Cultural Aids

Singh’s story though began much earlier,when she shot a documentary film,Making a Small Beginning: It’s Just The Beginning on the Bapu Dham children a couple of years back and screened it back home to motivate people to come forward and make a difference. The movie struck a chord and several people came forward. Among them was friend and animation artist,20-something Adnan Hussain,also from LA,who has now pitched in to teach the kids basic animation-based movies. In fact,Hussain screened his short film Gul (The Flower) at Coveda in Sector 18 recently. “It’s about Gul,a young girl,who is awakened by her mother’s dying breath and struggles to recall her past. It’s a child’s view on the conflicts between abuse,self-determination,human rights,and the environment,” he says. The visual imagery is rich,creating a textured animation film,which also has powerful Sindhi folk music from Pakistan . “My idea is to involve those people who are nowhere in the commercial media mainstream,just like this little girl Gul,and the almost unknown,but amazing Sindhi musicians from the villages in Pakistan,” adds Hussain,who also tutors the kids in maths. “It’s been a great experience,” he adds,“children who have less appreciate more,so yes,it’s a delight teaching them,” he smiles.