When Brummies Met Sindhis

Last updated
When Brummies Met Sindhis
Directed byAzfar Rizvi
Release date
  • 2009 (2009)
Country Pakistan

When Brummies Met Sindhis is a documentary film made by Pakistani documentary filmmaker, Azfar Rizvi.

Contents

Synopsis

The film follows five British schoolteachers from Birmingham, England in their journey to Pakistan as part of a British Council Pakistan project, commonly known as Connecting Classrooms. [1] The plethora of inter-cultural dialogue that ensues as the two cultures disclose both tradition and practice under the umbrella of education, transforms a simple visit to Bhit Shah, Sindh into a mutually beneficent exchange.

The Film

Rebecca Bailey is a schoolteacher at the Hill West Primary School. [2] Kamal Hanif and Ian Healey are the Head and Assistant Head teachers respectively at the Waverley School, West Midlands. Heather Hepworth and Sheila Holden are Assistant Head and Deputy Head teachers respectively at the Calthorpe Special School. [3] The film records the experiences and the change in perception of these five schoolteachers that have come to Pakistan as part of Connecting Classrooms – a British Council Pakistan project that facilitates inter-cultural dialogue, and especially, an understanding of the different teaching styles employed in the UK and that of other countries.

Not knowing what to expect, the British schoolteachers are at first most excited about learning from and working with each other, as under no other circumstances would the three schools be able to come together and exchange ideas. Finding the same hustle bustle at 4 in the morning at the Jinnah International Airport as the plane lands in Karachi that they would at 8 pm in Birmingham kick-starts the series of experiences and discoveries that this documentary explores. The traditions and customs of Sindh serve as the contextual framework to what they learn about education in Pakistan, how they interact with its peoples, and the many ways in which they embrace its culture.

Following an introductory meeting with the Office of District Government Matiari, [4] the British schoolteachers visit several public schools in the vicinity, including one for children with mental disabilities. They discover that teaching styles are more direct in Pakistan, with an ‘I talk, you listen’ approach as opposed to ‘let us do it together’ that is used in the UK. One look at the children's report cards, however, ascertains the effectiveness of this approach in the results that appear to be just as good. An emphasis on discipline surfaces as a common feature in all the individual opinions expressed, when inquired about the school visits.

The documentary segregates the experiences of these teachers into two major categories. The first category can be characterized as the material artifacts such as ceramic wares, Ajrak – a special kind of blockprinted shawl that serves as a symbol, woodwork, and bangles that represent Sindh's outer surface. This also includes rides on a Bullock cart, an Auto rikshaw, and the public bus which is world-famous for ornamental art on the outside as well as the inside. Rebecca Bailey volunteers to try everything from making and painting intricate pottery to taking a ride on a public bus that is crowded enough to burst at the seams.

The second category can be characterized as general culture and the value system that exhibits the land's deep-rooted core. Generosity - especially the manner in which gifts are exchanged, a sense of community found almost everywhere, the significance of keeping tradition alive, being one with nature, a fusion of both Hindu and Muslim religions – illustrated in the shrine at Dera Lal, marketplaces that never sleep are just some of the aspects highlighted upon by the British schoolteachers.

There is greater substance in this film than just a cultural exchange. When Brummies Met Sindhis taps into the human being's ability to connect with another human being, irrespective of race, creed, religion, profession, or location even. [5]

Background

The British Council Pakistan

The British Council Pakistan's [6] primary objective is to facilitate educational and cultural relations between the UK and Pakistan. Established in 1948, the Council has services available in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Multan, and Quetta.

Its efforts have borne fruit at the individual level, in the form of building relationships between both people and institutions, as well as at state level by improving the relationship between the two countries. Learning, professional networking, and youth-based special activities are just some of the ways in which this is achieved.

Connecting Classrooms

Connecting Classrooms is one such endeavour. Under this global program, partner schools in the UK and Pakistan collaborate on curriculum tasks. Their school leaders and teachers are given professional development. These schools are also eligible to undertake measures that will provide them with an International School Award accreditation. Teachers can participate in global networking with other teachers through online communities.

Sindh

A traditional home to the Sindhis in Pakistan, today the province of Sindh it also has large number of Urdu-speaking population. The independence of Pakistan gave way to the Muslim culture into this land, as the Muslim refugees started to settle here. Celebrated for giving rise to the Indus Valley civilization, Sindh has a rich cultural heritage encompassing varied eras of influence by the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great, the Seleucid rule, the Mauryan Empire, the Shunga dynasty, the Greek rule, the Indo-Greek Kingdom, Scythian tribes, the Tocharian Kushan Empire, the Sassanid Empire of Persia, Kidarites, the Hephthalite tribes, the Rai dynasty, the Umayyad Caliphate, the Soomra dynasty, the Samma dynasty, the Mughal Empire, and finally, the British Raj. All these empires have left their mark somewhere in Sindhi traditions and customs.

Reception

As a multiple, first-person narrative the film received positive review by renowned Pakistani journalist and writer Bina Shah in the Pakistani newspaper Dawn , where Shah called it "a fantastic documentary". [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sindh</span> Province of Pakistan

Sindh is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province by population after Punjab. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan to the west and north-west and Punjab to the north. It shares an International border with the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan to the east; it is also bounded by the Arabian Sea to the south. Sindh's landscape consists mostly of alluvial plains flanking the Indus River, the Thar Desert of Sindh in the eastern portion of the province along the international border with India, and the Kirthar Mountains in the western portion of the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sindhi language</span> Indo-Aryan language native to Sindh

Sindhi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 30 million people in the Pakistani province of Sindh, where it has official status. It is also spoken by a further 1.7 million people in India, where it is a scheduled language, without any state-level official status. The main writing system is the Perso-Arabic script, which accounts for the majority of the Sindhi literature and is the only one currently used in Pakistan. In India, both the Perso-Arabic script and Devanagari are used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sindhis</span> Ethnolinguistic group native to Sindh

Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who speak the Sindhi language and are native to the Sindh province of Pakistan. The historical homeland of Sindhis is bordered by the southeastern part of Balochistan, the Bahawalpur region of Punjab and the Kutch region of Gujarat. Having been isolated throughout history, unlike its neighbours, Sindhi culture has preserved its own uniqueness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umerkot</span> City in Sindh, Pakistan

Umerkot is a city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The Mughal emperor Akbar was born in Umerkot in 1542. The folk deities Pabuji and Ramdev married in Amarkot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Sindh</span>

The history of Sindh refers to the history of the Pakistani province of Sindh, as well as neighboring regions that periodically came under its sway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matiari District</span> District of Sindh in Pakistan

Matiari District is a district in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Located on the left bank of the Indus River, Matiari became an independent district in 30 May 2004 under the military regime of Pervez Musharraf, when Hyderabad was divided into four districts — Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Tando Mohammad Khan and Hyderabad.

Sindhi literature is the collection of oral and written literature in the Sindhi language in prose and poetry. The Sindhi language of the province of Sindh in Pakistan is considered one of the oldest languages of ancient India, and influenced the language of Indus Valley inhabitants. Sindhi literature has developed over a thousand years.

Hyderābād City (Haidarābād), headquarters of the district of Sindh province of Pakistan traces its early history to Neroon, a Sindhi ruler of the area from whom the city derived its previous name, Neroon Kot. Its history dates back to medieval times, when Ganjo Takker, a nearby hilly tract, was used as a place of worship. Lying on the most northern hill of the Ganjo Takker ridge, just east of the river Indus, it is the third largest city in the province and the eighth largest in the country with an expanse over three hillocks part of the most northerly hills of the Ganjo Takker range, 32 miles east of the Indus with which it is connected by various routes leading to Gidu Bandar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ajrak</span> Form of blockprinting

Ajrak, also known as Ajrakh, is a unique form of textile block-printing found primarily in Sindh, Pakistan and the village of Ajrakhpur in the bordering Kutch district of India. Ajrak textiles like shawls or dresses display special designs and patterns made using block printing with stamps. Ajrak is a symbol of Sindhi culture and traditions. Ajrak prints are also famous in neighbouring areas of India, in Gujarat, due to their influence from the Indus Valley civilization. Apart from Sindh and Kutch, recently, a Saraiki version of the Ajrak called Sajarak was created and is found in South Punjab, Pakistan.

Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch was a Baloch research scholar, historian, sindhologist, educationist, linguist and writer. He predominantly wrote in Sindhi, but sometimes in Urdu, English, Persian and Arabic. He has been described as the "moving library" of the Pakistani province of Sindh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Sindh</span> Culture in the Indus Valley

The Culture of Sindh has its roots in the Indus Valley civilization. Sindh has been shaped by the largely desert region, the natural resources it has available, and continuous foreign influence. The Indus or Sindhu River, which passes through the land, and the Arabian Sea also supported the seafaring traditions among the local people. The local climate also reflects why the Sindhis have a language, folklore, traditions, customs, and lifestyle that are so different from the neighbouring regions. The Sindhi culture is also practised by the Sindhi diaspora.

Hala Tehsil is an administrative subdivision, (Tehsil), of Matiari District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. As of the 2017 census, Hala Taluka has a population of 262,423. The total population constitutes, 143,965 rural and 118,458 urban population. Hala City is the headquarter of this Tehsil. Important towns/villages of this taluka include Hala old, Bhit Shah, Panj Moro, Khandu and Bhanoth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jhulelal (Hinduism)</span> Incarnation of Varuna

Jhulelal a folkloric deity among the sect of Sindhis, the most revered deity of Sindhi Hindus in the modern-day republics of Pakistan and India.

The cultural history of Karachi goes back at least five thousand years to the emergence of the Indus Valley Civilization in the third millennium BC. The early culture is mostly Neolithic with widespread usage of small cart implements and semi-precious stones. The many megalithic Arab graves around Karachi gave evidence towards megalithic movements of the Arabian Peninsula.

Ustad Manzoor Ali Khan was a Pakistani singer belonging to the Gwalior gharana singing style, one of the oldest singing traditions in Hindustani classical music. Born in Shikarpur, Sindh, Pakistan, he was the first classical musician of the twentieth century who knew about the regional music of Sindh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sindhi Cultural Day</span> Honors the heritage and civilization of Indus Valley Civilization

Sindhi Cultural Day is a popular Sindhi cultural festival. It is celebrated with traditional enthusiasm to highlight the centuries-old rich culture of Sindh. The day is celebrated each year in the first week of December on the Sunday. It's widely celebrated all over Sindh, and amongst the Sindhi diaspora population around the world. Sindhis celebrate this day to demonstrate the peaceful identity of Sindhi culture and acquire the attention of the world towards their rich heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Sindh</span> Separatist conflict being waged against Pakistan by Sindhi nationalists

The Insurgency in Sindh is a low-intensity insurgency waged by Sindhi Nationalists against the government of Pakistan. Sindhi nationalists want to create an independent state called Sindhudesh. However, this movement never gained support from the populace of urban Sindh.

Bhanoth is a town of Hala Taluka, Matiari District of Sindh, Pakistan. It has status of Union Council of Hala Tehsil. The education for boys and girls is available at high school level in the town. Bhanoth was a big port town in times of Shah Latif and earlier.

Hyder Ali Leghari also Haider Ali Laghari was a Pakistani writer and educator from Sindh, Pakistan.

Zeenat Siddiqui is a folk singer of Sindh. Born in Matiari, Sindh, she is famous for her soulful folk songs.

References

  1. ↑ "Connecting Classrooms". British Council Pakistan. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  2. ↑ "Hill West primary School". Hill West Primary School. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  3. ↑ "Calthorpe Special School". Calthorpe Special School. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  4. ↑ "District government Matiari". Government of Sindh. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  5. ↑ "When Brummies Met Sindhis official website". azfarrizvi.com. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  6. ↑ "British Council Pakistan". British Council Pakistan. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  7. ↑ "Respecting Sindh". Dawn Newspaper . Retrieved 24 March 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.