Written by: Nimra Khan
Posted on: July 26, 2018 | 
| 中文
A depiction of Salman Alam Khan's works
Set against the backdrop of old weary buildings and brutal city traffic, amid roaring engines and honking horns, the little park on Pakistan Chowk recently housed a two-day photographic exhibition by Salman Alam Khan. Organized by Pakistan Chowk Community Centre (PCCC), “Knitted Beliefs” brings focus on the religious tolerance of the marginalized communities residing in Narayanpura in the Ranchore Lines neighborhood, Pakistan’s largest minority compound. The project is produced as part of the Pakistan International Photo Festival Fellowship 2017, under the mentorship of Matthieu Paley (photographer, National Geographic) and Shah Zaman Baloch.
Narayanpura is a low-income area home to members of the Christians, Hindus and Sikhs communities of Karachi, all living together in peace and harmony. A majority of the residents are employees of the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) as part of the janitorial staff, which itself is a product of their ostracism as such jobs have been unofficially reserved for lower class religious minorities. The neighborhood has thus been given the derogatory name of Bhangi Para.
The photographs themselves document the lives of these residents, highlighting the multiculturalism, tolerance and brotherhood in this community, where differences of belief, rituals, and festivals are celebrated. Such contrasts — such as the photograph of a man in Sikh attire passing by a church — are not presented as jarring but sit comfortably, integrated even as they stand out. The images are a look into the environment of the neighborhood; its buildings, its interiors, its activities, its humans, depicting their warmth, heterogeneity and togetherness.
With projects like this it is easy to fall into the trap of approaching the subject from the outside, from a position of power, which brings a sense of othering. Khan, however talks about what attracted him to this place, which was not what they don’t have but rather what they do have – this kinship and a sense of community despite obvious differences. Coming from a traditional conservative family from Lahore, Khan describes how he was used to an environment that differentiates between ‘us’ and ‘them’, where derogatory terms are common and discrimination is rampant in society. These notions were not merely challenged, but overturned when he visited Narayanpura, where a church, mandir, mazaar, and gurdwara peacefully co-exist within the same locality. He spent an extended amount of time within the community, befriending the locals, visiting their places of worship and their homes, eating with them and celebrating with them, which allowed him to approach his subjects as people, and depict their way of life from the inside, as part of their world. In a brief talk on the opening day, he also invited Guddo Bhai, a Sikh resident of Narayanpura, who spoke about his experience of living in this community and how it has been better than heaven on earth.
Khan admits that the experience has taught him how to look at marginalized communities in our midst, and opened his mind to their unfair treatment, which is hard for those from the majority to understand or accept. He finds it inspiring to see people with such differences living together, when his Shiite friends have lost their lives in sectarian violence despite belonging to the Muslim majority. “I have learnt that we get caught up in our beliefs, race, caste, creed, but it’s not about that, it’s about humans, and humans are beautiful,” he says.
This is apparent in the ways these images seem more familiar than different, depicting just another area within the country, full of buildings, homes and people just like everyone else. The photographs of buildings blend into the actual surrounding landscape they are set against, emphasizing this fact. But one comes to the disconcerting realization that despite these similarities, these minority groups have been forced to carve out a small area for themselves in order to exist in this peace and harmony, away from the intolerance pervading the society.
Within these works we see beautiful faces, wedding celebrations, religious rituals, and people going about their day; raw expressions of life, displayed without the objectifying constriction of glass and frame, outside the enclosed white walls of the gallery, not merely showing us what it represents but allowing us to experience it. ‘Knitted Beliefs’ has given a true depiction of Pakistani minorities and serves as a lesson for all of us to realize and understand their issues.
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