Amrit Pyala: Archiving folk music in Pakistan

Amrit Pyala is a project that records folk music across Pakistan. For the past two years, we have been filming and documenting Sufi and Bhakti musicians, gathering the songs, literature, and reflections of mystic poets in Pakistan.

In Sindh, we have recorded the poetry of Kabir Das, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Meera Bai, and other mystics. This oral tradition is abundant, endless, inexhaustible. Bhajans and kalaams are sung every day, in village satsangs, in darbars, at religious festivals, at death anniversaries of saints.

Amrit Pyala is a project of paying witness to this rich tradition of poetry and song, and of paying witness to the stories and metaphors of our land.

Help us continue this journey by donating to our fundraiser.

Sufi and Bhakti oral tradition is a river that cannot be caught—never fully. Our project concerns itself with “chand katre”—some drops of this surging, thrilling, & threatening river.

We value the power of encountering, and of receiving what is encountered, as opposed to seeking a certain story. We position ourselves as foragers in the poetic landscape, receiving the poetry that comes our way, and collecting it in our carrier bags. We envision our archive as a receptacle–a cup–a pyala.

Why a fundraiser?

So far, we have self-funded the cost of filming, traveling, and paying the musician’s fees. While we are looking into grants, we want to raise enough money to keep this work going for the next year.

We are currently in our post-processing and editing phase. Over time, we will release:

Some of this work will be published independently, and some in collaboration with other projects in South Asia.

Our ask: USD 5000. This will cover filming and production for the 2023-2024 cycle, and allow us to fund:

You can also send funds via:

Send us a screenshot via Instagram or email if you use either of these methods.

Our email is [email redacted].

Context

One of the most thrilling and threatening things about Sufi and Bhakti poetry is how the metaphors of one tradition slip easily into another. This is not because of accident, but ease: the subcontinent has always been syncretic; Sufi and Bhakti traditions are intertwined and have always sought to reject the divisions that plague our countries in the form of caste, class, and religious tensions.

In the face of politics that seek to dispense and displace, there is a living tradition that rejects divisions, and honors syncretism. This living tradition of folklore, ritual, and mythology—which survives through metaphor, poetry, and song, lives beyond written texts and locked-away archives; it is embedded in daily practices—be it the raag sung from morning till sunrise at Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s darbar, or the Kabir bhajan that everyone knows and hums along to, at a satsang in a village in Sindh. This living tradition cannot be contained by borders, because it exists orally, and what is oral cannot be fixed into time, text, or border. It is its own landscape.

Amrit Pyala aims to bring forth this ecosystem of cultural practices—rituals, folklore, mythology—embedded in poetry and song. For us, witnessing a land means witnessing its sacred landscape of metaphor and mythology.

About Us

We are a group of friends working across mediums: film, photography, sound recording, writing, and translation.

Ahmed Hasan is a writer, walker, and field recordist. For seven years, he has been walking the path of the river and spending time with the mallahs, mohanas, farmers, activists, and musicians; hearing and documenting their stories, and recording their music. He is co-founder of Khanabadosh Baithak, and lives between Sahiwal and Hunza.

Sadia Khatri is a writer and filmmaker, with a background in journalism. She writes fiction and nonfiction about gender and cities, walking and poetry, devotion and the divine. Her work has been recognized by awards like the Zeenat Haroon Rashid Prize and The Salam Award. She is also a film critic, and an alum of the Locarno Critics Academy and the Berlinale Talents Press. Sadia lives in Karachi.

Baneen Mirza is a photographer, filmmaker, and co-founder of Khanabadosh Baithak - a commune space in the Northern region of Pakistan. Her work at and as a Khanabadosh is a kind of lived inquiry into the relationship between travel, sustainable living, indigenous wisdoms; particularly food practices and the kitchen space. She lives between Lahore and Hunza.

Hadi Khatri is a photographer, filmmaker/editor, writer, and tattoo artist. His work explores the movement of light, space, and bodies. He lives in Karachi.

Samee Ahmad is a political education organizer in NYC.

Contact

Instagram @AmritPyala

Email [email redacted]

Website https://amritpyala.mmm.page