In Kolkata: An Island Of Afghans
International Gallerie|Volume 19 No.1, 2016, MIGRATION

“…‘O Kabuliwala! Kabuliwala!’ and the two friends, so unequal in age, would subside into their old laughter and their old jokes…” so wrote Rabindranath Tagore in 1892, in his short story in Bengali, Kabuliwala, about a man from a distant land –– Afghanistan –– living in Calcutta [now Kolkata]. Since then, Kabuliwala has been translated into many Indian and foreign languages with cinematic adaptations and theatrical performances. While until a few decades ago, “real” Kabuliwalas were a common sight on the streets of Kolkata, as in most cities of north, west and central India, stereotypes have formed an ambiguous image of these people today. Moska Najib and Nazes Afroz, two journalist-cum-photographers, co-document the Kabuliwalas of Kolkata, tracing the social transformations within this community over the past 100 years. Shifting fates and cultural integration is intimated in Najib’s [An Afghan herself] own approach, as she articulates how the past accompanies migrants, either scribbled on a piece of paper, in a passport, in memories, and often in their changing geographies. Therefore, while Najib the photographer, scans her own Afghan identity, Afroz is in search of a people and a city [Kolkata] that was once his home.

Moska Najib & Nazes Afroz
In Kolkata: An Island Of Afghans

Taking cues from the literary and aesthetic themes encapsulated in Tagore’s short story, we captured the narrative of this secluded and little-known settlement in the present time through documentary photography. This series connects viewers to the theme of human bonding as narrated by Tagore while contextualising issues of loss of identity and a new sense of belonging. We are all familiar with the idea of the “other” and the story of Kabuliwalas in Calcutta highlights this aspect of human migration.

Photography here, plays the role of a witness and moderator. It also creates a line of sight between fiction and reality drawn from Tagore’s narrative of a Kabuliwala in India who eventually returns to his homeland. Hence, it is a narrative where fantasy is brought within the grasp of the real through a historical account — where the idea of home is usually conditioned around memory — one that is lived and the other that is imagined.

This story is from the Volume 19 No.1, 2016, MIGRATION edition of International Gallerie.

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This story is from the Volume 19 No.1, 2016, MIGRATION edition of International Gallerie.

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