"Eyes don’t need visas to see and imagine, Dreams seeks no borders, with closed eyes in my thoughts everyday I cross the border to meet my friend" (‘Mehdi Hassan’ - Gulzar).
Since I have been in New York I started exploring Pakistani families who have lived in the city over the past fifty to sixty years. In the wake of partition between India and Pakistan in 1947 many Pakistanis and Indians were evicted from their homes without giving any opportunity to return back. Their stories are about rejection, loss, grief and longing.
Thousands of families are trying to visit their ancestral homes, but the visas are repeatedly rejected and they are asked to discard their Pakistani citizenship. These families have heard stories of their palatial homes and of people and culture in India but they can never see and feel them. Their stories have moved me immensely. I plan to travel to India and Pakistan to document their ancestral homes and villages. I feel I can create a bridge between Pakistani and Indian families who share traumatic experiences.
