Mobeen Ansari’s Session with AKR
And the group is quite real, this is something that most would have realised after attending the session by Mobeen Ansari that the admin arranged at Allaince Francaise. What I really like about this group is that unlike quite some other groups (related to various other topics), people are not constantly trying to find an opportunity to start bashing someone or pulling each other’s legs, this is something strongly emphasised upon in the rules as well. Also, not being allowed to post selfies or food and drink pictures is such an ultimate blessing because there is more to life than just food and drinks, and perhaps the much talked about topic, apparel brands too. There are books, nature and countless other things to talk about that we often tend to ignore and yet find solace in the most mediocre things (alright food is an exception).
Mobeen was right on time despite those evening chaotic traffic jams and our road-less Karachi, this simply shows how serious and professional he was on his part. He is undoubtedly a great photographer as ascertained by his acuity and artsy nature; apart from that, he is quite a motivational speaker too. This thought can be established without any further ado that Mobeen’s work has a very didactic approach through which he has gone to great lengths towards establishing a positive image of Pakistan and has travelled to places not much explored while he has also highlighted the minorities of the country.
With his story telling stance and being able to see
beyond the obvious, he has produced some astounding work which he has published in
his book, Dharkan – The Heartbeat of a Nation. No one would have thought about
gathering intriguing personalities of Pakistan from yesteryear and the present
era to be photographed the way he did. Currently, Mobeen is working on the second version of
the same book which is expected soon. As told by him, the image on the cover of
his book is that of a gate’s in Swat, just ahead of Mondal Dag. It was painted
into a Pakistani flag by the army and the locals as a sign of
patriotism as it marked bringing Swat back to norm post Zarb-e-Azb.
He further showed the audience some very astonishing
pictures that he had captured throughout his travels in Pakistan, ranging from
people of Chitral, Hunza to renowned personalities the Pakistani showbiz has
ever produced. One of the pictures that caught the attention of everyone in the
room was of a gorgeous little girl who was following him playfully
as he journeyed all the way to Thatta, he turned around and was about to click
when she told him to wait, pulled her dupatta over her head and posed away. The
sheer innocence in her eyes and the lovely smile speak a thousand unsaid words!
You simply can’t pull your eyes off her. It takes a photographer to be highly
attentive so that he/she clicks on the spur of the moment in order to produce some
great work like this; you never know what the next moment would bring you and
whether you would be able to freeze it into a memory ...
Who doesn’t remember or rather doesn’t know Tariq Aziz? At
least most know that he was the brains behind the television game show, Neelam
Ghar in Pakistan and has been the pioneer of such games shows in general. “How
old do you think he is?” asked Mobeen, some said 70 while some said 75, the
maximum anyone could reach was the figure, 80. “He is 89 years old ...,” he
corrected us, thus having our jaws drop as everyone gasped in surprised. This
talented person’s photography would just make you nostalgic and make you want
to time travel again to your childhood when nonchalance was perhaps a norm and
worries few. Tariq Aziz after all these years has the same demeanour and the
same dressing style, nothing about him has changed, he hasn’t even aged much!
See for yourself.
The picture below would make you want to travel to Hunza
right away; it’s so vibrant and powerful in its own way.
Emaan Ali’s picture that he snapped highlight’s her
beauty in black and white while showcasing Mobeen’s own reflection in the
window while capturing the picture itself, this simply adds more meaning to the
entire composition, apart from the extremely beautiful subject.
Over the years, he has made it a point to not just get
done with his work but to create everlasting relationships even with those who
wouldn’t understand his language. Some people in Chitral and Hunza that he has
photographed serve as an example. According to the tip he shared, if he takes 20 to 30
minutes for a person’s photo shoot, he spends a major chunk of time
establishing rapport with that person and spends the last 5 minutes in actually
taking the photograph. Below is the picture of the lady he had visited
and revisited over the years, he showed us three pictures with the aging
process being very evident hence time is what you see other than the lady
herself. Time is of the essence, so is photography …
Mobeen loves to capture people, eras and times apart,
though for obvious reasons the first picture below wasn’t taken by him (he
didn’t exist why else? :) )
he made sure that he brings both musicians together again after all these
years, Alamgir and Aamir Zaki! Alamgir used to sing at cafés until he was
discovered by somebody from radio/television and then he brought Aamir Zaki
along. One can see the same level of excitement and bonding in both the images.
For some odd reason, Alamgir’s tale of struggle during the early phase of his
career (he only had a guitar and a few clothes when he used to sing at a café
at Tariq Road and barter for his dinner) has relevance to what William Shakespeare
wrote in As You Like It (ahh school days ...):
Under
the greenwood tree
Who
loves to lie with me,
And
turn his merry note
Unto
the sweet bird's throat,
Come
hither, come hither, come hither:
Here shall he see
No enemy
But
winter and rough weather.
Who
doth ambition shun
And
loves to live i' the sun,
Seeking
the food he eats,
And
pleased with what he gets,
Come
hither, come hither, come hither:
Here shall he see
No enemy
But
winter and rough weather.
He is currently working another edition of his book which is expected soon.Towards the end, Mobeen played his silent documentary
highlighting an unsung hero who goes to the depth of filth quite literally to
make our lives easier and clean. It’s about a person, Masih who cleans gutters and
ekes out a living through the most depressing and disgusting job possible,
diving into overflowing manholes, meanwhile trying to keep the city clean.
Here’s the trailer: https://www.facebook.com/mobeenart/videos/
So the next time you feel frustrated with your job, watch this and thank God for the job you have because that’s what I did just then. We always ask for something better and something worth a higher value but this documentary would suffice to make you beyond satisfied with what you have.
So the next time you feel frustrated with your job, watch this and thank God for the job you have because that’s what I did just then. We always ask for something better and something worth a higher value but this documentary would suffice to make you beyond satisfied with what you have.
Something that made me take a sigh of
relief is that though I’m among the minority of Nikon users, Mobeen being a
very professional photographer is one of them, Nikon does wonders actually and you should have a good sense of observation too.
And yes … the water cooler! The ‘yeh water cooler aap ka
huwa’ came to life from just being rendered a mere metaphor these years. The
admin of the group gave Mobeen a water cooler. Now he will never be thirsty
again!
 | |
| One of the group admins, Sajid Dadabhoy presenting the water cooler to Mobeen (Photo Credit: Obaid Chawla) |
Disclaimer: I have picked photographs from Mobeen's own Facebook page for this post unless otherwise stated.
Thanks, what a wonderfully written blog. Much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteEk waataar cooler aap ka beh huwa !
SD
Thanks, SD! Though I'm still not convinced for the blue one. Hahaha!
DeleteReally interesting read, Hiba! And I really like how you've picked some photos from Mubeen's collection and talked about them in more detail :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, Rimsha. Let's go on a photography expedition some day. :)
Delete
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