architecture”.

Gangapur Agricultural Project

The great achievement of Sir Ganga Ram is Gangapur agricultural project writes Sir Edward Mclegan Lieutenant governor of the Punjab who visited the Farm in 1920. A special feature of the whole of the Gangapur enterprises was extent to which scientific invention and machinery was used to make the project a gigantic success. Gangapur was the first farm to introduce a mechanical reaper, and ridger, and harrows, scythes, sprays and new type of gardening instruments were among the many modern designed and improved tools used. Agricultural experiments the use of modern mechanical devices with steam and electric power, and village planning on a most practical basis are all unique features, of striking or originality and breath of vision and have made the reputation of the estate, but the real triumph of Gangapur lies in yet another thing, the trolley which connects the estate with the railway station.

|||| Lahore Museum

At the conclusion of his imperial service, the GOVT. allotted him 500-acres of land in the newly settled chanab colony in Lyallpur. The land was only two miles away from the railway station. With the vision to do better he had done in the Government service, Ganga Ram Became a great agriculturist. Generally, people think that the Hailey College Was Founded by Sir Malcolm Hailey. Contrarily to that it was Sir Ganga Ram who conceived this 1st Commerce College of Lahore. With his donation of few hundred thousand rupees and the support and approval of the Governor. For years the College has served the students of Lahore and even now stands as a prestigious institution of Commerce education. In addition, Ganga Ram also built and endowed the Maynard hall and Hailey hall for the Punjab University. During the period of his posting as executive engineer of Lahore he has the credit of designing constructing the magnificent buildings of the Lahore museum, the mayo School of Arts, the general post office, the Albert victor wing of the Lahore , mayo hospital and the Govt. College, Chemical laboratory.

No accounts of his work in Lahore can be complete without mentioning the part he played in the remaking og the old town as an ex-officio municipal commissioner. “the present generation of Lahore” are told by an old citizen, “have on idea of the brick-laid-streets, the narrow drains with dead ends, and the horrible stench which they emitted resulting in disease, cholera, and malaria which played havoc all the year round.
The water works scheme in the city was started as late as 1875 and that time they were still incomplete and there was on efficient draining system. For that, the city of Lahore is indebted to Ganga Ram. It is to him that they own metalled street, paved lanes and properly laid drains which lessens the rigorously of malaria and thus material herbed in rising the standard of health of the citizens. Thus Ganga Ram’s influence went much deeper then the spectacular out side building which every one can see and affected a much larger number of people then a cursory glance might estimate. If we added to these reforms of Lahore the tremendous and mainly unacknowledged influence that Ganga Ram And his ideas had on domestic architectures, the sum totalled is tremendous. His new ideas on construction were admired and copied by a good many of the private constructions in Lahore. The stamp of his particular mind on the general appearance of residential quarters of Lahore is obvious to anyone who goes about whit his eyes open. in 1925 he was made governor of the imperial bank of India, during that time his trust, the Ganga Ram trust building was constructed on the mall.

Post Retirement Period.

Soon after his retirement Patialla State acquired his services as superintending Engineer for a gigantic project of reconstruction of the city. In the year of his services to the Patialla state he changed its whole face and the Motibagh palace, the Ijlas-i-Khas, the secretariat building, the Victoria Girls School, the city high school, the low courts, the police station and the dispensary all bore the stamp of his handwork during that period he also got involved in banking through the me war bank which he ran for the state. At the end of his services the Patialla state he stated a new life of creative activity at his own farm. A Larg bungalow was built there in addition to dispensaries, a central square, shops and functional buildings. Today’s Faisalabad (Lyallpur) has extended far beyond its limits but Gangapur still stands as a model village.

The hospital.

|||| Sir Ganga Ram Hospital

Sir Ganga Ram hospital was constructed in 1921 on the land purchased near Yachhowali. The hospital contained a women’s wing, a dispensary and a girls hostel. A medical college(re-named later as the Fatima Jinnah Medical college) was built near the hospital

The Mall Road From the leafy end of the mall that begins with the Aitcheson college to the university and down by the museum it is the spirit and creative vision of Ganga Ram which pervades the air. The arches, the love of traditions mirror themselves in his buildings and they look at home on soil. But in their construction, all the tricks and devices of the scientific west have been employed to improve them, to protect them from the heat and the cold of the Punjab climate, to ensure that sanitation we efficient and unobtrusive, more modern styles have since invaded the mall and the future will show many others with more modern construction and technique but the simple dignity of Ganga ram’s building will bear comparison with the best that the future has to offer. |||| Punjab University Lahore |||| G.P.O Lahore |||| Aitchison College Lahore Sir Ganga Ram died in his London home when the dawn was breaking on the 10th of July 1927. his body was cremated and the ashes were brought back to the subcontinent, a portion of them was consigned to Ganga Ram river and the rest buried in Lahore in his Samadhi on the banks of Raver Ravi. SABTAIN AMJAD (FORMAN CHISTIAN COLLEGE LAHORE)

every step towards growth

Every step walking with FWW i am finding a new thing to explore from the day one given readings, than meetings with lots of exploration inside myself and others knowing a lot about the world around and finding truth. than the vedio conference that was an awsome experience to talk to someone of pakistan and finding many things common and interesting, and now finding and finalising topics looking around at everything as if turning it to a frame of my film depicting it into something different. i am loveing this feeling.

A Salute too the writers !

Pakistan National Anthem  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjVU4bI-iUY :-

Pak sarzamin shad bad 

Kishware haseen shad bad 

Tunishane azmealishan arze Pakistan 

Markazeyaqin shadbad.

Pak sarzamin ka nizam quwate akhuwati awam 

Qaum, mulk, Sultanat 

Painda ta binda bad shad, bad man zele murad.

Parchame sitarao hilat 

Rahbare tarraqio ka mal 

Tarjumane mazishane hal jane istaqbal 

Sayyai, khudae zul jalal.

Translation into English  : - 

Blessed be the sacred Land

Happy be the bounteous realm

Symbol of high resolve

Land of Pakistan

Blessed be thou citadel of faith

The order of this sacred land

Is the might of the brotherhood of the People

May the nation, the country, and the state

Shine in glory everlasting

Blessed be the goal of our ambition

This Flag of the Crescent and Star

Leads the way to progress and perfection

Interpreter of our past, glory of our present

Inspiration of our future

Symbol of Almighty's protection

India National Anthem    - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MhYP8nmxx4 :-

Jana gaṇa mana adhināyaka jaya he
Bhārata bhāgya vidhātā
Panjāba Sindha Gujarāta Marāṭhā
Drāviḍa Utkala Vanga
Vindhya Himācala Yamunā Gangā
Ucchala jaladhi taranga
Tava śubha nāme jāge
Tava śubha āśiṣa māge
Gāhe tava jaya gāthā
Jana gaṇa mangala dāyaka jaya he
Bhārata bhāgya vidhāta
Jaya he jaya he jaya he
Jaya jaya jaya jaya he!

Translation into English  : - 

O! Dispenser of India's destiny, thou art the ruler of the minds of all people
Thy name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, the Maratha country,
in the Dravida, Utkala and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas and Himalayas,
it mingles in the rhapsodies of the pure waters of Yamuna and Ganga
They chant only thy name.
They seek only thy auspicious blessings.
They sing only the glory of thy victory.
The salvation of all people waits in thy hands,
O! Dispenser of India's destiny, thou art the ruler of the minds of all people
Victory to thee, Victory to thee, Victory to thee,
Victory, Victory, Victory, Victory to theeee!

Umeed Ek Soch :-

 

Everyday shine of light, and we the humans are ready with our new hopes and desires which we look forward to achieve in the day, as with every new hope one has his/her particular stereotype thought with it as to how to achieve the goal. If   we are successful in doing it we have another desire or umeed (soch ) ready as what will be the next, But if any how something goes wrong then, we react to it which vary between people to people, some get angry, some are satisfied with the and some learn from the experience. The more I describe, the deeper the topic will go but for that one should have the knowledge of the technical terms well unfortunately i am not having any knowledge of it but, quiet a similar thing happened from were I was influenced to write. Its not been long just yesterday and not even in the morning but in afternoon, me and nine others were attending the FWW(Film With Wings) workshop and were trying to be creative to get an idea so that we can start doing something, all were having papers and pens but It was not helping, A dude switched on his Mobile MP3 player and stated that this will help him to think something, but later switched off  due to disciplinary action taken. Few hours went out trying peeping in each others page and finally we all wrote something, some actually made pretty good drawings, one by one all went out discussing the ideas and were back to the same place were they were as all ideas were now to be modified and some were rejected. Problems never arrive with a alarm with this an information arrived to all of us that be prepared you all will be going live in a face to face talk with people from Pakistan. The minutes of that particular movement was something cannot be explained, all were tense as they were asked to think as what to be asked, how the chat would be, how much is done and many more. I also did couple of it but were not formal ones, As all thought the conversation will be Formal , serious walla and no jokes will be there or anything like that.

                                    5 Minutes Before – The connection was about to happen. Few Chaps started combing , mending their clothes and actually went in front of mirror twice and thrice so that they look good on the screen, One dude actually

Boys dialogues : - ‘Mera baal theek hai !’ ‘araa dude mera kapdaa theek lag rahe hai naa!’  .Mr. If  - ara tum sabh jaoo, asli hero toh mein hu, menthol bhee kha rakhaa hai, after all first impression !

Girls – ( Calm & quiet, with a serious look as they were ready with the questions.)

Others – (yesss….. every thing is going right, ajj hogaa kidda(formal) kaam.)

                                    After 5 Minutes – Connection Established!

Chair was there in the front of the Screen, and after the short discussion of the heads it was our turn(Every thing was to be done formally).

One by one we started talking. It began with the casual introduction, and the explanation of the meanings of the name and then later the hobbies yes. ( good hai, both the sides  same questions were asked and now the next person.

Slowly.. formal conversation was now turned to Singing Competition (Umeedo pa pani padh janaa). Now the question was who can sing loudly because both sides there was a little problem of the audio. In between the medium of language was now changed for a while from English, to Punjabi in which topics like pakodas and Mausam(weather) were discussed( Yahan bhe umedo par pani phir gaya ).Later, we got disconnected as due to some technical issue, but just after a minute we were back online. As now, all decided to get back on the topic of workshop that is to talk about the progress of work on both sides, we started it again but another failure as none of us was able to control the laugh. As singing competition and the Mr. If, head dancing was hilarious.

 

Was this formal ? issa kha ta hai formalism ??? yeah umeedo par pani !

 

Tum-e-mia ka short rap :-

Kalee jacket , Chash ma bhi mera kalla,

Ki patta see Honi masti, Formalism da bhaanahe.

Umeeda ta pani firya, masti asi mari jaunda

Kam di gal, chadh, asi nahh baaz aunda !

 

 

Ideas about Film Ideas

Over the past few sessions we have been discussing ideas for the films we will be making. The plan in India is that we will be making 3 to 4 films in separate groups of 2-4 students each. But what will the films be about? That's the all important question we are all grappling with. When we think of Pakistan and India, there are so many issues, problems, concerns, sentiments, similarities... How do we go about beginning to explore any of this? It is all so vast and complex. Further, are we really informed enough to speak about any of this?

Maybe rather than start from an issue, or something that big, why not start from our own stories, experiences, prejudices, curiosities, interests... becasue after all that's what will make our film unique: not a film about an issue, but an exploration of something we are excited about/interested in, that will in some way resonate with the larger issues. Wouldn't that be more meaningful, and indeed more fun?

Festival of Kabir in Film and Song

Hey Guys... please do make it for this fest if you can.....

The Girl in Hijab

I was telling my friend about the whole program and screenngsa and discussions we have had. She shared a very interesting incident which I wrote down making a few changes here and there.

I met her on a global leadership program. She was in my group. When I met her I decided that I don’t like her. Why, you would ask. I did not like her because she was wearing a hijab.

I was a staunch feminist, at least I believed so. In fact I think all women are feminists of certain degree. Thought I did not believe in eliminating all the men from universe, I still believed in fighting for one’s rights and not following customs blindly. So I simply could not understand how an educated, young girl can agree to wear something as constrictive as a hijab. So I decided to not like her. So I decided not to talk to her.

But I did talk to her. That day I was crying in my room. She came in, held my hand soothed me. I didn’t want to talk to her when but she asked what happened, I told her.
“I had fight with my boyfriend. He thinks I am not giving him enough time, not calling him up enough”.
I didn’t want to talk to her but, she advised me, I listened.
“You really don’t someone who makes you cry. You really don’t need someone who is insecure about you. What sort of a partner he is if does not understand you preoccupations. Why are you crying for him?”

I didn’t want to talk to her but I talked and we talked for hours. We talked about music and we talked about food. We talked about films and we even discussed feminism. And I discovered she is more of a feminist than I am. We discussed everything from Simone de Beavouir to Taslima Nasrin. More often than not she had more to say than me.
We became Best friends. On the program we were inseparable. We shopped together, partied together. We had similar choices. We bought same kurtas and wore them together. She just added a hijab to her attire.

But still I could not understand why she, a liberal, a champion of women’s liberty wore a hijab. One day I asked her this question expecting a deeply philosophical reasoning about culture and religion.
“I wear it because I want to wear it. No one told me to. It is a part of my identity. It is something which I have been wearing since long back. I don’t mind wearing it because I don’t attach the notions people attached to a simple piece of garment. It is like you have your father’s name attached with you and that name becomes your identity. It is as simple as that!”

And really isn’t it as simple as that? Why attach certain meanings to something as inane as a headscarf. Had I not met the person behind the hijab I would have lost a beautiful friend. I am lucky that I met the girl in hijab and got to know the girl behind hijab.

a new flight

i alwats wanted to do some thing different, something that will satisfy me. than i heard about film with the wings. that was the platform i really wanted to be in and is it was with pravah it became more closer to me as i was sure to be comfortable at work. i filled up the form and expected and prayed hard to get through. finally i got a call that i am SELECTED. i was too happy to explain. this also boosted up my confidence and my believe in me.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE 4 ME

ROOTS

Hey! I wrote something long time back just like that. Thought I should share with you. Hopefully its readable:)
Madhulika


When you are in a group one question that generally arises is, which state do you belong to? Are you a Gujrati or a Marathi or a Upite? This is one question I dread answering. I am sweating now. I am a Punjabi. Oh! A Punjabi, so cool. So which place actually in Punjab? Actually I have been to Punjab just once and even then I was very small. I am basically a Delhi waala Punjabi. Oh! So basically you are a refugee, right? God please call me to you. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeelp. Yes, I am. Oh! the surprised gasp, Oh! the pity. It is much easier to swim in shark infested waters, my brain is screaming. My pulse has increased to 100. I am blankly nodding and smiling. I am staring at floor and biting my nail. I am searching for ……..umm…..let’s call it my ROOTS.
So now start with the story, finally! Yes my grandparents have come from Pakistan. My Appaji used to tell me stories about his childhood in Pakistan, how he came after parition, how he studied hard and ultimately topped in his engineering college. I used to treasure these stories as a legacy passed onto me by my beloved Appaji. For me pakistan was a house or rather a group of houses where my grandparents lived and a ground where they all played. It was a symbol of their childhood. In short it was a place where my ROOTS were.
As I grew I realized and learned from my contemporaries that Pakistan is not a place to love. You can hate it, sympathize with it, dispassionately analyze it and abuse it when you are playing a cricket match against it. But loving……it was out of question. With time I too got detached with Pakistan. And in my effort to separate myself from Pakistan, I lost my grandparent’s childhoods; I lost their laughter and cries, those stories no more held much importance. Pakistan became a country as shown in J.P.Dutta’s movies.
I eventually lost my ROOTS
People inquire me about my native place, my state. I feel as I have been caught off guard. Someone has taken my ability to talk and has forced me into a debate. Thousands of ants are gnawing me from within. I feel numb. It is almost as if you have been proud of something throughout your life and you realize that it is a farce. I feel as if some has cut my ROOTS.
It is not as if I don’t love my country. I am an Indian and proud to be one. India has given me an identity, India has given me my rights and along that responsibilities. It has completed me as a person. But it failed to provide me with a native place. It has not given me the assurance that after 60 years and 3 generations of my family living here, I won’t be called a refugee. In short it has failed to provide me with….how to put it…….ROOTS.

As we Take Off..

So after receiving loads of applications and fighting with our own 'decisions' all of last week, we finally have a 12 member team ready to embark on the journey ahead..

It all began with a screening of 'Night and Fog'. "Directed by Alain Resnais, it was made ten years after the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. The documentary features the abandoned grounds of Auschwitz and Majdanek while describing the lives of prisoners in the camps. Night and Fog was made in collaboration by two survivors of the Holocaust, including writer Jean Cayrol and composer Hanns Eisler."

Juxtaposing the archival footage of the concentration camps during the holocaust with images from the 'present', this powerful film is held together by a deadpan voice narrating all that happened."The first part of Night and Fog shows remnants of Auschwitz while the narrator Michel Bouquet describes the rise of Nazi ideology. The film continues to comparisons of the life of the Schutzstaffel in comparison to the starvation of the prisoners in the camps. Bouquet then discusses the sadistic elements of the people in the camps, including torture, scientific experiments, executions and the whorehouses. The next subject is shown completely in black and white and depicts images of gas chambers and piles of bodies. The final topic of the film depicts the liberation of the country, the discovery of the horror of the camps, and the questioning of who was responsible for them." (please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_and_Fog_(film) for more details)

Alternating between past and present, black and white to colour, from disturbing images to those of 'peaceful' greenery... the documentary continues to raise questions and gather critical acclaim.

The film raised many questions from why did Nazism come up, who is actually responsible, does something like this continue to happen, have we learnt our lessons, what choice did a German have, how free is free choice to questions around what worked in the film, what did the various things symbolise, how the film spends 26 minutes on just the Holocaust and then the last few minutes on asking who is responsible and urging us to look around us...

The discussions were many.

Taking a cue from the discussions where one of the questions that came up was, what would I do if I was in the shoes of a German or a Jew... we went into a writing exercise.

'Who am I? Who is the One person that I cannot stand? What is the one conflict that I have been a part of?'

These were the three questions that each member responded to. Besides giving an insight into each one of us it also helped to clarify what helps in visualisations and hence things to keep in mind while using the film medium.

The group disbanded with Mukul Kesavan's article "Bad Manners" in hand, to continue the thought process which had started.

Today we started with a discussion on Bad Manners, but realised that most of us haven't really got around to reading it..:) so we quickly moved to"Temporary Loss of Consciousness", a film by Monica Bhasin on Partition. ( please visit http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=2866 for more info on the documentary)

While it successfully touched some, many in the group did not really find it engaging enough. The shaking camera and the randomness of the images used did not really appeal to everyone. However the discussion proved to be extremely engaging, with some sharing how the film touched them, and disturbed them just because of the sense of chaos, confusion and disorientation that the film seemed to pick on. Some shared personal stories of their own grandparents struggling to make sense of partition and how it continues to impact their lives till date.

It also got us thinking about whether it is good to make an auf=dience really work to stay engaged with the film. In contrast to 'night and fog' this film was very non sequential and gave a sense of chaos where as the earlier one moved forward in an organised way clearly making its point. An important thought that came up was that emotion does not necessarily have to be that of horror and sadness and can be felt in different ways...

Back after a yummy samosa break, we brainstormed on what we could possible make films on... and of course it could be a music video, experimental docu, fiction, non - fiction...and anything else... we came up with tons of ideas .. which of course we still need to work on... but it was a great start...

Finally Films with wings is starting to take flight ...and it is so exciting for all of us... this is of course a space for all of us to share our thoughts, ideas, feedback and resources and we hope to see a lot more of the young people from India and Pakistan use this space...

so its upto you guys now!!!!

Cheers:)
The Smile Team

Films with Wings application form

Films with Wings- Application Form

Please ensure that you have read the FWW concept note before filling in the form. Best of Luck!

1. Personal Information

Name:	Age:	Date of Birth:
Postal Address:	Tel No: Landline Mob:
Email:	Gender: M/ F/ O
How did you find out about the programme:

2. Educational Information

Year	Name of Institution	Name of Degree/ Certificate/ Diploma and course	Percentage

3. Extra- Curricular Activities

a. List any societies, clubs, groups that you have been a part of, and your role:






b. What are your Hobbies/ Interests?



4. Tell Us What You Think:

a) Describe an initiative that you took, personal, professional or academic, and how you grew as a person because of it. ( 100 words)

b) What do you understand by active citizenship? (50 – 100 words)

c) Describe the image of your Pakistani counterpart and what according to you could be his/her issues of concern? (50- 100 words)

d) Why would you like to be a part of Films With Wings and how do you think it ties in to your future plans? (50- 100 words)

e) What role, according to you, can the youth play in developing better Indo- Pak relations?(100 words)

Launching Films with Wings

FILMS WITH WINGS

About Films With Wings

Films With Wings is an initiative of SMILE and Learning Journey’s Institute (Pravah, India), and Interactive Resource Center, Pakistan. It aims to promote and celebrate a cross cultural exchange of ideas and creative expressions among young people across India and Pakistan through the medium of films.

FWW is a platform for young people who wish to engage in a journey from ‘self to society’ or ‘me to we’. In the process they will embark on an exciting adventure of self discovery, exploring issues that they are passionate about, understanding diverse perspectives and then creating and sharing their thoughts through the film medium. The journey becomes all the more exciting as the travellers are diverse- young people from both India and Pakistan.

Founded on the premise that the language of film is universal and a powerful force in bridging various divides, FWW is an effort which provides a dynamic platform for young minds of both nations to engage, co-create, challenge and capture a variety of experiences and expressions through a series of Intensive dialogues and discussions between youth of both nations, workshops, and film-making, followed by a Film Festival!

‘Films with Wings’ was made possible by Rahul Roy who brought Pravah and IRC together and is supported by CWS- P/ A.

The Components:

SAATH MILEIN

· Workshop Phase 1:

This is a phase where youth from both nations would engage in a dialogue to start the journey of understanding their own selves, each other and perspectives of both. There would be 5-6 sessions during which students would be exposed to a series of activities ranging from viewing and discussion of films, writing exercises, ideation, reading, to some simple shooting exercises on a handy cam, while moving from idea to script.

SAATH SEEKHEIN

· Workshop Phase 2:

During the second phase, the focus will be on familiarization with camera (PD 170) & finalisation of script, locations, thinking of treatment, and developing a shooting plan.

SAATH BANAYEIN

· Workshop Phase 3:

This would include not just the Shooting but also viewing material shot on each day, discussion and planning for the next day.

· Workshop Phase 4:

This would entail a day of capturing the footage for editing and developing a structure to culminate into editing the final movie.

SAATH KAREIN

· Film Festival

A culmination of the entire journey to showcase all the films that have been created by students to appreciate and understand different perspectives, challenge existing thoughts and create a forum for cross-border engagement.

The films made through the workshop alongside the dialogues emerging through the film making process as well as students’ experiences of the same would be exchanged across the border.

These films would be screened on campuses as well and be used to share experiences and create a dialogue on youth aspirations, their perspectives on life, love, democracy, freedom, justice, peace and other themes.

A video conference or shared experience via other means would be created for students in both countries to share their learnings and also construct a further plan of action that would be self directed for example- an exchange program, a joint youth event, an advocacy program for increased interaction among youth across the border with an aim to break prejudices and stereotypes in society in both countries.

Workshop Schedule at a glance*

Saath Milein
Phase 1, Session 1	29-30th Aug 09
Phase 1, Session 2	5th Sep 09
Phase 1, session 3	12- 13th Sep 09
Phase 1, Session 4	19th Sep 09
Saath Seekhein
Phase 2	25th -27th Sept
Saath Banayein
Phase 3	29, 30, 1st Oct
Saath Karein
Phase 4	2- 6th Oct 09
Film Festival	23- 25th Oct 09

*Subject to change

Who Can participate:

Anyone between the ages of 18- 25 years, based in Delhi, with an ability to understand English and/ or Hindi, and a passion and commitment for this programme can apply.

A team of 10 young people will be created through a short listing process which may include any or all of the following- short listing on the basis of the application form, telephonic conversations and personal interviews.

How can you get involved:

Just follow three simple steps:

1. Download the FWW application form from www.younginfluencers.com or www.pravah.org or http://filmswithwings.blogspot.com/

2. Fill it up

3. Send it to Medhavi or Neha in Pravah by :

Email: medhavi.gandhi@pravah.org , neha.buch@pravah.org or

Snail mail: Pravah , C- 24- B II floor, Kalkaji , New Delhi - 19

In case of any queries or clarifications mail us at the above given addresses or call us at 011- 26213918 , 40505743 .

Last date to send in applications: 22^nd August 2009

About the Organizers:

1. Interactive Resource Center- IRC - Pakistan

Interactive Resource Center is a non profit organization – striving to build consciousness among marginalized sections of the society in Pakistan regarding their basic rights (social and economic justice, democracy & citizenship rights and gender equality etc). Formed in December 2000, IRC is an initiative to explore new avenues for community mobilization and dialogue in order to assist people in their struggle to regain collective strength.

Interactive Resource Center aims at social development by changing attitudes and behaviours. However, there are certain issues that require legislative reforms, effective policy implementation, changing systems and structures, etc other than behavioural change. Believing in “If the problem is with the fabric there is no point in changing the design” IRC adopted the most effective tool of advocacy through media in order to influence the mainstream. While theatre has provided IRC a strong platform to educate, empower and engage communities to voice their issues and concerns, media is playing the pivotal affecting the policy and decision-making process by influencing the majority to complete the circle of social change. The use of media by IRC has linked micro with macro issues.

IRC now has become a resource centre developing Participatory/ Community Videos, Documentaries, Video Profiles, Talk Shows and much more. IRC is currently making use of sources such as Cable Network, TV channels, Radio, Web-based TVs for dissemination of its messages.

2. Pravah – India (www.pravah.org)

Pravah is a registered non-profit organization based in New Delhi, India. It has been working since 1993, with adolescents, youth, youth organizations and institutions working with young people to impact issues of social justice through youth citizenship action.

Through its active citizenship and youth development interventions, Pravah builds with and in youth:

-respect and understanding of citizenship,

- attitude of ownership for common spaces,

-skill of leadership for social change and

- behaviours to develop strong relationships as the foundation.

Pravah’s main area of work is in design and implementation of programs with youth to enable them to reflect on themselves, the world around them and act in the real world to address personal and social conflicts in different ways. Pravah partners with creative media organisation to use theatre, comics, films and music within every initiative and also use these methodologies to enable greater dialogue among people and for developing youth active citizenship campaigns.

The Facilitation Team:

The Programme is ably led and facilitated by a group of passionate people spanning the borders and organisations. The team includes:

Medhavi , Ashraf , Arjun , Rahul, Anupama , Waseem, Nasir , Aqdas and Neha

We hope to meet you soon!

Best of luck!

With warmest regards

The Films with Wings Team