Dear Bushra Ansari,
I am writing to you from ‘Indian’ camp.
I do not intend this piece to be a political opinion, so let me get the political aspect out of the way at the start – at a time when most people in India and Pakistan may feel compelled to drape themselves in a hardened shell of patriotic jingoism, it is remarkably brave, refreshing, and commendable of you (and your sister) to come out with this marvelous music video (Humsaaye Maa Jaaye) that speaks about peace and all that is similar between the two nations.
I am writing this piece to thank you, and to celebrate the wonderful artist that you have been over the years.
I grew up in and around the city of Amritsar, in India. A stone’s throw away from the border to Pakistan. People of my generation, who come from those border areas of India, have all grown up on a healthy dose of PTV (Pakistan Television). My childhood was no exception. Evenings, in our household in a quiet little village called Pakharpura, were characterized by devouring a raft of programs telecast on PTV. (I can still recite the entire “Isha Ki Azaan” that I had memorized because it often occurred midway during a PTV telecast).
My childhood was heavily influenced by the art and literature that originated in Pakistan but was equally relevant in India. Bushra Ansari, I have known you since my childhood days in the 1980s. An artist par excellence, gloriously humorous, adequately satirical, and abundantly relatable. Along with your wonderful contemporaries like Anwar Maqsood, Moin Akhtar, Naeem Bukhari, Tariq Aziz (and several others), you have all been household names in India too. Your art content, your TV dramas, and production values in those days reflected a balanced mix of etiquette, rebellion, and sarcasm.
Your TV performances, whether comical or serious, are always embellished with an intelligence, that displayed enormous poise and respect while forever challenging the status quo - something that the millennials these days in both countries, who derive their art and literature feasts from divisive and abundantly opinionated social media platforms, will never be able to relate to.
Your latest music video “Humsaaye Maa Jaaye” showcases the same Bushra Ansari that had shaped a large portion of our childhoods in India back in the day when television used to be black & white. Affable, funny, warm, and a straight shooter.
India and Pakistan both share a deeply entrenched fabric that will always tend to bring us closer as nations, and as people. This fabric is our language, our art, and our literature. They cross over those barbed wires ever so effortlessly and remain a potent tool to counter the religious and political factions that surface from time to time.
Those who tend to rule us will always keep us distracted. It serves them to do so. They will always debate who won the last political debate or military conflict. But, those of us who live (or have lived) in an Amritsar or a Lahore, always breathe easy when the anti-aircraft guns retreat from our fields. We have grown up on stories of slaughter, and blood-shed since our nations came into being. We have dwelled long enough on hatred for one another to know it won’t benefit either of us.
So Bushra Ansari, thank you for standing up and choosing to put out this cheerful message. It takes a lot of courage in modern times to convey a perspective that departs from mainstream sentiments. All the more reason I feel compelled to applaud you.
More power to you, gawandhanein (neighbor)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of SBS Punjabi.
