[Reader-list] Screening of Kitte Mil Ve Mahi (Where The Twain Shall Meet).

[arshad amanullah]

Dear Friend,
You are invited to the screening of my documentary "Kitte Mil Ve Mahi
(Where The Twain Shall Meet).

Warmly

Ajay

Kitte Mil Ve Mahi (Where The Twain Shall Meet)

Duration: 70 Minutes / Language: Punjabi with English Subtitles

Date of Screening:              26th November, 2008

Time:                                   4.30 PM
Venue:                                Seminar Room, Nehru Memorial
Museum and Library,
                                           Teen Murti Bhavan, New Delhi


<<Synopsis>>

Punjab was partitioned on religious lines amidst widespread bloodshed
in 1947, and today there are hardly any Punjabi Muslims left in the
Indian Punjab. Yet, the Sufi shrines in the Indian Punjab continue to
thrive, particularly among Dalits that constitutes more than 30% of
its population.

Kitte Mil Ve Mahi explores for the first time this unique bond between
Dalits and Sufism in India. In doing so it unfolds a spiritual
universe that is both healing and emancipatory. Journeying through the
Doaba region of Punjab dotted with shrines of sufi saints and mystics
a window opens onto the aspirations of Dalits to carve out their own
space. This quest gives birth to 'little traditions' that are deeply
spiritual as they are intensely political

Enter an unacknowledged world of Sufism where Dalits worship and tend
to the Sufi Shrines. Listen to B.S. Balli Qawwal Paslewale - a first
generation Qawwal from this tradition. Join a fascinating dialogue
with Lal Singh Dil - radical poet, Dalit, convert to Islam. A living
legend of the Gadar movement, Bhagat Singh Bilga, affirms the new
Dalit consciousness.

The interplay of voices mosaic that is Kitte Mil Ver Mahi (where the
twain shall meet), while contending the dominant perception of
Punjab's heritage, lyrically hint at the triple marginalisation of
Dalits: economic, amidst the agricultural boom that is the modern
Punjab; religious, in the contesting ground of its 'major' faiths; and
ideological, in the intellectual construction of their identity.