About the Film
Artisans write verses of ancient Jain texts in a calligraphic style on evenly sized handmade paper with gold ink. The actions of dipping into the ink pot, the smooth flow of gold ink on paper require caution and control. One witnesses the slow, meticulous and meditative writing technique that produces beautiful, stylized texts or manuscripts. Filmed in Surendranagar and Ahmedabad, in Gujarat, Western India, this practice of writing manuscripts in the traditional method is today hard to find.
Yasin Sheikh, the son of Yunis Usman Sheikh is one unique Muslim family that have continued the art of manuscript writing for two generations now. The texts written on red handmade paper with gold ink are by the two artisans that work at Yasin’s home.
Dr. Jitendra B Shah, a Jain scholar and expert on Jain manuscripts, speaks about the history of these texts, how the practice of writing and circulating manuscripts spread across the East, and what they mean for Jainism as a whole.
About the Director
Harsha Vinay is the Founder Director of Green Barbet Ltd, India, a company that provides curatorial services for museums and cultural organizations within and outside India. He has over 13 years’ experience as a cultural practitioner - curating exhibitions for international museums, directing documentary films on living traditions of India, and interfacing with artists and artisans in organizing symposia, workshops and collaborative events. This apart he manages the Alice Boner Institute Residency Programme in Varanasi and its cultural programming. He is co-editor of a research publication series called Alice Boner Dialogues and has contributed essays to exhibition catalogues, newspapers and magazines. His cultural engagement with institutions is diverse and includes government museums under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, Embassies, international Universities, art galleries, cultural foundations, and non-profit organizations workings with the arts. Harsha lives and works between Varanasi and Bangalore, India.
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