When history comes to life

Pakistan’s early days were brought to life in an exhibition organized by the Citizen’s Archive of Pakistan. Targeted mainly at school children, the exhibition’s main draw was how interactive it was. But it was not only Pakistanis who benefitted, as foreigners too were spotted at Mohatta Palace learning about Pakistan’s stormy Partition days. The exhibition runs till 23 June, 2010 at The Mohatta Palace Museum. This series of photographs is a recollection of people’s experiences at the Birth of Pakistan.

“I think this has made my holiday more meaningful because I learnt more about my neighbour’s history. Pakistan and Iran share some history and culture together, so it was good for me and my children to be here. Like when I saw a Farsi-language poem in the exhibition, it was something very familiar to me, so in a way, it is a little like learning about my culture as well.”

-Mahmood Ghasmpour, 45, an Iranian on holiday with his family in Pakistan

“I feel that the exhibition is really interesting, especially for the young. I’ve been living in Pakistan for 30 years and I’ve seen all its problems but through this exhibition, the young can be reminded again of the hope that had driven the formation of this country. I will definitely bring my Pakistani wife to see it.”

-Henri Souffay, 60, from France

“Almost all the five senses were being put to use as the children went through the different parts of the exhibition. It was good seeing their sense of wonder for their own history stimulated that way. And even though I’ve lived here for almost 10 years now, I still learnt a thing or two about Pakistan’s history.”

-Judith Bradshaw, 48, Pathway School Principal

“I am very impressed with the quality and the amazing range offered by the exhibition. The different levels of interaction and hearing directly the voices of the people during the time of the Partition really brought it to life. The exhibition is objective in a way that the audio tapes also include the sentiments of the Hindus and Sikhs who crossed over to India. However, at the section informing visitors about the modes of transportation undertaken by the migrants, they highlighted the perspective of the Muslims that came from India. But overall, there is a lot of attention paid to the details. For an exhibition this size, it covers a lot and is beautifully done.”

-Jayanti Durai, 40, lives in London, family got separated during Partition

“My friends and I initially were not very interested in Pakistan’s Partition history. I think we are more knowledgeable about the foreign programs shown on TV channels like Disney. But because the exhibition has made it so easy to understand this part of Pakistan’s history, I’m now interested in finding out more even after this visit is over. I might even pay more attention during history class now.”

-Neha Syed, 12, The Mama Parsi Girls’ Secondary School student

“It was really informative and was interesting to find out about the birth of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah. I feel proud to be a Pakistani because it was created with a lot of hard work. Some of the notes written about the Partition made me and my friends cry.”

-Zoha Quraishi, 12, The Mama Parsi Girls’ Secondary School student

“My favourite part of the exhibition was the train because I could hear about the story of the mother who lost her child on a train ride. Hearing stories of how the people were killed during the train rides, and how a child should pretend to be dumb when asked if he was a Hindu or Muslim made the Partition a very real experience for me.”

-Mohammad Arhum, 11, Pathway school student

“It was really informative and was interesting to find out about the birth of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah. I feel proud to be a Pakistani because it was created with a lot of hard work. Some of the notes written about the Partition made me and my friends cry.”

-Zoha Quraishi, 12, The Mama Parsi Girls’ Secondary School student

“I think this was an exhibition that every Pakistani kid should go to because it would really increase their appreciation for how their country was formed and what their forefathers had to go through to build this country.”
-Shahnaz Sethna, Mathematics teacher at the Mama Parsi Girls’ Secondary School

“The passports station was really good because taking it home reminds me of this exhibition, and the things that I learnt from it. The passport itself contained a lot of information, such as how the first Pakistani passport came to be and the origin of the National Anthem, both of which I didn’t know about before coming here.”

-Humza Khan, 11, Pathway School student

“It really brought history to life because the history that I’m learning is very boring. All that I know is read and learn from the books. I liked the replica of the tent the most because I could see the way the refugees lived. I felt sorry for the people because the conditions that they lived in were not good.”

-Abdullah Farooq, 10, Pathway School student

“I hope to make a difference in the lives of the children who come to visit this exhibition. Out of every 100 who come here, about 20 of them walk away changed.”

-Volunteer at the exhibition

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