Pablo Picasso once asked this very interesting question that “Who sees the human face correctly: the photographer, the mirror, or the painter?†He didn’t give any answer or explanation and I am not sure if there is an answer to this question. Or is there?
I recently found this wonderful work by Maciej Dakowicz, a UK based freelance photographer who spent 4 weeks in April 2006 in Pakistan and instantly fell in love with its people and places. He writes “What a great country to travel, it is a bit like India, but without all the hassle. People are extremely friendly and hospitable and I have never met such people before. They like to talk to you – I had to answer “What’s your name?†and “What is your country?†questions hundreds of times – it is tiring after some time. I was invited for a cup of tea and offered a cold drink lots of time. Once in a restaurant a man I have never seen paid for my meal..”
For ATP readers interest, I am posting four selected photos taken by Maciej Dakowicz. Each one of them tells a story in itself and all you have to do is tell us what is the first thing or thought that comes in your mind when you see the photograph. Should be interesting :)
Click on each image for enlarged view. A version of this post also appeared on Lahore Metblog in December 2006.
Photograph on bottom-left reminds me of street cafes in Paris. Very nice capture.
The old man in the photo seems to be looking at tasbeeh in disbelief? Looking for something.
Did Faiz write poetry in Punjabi too? I didn’t know that.
1.
Rabba sachiya tuN te aakhiya si
Ja o bandiya jag da shah haiN tuN
…
Kaddi saar vi layee o rab saanyiaaN
Teray shah naal jag ke keetiyaaN ne
[Faiz]
O truthful Lord, you had said
Go, you are king of the world
…
Did you ever bother to enquire
How the world has treated your king?
2.
Kisi tarah tau jamay bazm maykaday waalo
NahiN jo baad-o-saaghar tau haao hoo hi sahi
[Faiz]
Could anyone please translate this one.
I suppose I’m not qualified to comment on the photos, as I’m not from Pakistan. But it’s great to see different sides of Pakistan that don’t get shown on the news. Thanks for this interesting post!
1.Meditation…Prayer beads..Tasbeeh..Mala
2.Desi Tea House..ladies not allowed..wild wild east.
3.Recession..may be Depression.
4.Madrasa…brain washing..
the old man is probably wondering what he has to do to make his prayers heard. Just about describes the state of 90% population of Pakistan living in poverty and misery.
Nice collection of images.