A thought-provoking installation at the first Lahore Biennale, Postcards from Home is Manisha Gera Baswani’s tribute to childhood memories of artists and their ancestors from India and Pakistan, two countries who share much more than a common border…
As I tucked my five-year-old into bed, I wondered about the lullaby mothers in Pakistan were singing to their babies. Perhaps a modern rhyme or a folk song of the land. Or maybe, a lilting tune her Ammi used to hum to her. A couplet that carries the whiff of her ancestral village in undivided India. When India and Pakistan were one. When boundaries and borders didn’t slice through our lives. That lullaby, a faint reminder of roots, childhood and lovely memories. And, the similarity maybe…

Imran Qureshi as shot by Manisha herself

Rahat Masud, as shot by Manisha , at her studio in lahore in 2016

Nahid Raza at her Studio in Karachi, shot by Manisha in 2015

Satish gujral at his home, shot by Manisha

the ‘Postcards from Home’s installation set up at the Lahore Biennale
Or when Waseem Ahmed puts across a poignant memory of his mother, Rabia Bibi, from his studio in Lahore, about playing with her Hindu and Muslim friends around the Ajmer Sharif Dargah. “Ammi often used to describe the map of her beloved city of Ajmer to us rather lovingly. So, when I made a pilgrimage to Ajmer Sharif, it felt like a déjà vu. My mother was there as I prayed.”

Roohi Ahmed at her studio in Karachi, Shot by Manisha in 2015

Vignettes like these infuse heart into Manisha’s project. Drawn to the elderly because with them lie the treasure trove of memories, she says, “The youngsters need to know about the roots and homes of their ancestors. This is life, this is world.”
Thankful to Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (the project was funded by them) and Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi, a friend for the last 20 years who helped Manisha with the logistics of setting up the installation at the Shahi Hammam, the artist affirms that art bridges boundaries. If anyone were to be at her show at the Biennale, they would recognise this aspect. It could be road straight out of Chandi Chowk or Chauri Bazar in Purani Dilli. “The way we talk, the roads, the topography, everything is similar. Even the language. I felt at home there even more because of the warmth the locals showed to us,” recalls Manisha.

Bharti kher