Event Details

How Can I Forget? The Legend of Marui
and
Don’t Fall in Love with Those Who Wander in Boats

Shabnam Virmani is a filmmaker, musician and pioneer of the landmark Kabir Project.

Both films are inspired by the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (18th century), one of the greatest Sufi poets of the Sindhi language. His poetry is based on well-known folk stories, love legends, historical events as well as on the lives of ordinary people, making him not just a great Sufi poet but also a great folk poet. The films also feature Shah Latif’s poetry as sung by Waai singers from Kutch.

How Can I Forget? The Legend of Marui (45 mins)

Delving into a Sufi tale about a simple village girl held hostage in the fortress of a powerful king, this film grapples with questions of freedom and imprisonment, longing and belonging. It weaves together the apparent and the hidden meanings of this tale—which is at once spiritual and social, personal and political, historical and timeless—about a woman, her lost homeland and the struggle to remember who we truly are.

Don’t Fall in Love with Those Who Wander in Boats (21.45 mins)

Drawing on the imagery of the heartrending agony experienced by women folk from the families of seafarers, and their endless wait to unite with their beloved, the film seeks to bring forth the painful experience of separation and the deep longing to re-unite, which is also at the core of Sufi ideology. This film, made during the lockdown of the pandemic, was meant to connect with diverse folk musicians of Kutch, Malwa, Rajasthan and Sindh, and celebrate the gift of conversations and songs from the oral traditions.

Entry free on a first-come-first-served basis.