SAFF 2022 Sanjha Punjab

KARTARPUR CORRIDOR-COLLECTIVE MEMORIES, CONNECTED HISTORIES

This film tells the story of how the communities of India and Pakistan, who parted into two countries a long time ago, have been taking care of each other’s cultural heritage that was left on the other side of the border with love and respect.

In 1947 the year when two independent nations were created – India and Pakistan. The borders of Punjab on the west and Bengal on the east witnessed large scale migration of communities, the Muslim population moved into Pakistan and Hindus, Sikhs, and others, into India. Communities were uprooted from their homes. They brought with them memories of lost lands, culture, and associations. In a recent joint effort of both the governments, Pakistan and India, a ‘corridor’ has been created as a passage for the Sikh community to visit a very important religious shrine in Pakistan, Kartarpur, the place associated with Guru Nanak (the first Guru of the Sikhs spent last 18 years of his life) without a visa. This is the first time since 1947, that effort has been made by the two countries, India, and Pakistan to use the power of cultural heritage for building peace and understanding. The film shows the engagement of the local community in taking care of the heritage of the ‘other’ as a service. It further challenges the notion of whose heritage is it in times of displacement – and the relationship between cultural heritage and the local community, those ‘displaced’ and further the ‘relocated’.

TILLA JOGIAN

Before partition, there were numerous religious hubs in India and Pakistan, but after many of these sites became deserted. The primary purpose of this short film is to showcase such religious places to create intercultural and inter-religious harmony among the people of India and Pakistan to ensure peace and friendly relationship across borders.

GOING HOME: TRAVELS IN THE LOST HOMELAND

Sikhs lost their homeland when, in 1947, Punjab was partitioned and divided between two newly created nations, Pakistan and India. What would it feel like for Sikhs to visit the land their ancestors left behind in Pakistan, where the major portion of their historical, cultural, and religious heritage is located today? Join Sikhlens as they experience a flood of mixed emotions as they tour the land of their forefathers for the first time.

ASMA QADRI (POETRY)

Dr. Asma Qadri is a Professor of Punjabi in University of the Punjab, Lahore with a teaching experience of more than two decades. She has also taught Punjabi in University of California, Santa Barbara as a Visiting Research Scholar in 2013. She has done her Post Doctorate from the University of California. Dr. Qadri has published various books in Pakistan and India. She has also published her research articles in different research journals. She has delivered lectures and talks on her work in the U.S, Canada, UK, and Pakistan. Her major work is on interfaith, Sufism and Punjabi philosophy focusing on the poetry of Baba Farid, Baba Guru Nanak, and Najm Hosain Syed. Her work on the literature and poetry of Guru Granth Sahib is very unique and thought provoking.

JATIN SALWAN (Poetry on Film)

A High Court lawyer by profession , Jatin Salwan is a sensitive emotional being whose heart bleeds for the destitute and the forlorn, nurtures a small lush green backyard garden, loves animals and Nature’s bounties having planted thousands of trees across the city, dabbles in sketching in free moments, and pens poetry in Hindi, Panjabi, and Urdu.  Jatin Salwan had his schooling and early years in Amritsar, and developed love for poetry right from his school days.  “Life is a great teacher that have left indelible marks on my life, and I continued to scribble them on paper for a long time, and the collection is vast, and it was only on the persuasion of my friends and family that this first collection in Gurmukhi has come about,” he remarks.

TRAVELS TO PAKISTAN: A DISCUSSION WITH BICKY AND GURPREET SINGH

There will be at Q & A session with Gurpreet and Bicky Singh about traveling to Pakistan.