Shows
Kitne Dur Kitne PaasDespite the Burden of the Border - In Conversation with Aanchal Malhotra“This is the burden of the border. Ki Humein pata hi nahi ki woh kaise hai; unhe nahi pata hum kaise hai. When we meet, we are almost mirror reflections of each other. We are not antonyms.”
In this episode, Priyam Moonka is in conversation with oral historian and writer Aanchal Malhotra. They talk about all things that continue to transcend the geo-political borders created by the Partition of the Indian Subcontinent – elements of nature, words that travel, dreams, untainted memories that have preceded the drawing of the Radcliff Line, traditions, languages, culture, and human connections. Aanchal speaks...
2023-12-201h 17Kitne Dur Kitne PaasSarhad Paar: From Tagore’s Songs to Stardust MagazineIn this episode, Priyam Moonka is in conversation with Fatma Shah, a Lahore-based curator and writer with a keen interest in art, literature, and cultural heritage. They discuss a wide range of themes including the division of Muslim families between India and Pakistan caused by Partition, India-Pakistan Peace forums, and physically held conventions for cross-border dialogue until the mid-2000s, the division of patriotic songs and secular poetry from ‘Saare Jahan se acha’ to ‘Lab pe aati hai dua’ between the two nations along religious lines, the distortion of secular messages in nationalistic jingoistic fervor, the emergence of in-home entertai...
2023-12-1153 minKitne Dur Kitne PaasDuja Des Ikko Bhes - With Laraib Asdaf of Purana PakistanIn this episode, Priyam is in conversation with Laraib Asdaf, founder and curator of Purana Pakistan - a public digital archive dedicated to the side of Pakistan and its people that most today are oblivious to. Laraib speaks about the Muhajir Community in Karachi, and how Partition has shaped the city, which stands out among the other cities of Pakistan and to her also seems like a ‘Mini India’ in some sense. She takes us through her Nana’s traumatic Partition experience despite which he carried no hatred in his heart for as long as he lived and the closur...
2023-10-131h 03Kitne Dur Kitne PaasWith Love, To LahoreIn this episode, Priyam is in conversation with Amy Singh, a poet, writer, storyteller, facilitator, and advocate of cross-border peace from Chandigarh. Amy is the host and producer of the Partition Podcast - Agla Warqa and the founder of the initiative: Daak: to Lahore with Love.
Amy talks about her first visit to Lahore, almost like a homecoming, dreamy, magical, and yet familiar and full of warmth and love. She reminisces about the heartwarming relationships she built with the people she met at the Faiz Festival in Lahore earlier this year, especially recollecting her fond memory of...
2023-09-2853 minKitne Dur Kitne PaasIn Conversation with Haroon Khalid on Syncretism in Punjabi Folk ReligiosityIn this episode, Priyam Moonka is in a cross-border conversation with Haroon Khalid. Haroon speaks about the genesis of his work on religious syncretism in Pre-Partition and Pre-Colonial Punjab and non-Muslim history and heritage in Pakistan. He unpacks the homogenization and crystallization of religious identities under colonial rule, exemplifying the historicity of shared folk traditions and practices across ‘religions’. The discussion traces larger patterns between folktales and cultural practices that blur the boundaries between religions as we see them today. We look at the Sikh Rababi tradition of Kirtan, Waris Shah’s Heer Ranjha, Sufi traditions like Dhamaal, the Tandav...
2023-09-1433 minKitne Dur Kitne PaasYours or Mine? Yours and MineIn this episode, Priyam Moonka is in a cross-border conversation with Hussain Khalid, an independent creative practitioner based in Karachi, Pakistan. They discuss everything from childhood memories of Garmi ki Chutti at Nani Ghar, Ekta Kapoor Serials, the sitcom Shararat, Sanju's magic pencil in Shaka Laka Boom Boom, and Chhaiya Chhaiya toy phones to the shared heritage and coexistence of communities in Pre-partition times. Hussain talks about his ancestral home in Gujrat, West Punjab, which is a Pre-partition Gurudwara, allotted to his grandparents after they migrated from the Indian side of the border in 1947. They discuss cross-border tensions at...
2023-09-1050 minKitne Dur Kitne PaasThe Collective Cultural memory and Nostalgia of the Pre-Cable times
In this episode, Priyam Moonka is in a cross-border conversation with Umair Hashmi, a British-Pakistani filmmaker and photo-journalist based in Lahore. They discuss a wide range of nostalgic experiences from the Pre-Cable times common to those on both sides of the Indo-Pak Border, in the 1990s, especially associated with Doordarshan shows and Bollywood films like Maine Pyaar Kiya and Mohabbatein. They also talk about the Pop Culture that has been transcending borders and bringing citizens of both nations together in contemporary times, the age of social media. Umair also takes us through his time in the UK relishing the...
2023-09-0739 min
2023-09-0705 min