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Indian filmmaker takes a fancy to Harappa’s gypsy girl

Indian filmmaker takes a fancy to Harappa’s gypsy girl

Shumita Didi Sandhu is making a documentary inspired by the marriage of a gypsy girl she befriended in Pakistan
05 Oct, 2015

Shumita Didi Sandhu, an independent filmmaker from India, was visiting Harappa when she met a Pakhiwasi girl, Riffat, near the archaeological site and developed a personal relationship with her.

A trained filmmaker, she has worked with Jahnu Barua, and recently with Sudhir Mishra as his assistant producer in his film Aur Devdas, which is another take on Devdas.

She later started a cross-border production house Blue Owl Productions with Ikram Basra, a producer with PTV, whom she met in Bombay.

“During the talk with her, Riffat told me that she was an orphan, asking me to be her Ammi,” she says while talking about the Pakhiwasi girl. She says that Riffat’s group had only one mobile phone which often remained turned off when she called from India. The Pakhiwasis had given her many locations, including Wazirabad, Chichawatni, Gujrat and Faisalabad, where they could possibly be found.

“When I got connected at last, I was told that Riffat’s group had moved to Kamalia and that she was getting married. I collected money to fund her marriage initially, buying something for her dowry, but later thought of making a documentary of it. I collaborated with Danyal Rasheed, an independent filmmaker from Pakistan, and started working on a documentary.”

Shumita has chronicled Riffat's life from around the time her marriage was arranged – Photograph courtesy Shumita Didi Sandhu's Facebook page
Shumita has chronicled Riffat's life from around the time her marriage was arranged – Photograph courtesy Shumita Didi Sandhu's Facebook page

Shumita came from India and participated in Riffat’s marriage, funding the whole event and recording it for her documentary along with Pakistani filmmakers, which made it a cross-border project. She says that one more session of the film is left that includes a bit of Riffat’s post-marriage life in Sargodha and Najm Hosain Syed’s poems that he has written on Pakhiwasis.

Where Riffat is married, her husband’s family has two-marla land but no house and they set up their Pakhi (hut) on it. The documentary film project is being financed through crowdfunding where the highest contributor had given $300.

“The marriage as well as documentary expenses are being borne through crowdfunding. I had initially some money which I had put in but I collected from others. We need money for post production and sending it to festivals,” she says.

Riffat and her groom Intezar on their wedding – Photograph courtesy Shumita Didi Sandhu's Facebook page
Riffat and her groom Intezar on their wedding – Photograph courtesy Shumita Didi Sandhu's Facebook page

Talking about the gypsies, Shumita says that Pakhiwas are always on the move because they are landless and live on others' land. Society does not accept them in any capacity, she says, adding that she was also warned by people who said that there were always criminal elements among them. Society is wary of them because they are landless and always on the move, she says.

“What intrigued me in the beginning was the spirit of the Pakhiwasi women. They are bold and assertive and most of them are breadwinners. Despite so many odds they all have high spirits which was an inspiration for me on a personal level.”

Quiltwork by Riffat's family – Photographs courtesy Shumita Didi Sandhu's Facebook page
Quiltwork by Riffat's family – Photographs courtesy Shumita Didi Sandhu's Facebook page

Shumita thinks that it’s not enough that we just record the Pakhiwasis and their lifestyle. “Something should be done for them to preserve their talents. They don’t go to school because they are constantly on the move but they are very creative and have many talents. They make beautiful patchwork quilts which are valuable and perhaps we can sell them,” she says, adding that workshops can be planned for their children to channel their talents, including music and theatre.

Shumita says that she did not have any agenda when she started her project as it was spontaneous, saying she was not thinking to follow Riffat. She says that the post-production of the film is still to be done and she does not know yet what story would come out of this documentary. “However, Riffat is the inspiration for it.”

She hoped to finish the editing of the documentary by December to make it available for screening. She has a plan to get three separate versions of the documentary, including one for classrooms in educational institutes, and another for Riffat’s family to watch, besides the general screening. Shumita wants to send her documentary to universities in the West, saying that who knows somebody may get inspired by it.

Published in Dawn October 4th, 2015

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Comments

naji Oct 05, 2015 09:33am
Great work. Appreciating
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RahimYarKhan Oct 05, 2015 09:37am
Good job Shumita Didi!
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Noor Memon Oct 05, 2015 10:57am
Gypsies are very resourceful and are gifted to survive against odds. These hardy people can be groomed to be productive citizens, with some input from the government & NGOs. First, let's settle these national assets at one place in some government sponsored BASTI.
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pukudengutha Oct 05, 2015 11:30am
These are the real people of the land. What kind of philosophy one requires to be wanderers in 21st century, have no possessions, live on a daily basis, not knowing whether and from where, they would get their next meal, yet be happy and cheerful? We have to learn attitudes of this people. Just protect them, do not corrupt them with our philosophy of blood and violence, greed and avarice.
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Gaurav Arya Oct 05, 2015 11:47am
Good work, Shumita. But since you have taken responsibility for Riffat as her Ammi or mother, you must fulfil your promises. The best thing you can do is give her something powerful so that society respects her and her tribe. Be their voice to the world. That will be a fitting dowry to your "daughter".
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Vijay B. Oct 05, 2015 12:17pm
What a glowing example of the love and afffection that still exists between the people of our now partitioned lands. Love knows no borders. Hopefully stories like this will inspire more love and trust between our two people and snowball in to an ever lasting peace and love between us. Inshaallah te rab kare, aman di asha amar rahe. Shumita Sandhu, hats off to you
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Noor Memon Oct 05, 2015 04:23pm
Can't we bring smile on the face of these newly weds
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imp3 Oct 05, 2015 04:45pm
as a Pakistani I salute you madame for your help to fellow human being,may God happy with you.
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Parveen Oct 05, 2015 11:13pm
A real life story to be filmed,an inspiration for film makers in Pakistan as well.I want to thank Shumita for showing courage to do a documentary about people who are never noticed and talked about.I think it will get a lot of attention here,in USA too.Keep up the good work.
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