Threads of Time - ACE440.2

Dancer standing on hillside. Silks blowing. Red thread. Dancers. Woman weaving. Engraving of British military attack. Dancer in circle of writing. Batik, Sari Sari Night. Shaheen Merali talking about his mother having to work in a factory when the family immigrated from Tanzania. He says that Sari Sari Night is a tribute to Indian women forced into factory and textile work, jobs that no-one else wanted. Batik. Merali describes the painting and says that women’s contribution to labour is generally ignored world-wide. Photographs of Indian women working, carrying water, throwing pots, weaving baskets, machining, etc. Bhajan Hunchar talking about the communal and social aspects of embroidery in the Punjab, a non-patriarchal activity. She says that this women’s work is not documented and hopes that incorporating images of embroidery in her work will help remedy that. Examples of embroidery. Hunchar’s VO describes the symbols and colours. She says such work cannot be compared to any art in the West as it was created for different reasons. Woman weaving. Woman’s VO reads "I arrived as a stranger, and saw my mother sat there weaving the tapestry of her ancestors. She had embarked on a journey where brown skin brushed against cotton, and I chased after her with a gift of flowers…" Flowers. Dancer. Woman weaving.