Artistes cross border with peace on mind

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Musician Dhruv Sangari during a performance

Post this Independence Day it’s love and peace that people are searching for. While large organisations and high-profile personalities make the headlines we bring you vignettes of individuals who are not in the limelight but are trying to make a difference through art and cultural activities.

“There is no better way to connect with people than through music, cinema, art and books. Be it any religion, caste or country, these are the things that unite us almost instantly,” says Dhruv Sangari, a musician who believes music has the power to dilute any differences. He has been taking workshops on Sufi music and is trying to spread the message of love.
Yogendra Jawadekar, a paediatrician by profession, agrees with Dhruv. “When we listen to Ghulam Ali and Mehdi Hassan does the fact that they are from Pakistan ever cross our minds? This is the power of music. Many Indian music bands perform in Pakistan and many from there, like Junoon, perform to packed stadiums in India,” says the paediatrician, who recently recorded a CD of ghazals, Dosti ka Paigham, and released it in both countries. The impact of his CD is such that he has been getting Facebook requests from music lovers across the border.
The list of people who wish to send a message of peace and love to others is endless. Some have even attempted to cross borders in search of peace. “Borders are for administrative purposes; we common people have nothing to do with them,” says Yousuf Saeed. And to prove his point, he has crossed the border to highlight many lesser-known but talented musicians from Pakistan in his documentary film Khayal Darpan.
It’s the desire to know and understand people that is making youngsters look beyond the border and go back in time before Partition. “I have always wondered what happened to the people who were part of the film industry in what was then Bombay, before 1947,” says Salma Siddiqui who is studying at the University of Winchester and doing research on some well-known industry people like W.Z. Ahmed, Noor Jahan and the Fizali brothers, who were some of the famous names and chose to shift to Pakistan after Partition.
“Travelling to Pakistan was an amazing experience. Like me, there are many who have relatives there and would like to strengthen the links,” she says. In the end, Dhruv sums up the message that he and many like him are trying to put across: it’s a common man’s message of love and peace to another
common man.