Somewhere in Mumbai....

One of the more interesting interactive installations at the Kala Ghoda Festival is called Postcards to Pakistan. Visitors who stop by are given a square of paper on which they are encouraged to express their feelings though words or drawings on the many deeply troubling issues between India and Pakistan, the ugliest of which is terrorism. Cleverly, the installation is marked Fragile. More than 1000 messages have been posted, with some addressed to the ISI and others to President Zardari, but most are open appeals to the people of Pakistan for peace. Going by the strong anti-Pakistani sentiment in the wake of the terror attacks of 26/11, one might have expected the walls to be plastered with hate speech, but in fact, this is not the case. Feelings of love and hate, anguish and hope are amply reflected. There are some like 10-year-old Virti who has written, ‘I hate Pakistan’, while others are more virulent (‘India has the power to wipe out Pakistan...’). But there are also those who quote Gandhi (‘An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind’) and talk about ‘Indistan’ where people from both sides of the border can live in harmony. The postcards have been written in English, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Arabic and Persian and are liberally sprinkled with smileys, olive branches, doves, flowers, flags and hearts. The postcards will be sent to Pakistan with assistance from the Pakistan High Commissioner. “We want to send it to the citizens of Pakistan and will then co-ordinate with them to send ‘Postcards to India’ in response,’’ says Zubin Driver, foundermember of the group Fight-back, which has conceptualised the project.