The ‘Bulbul-e-Kashmir’ sings for Indo-Pak peace

This personal blog post is dedicated to an inspiring couple in Mumbai and to the editor who introduced us: May our tribe increase.

Enduring ties: Seema Sehgal at PIPFPD, Karachi, 2003, with me and my daughter Maha. Photo by Ved Bhasin.

I met Seema Sehgal in Karachi, in December 2003 at the 6th Joint Convention of the Pakistan India Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD). Ved Bhasin, the respected Editor of The Kashmir Times, Jammu, introduced us. “Seema,” he said, “is known as the Bulbul-e-Kashmir (Nightingale of Kashmir).”

Ved Bhasin: Shukriya

The petite and unassuming Mumbai-based ghazal singer from Jammu has none of the airs one might expect from a performer of her calibre. She is not only an amazing artist, but she also has a deep and abiding interest in Urdu poetry and in Indo-Pak peace. When relations plummeted between the two countries following the nuclear tests of May 1998, Seema dedicated her new album ‘Sarhad’ to peace between the India and Pakistan. Continue reading

Video Journalism Movement: ‘Milne do’ – Let Kashmiris meet (documentary, 7 min)

film stillMy 7 min documentary on the importance of people-to-people contact, for Video Journalism Movement – ‘Milne Do’ – Let Kashmiris meet

MUSIC:
Composition and voice – Seema Anil Sehgal
Lyrics – ‘Guftugu band na ho’ by Ali Sardar Jafri

CAMERA: Shehrbano Saiyid & Jibran Jawaid

NON-LINEAR EDITING: Abdul Wahab & Mirza Waseem, IndieVisuals, Karachi

NOTE: This documentary was made for the Video Journalism Movement, a new media website launched Oct 5, 2009 – they take cartoons and short documentaries/features. Details at http://www.vjmovement.com.

Cartoonists and video journalists can also email editorial desk with ideas: journalists@vjmovement.com

For further information, contact VJM Marketing Director Stacey Griffin at sgriffin@vjmovement.com

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