On holding on to the river & more

Indus Canals project shelved // The strong opposition to a proposal to build canals on the Indus appears to have worked. The protests began at the grassroots level in Sindh, decrying the catastrophic impact it would have on Sindh’s share of water. In a context where no amount of protest over anything has worked in the past couple of years, this is quite refreshing. But while we celebrate, we also need to keep following this with caution because it might resurface at any point, just packaged differently.

A jazz twist to Bulla Ki Jaana  // Came across this lovely clip of Rabbi Shergill delivering a jazz-infused performance of Bulla Ki Jaana at the historic Biella Jazz Club in Italy last year.

The Studio // This show has packaged together all the crazy shit you hear about how Hollywood studios operate in an extremely gripping comedy. And if you’re into that, The Franchise is the HBO version of this with a similar premise.

Gila // Shae Gill’s ‘karo na karo gila’ hook in this is hooking like it’s supposed to.

Karmash goes to Cannes // We have a selection for the Cannes this year that strangely has received very little coverage. Aleem Bukhari's film, Karmash, is set to premiere in the Short & Medium length category for the Directors' Fortnight.

Men going back to war // While we deal with a looming war with memes, our defense minister has stated that strategic preparations have been made because an Indian attack is imminent, and the next 2-3 days are crucial. Next 2-3 days have been crucial for the past week though so not sure what to make of this.

Behram‘s Bake Day // Hira Ata has beautifully captured Gilgit in autumn in her illustrative children’s book, Behram‘s Bake Day.

Groot Guardians // These convertible shelters for street cats and dogs that double as ad spaces are trying to make animal shelters sustainable in India.

Fixing the broken // Redesigning the Indian Railway’s design language for clarity and dignity.

Gulistan // Just some sexy moving Urdu type by Hamza Tariq.

Festive Pill // An Indian designer collaborates with Beats for this super fun limited edition Beats Pill.

I think I’m gonna really dive into the whole content creator thing and start making reels. The video on Kashmir I spontaneously did sort of got rid of most of my anxiety and self-image concerns and I feel a little more comfortable being on video. So all those design related subjects I have had in mind around history and culture and public spaces will finally see the light of day. More on how I’m structuring this in the next issue.

Until that, shab bakhair 🌅🤍

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