A Mirror of Imagination

Khayal Darpan

Overview

In a quest to explore the impact of India's Partition on the classical music traditions of South Asia, Delhi-based filmmaker Yousuf Saeed spent about 6 months in Pakistan in 2005. After traveling in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad - interviewing musicians and scholars, attending music concerts, and observing the teaching of music in various institutions, Yousuf not only documented some of the surviving practitioners and patrons of classical music, but also raised many vital questions, about cultural identity, nationalism, legitimacy of music in Islam, Pakistan's popular culture and its affairs with India, and the survival of classical music itself in South Asia. This quest has resulted in a musical documentary film, Khayal Darpan, featuring some well-known as well as many lesser known but talented musicians of Pakistan.