Norway’s Mela 2002 – Maybe!

AUGUST 2002 - My heart goes out to Khalid Saleemi who has been at work in faraway Oslo putting together an ambitious project, Mela 2002. He has run into a large wall here in Pakistan where things never move as they usually do in the rest of the world. Having been away almost 28 years or so, living and working in Norway, he has lost that deadly cunning instinct you need if you want anything done here in Pakistan. Consequently with less than a month to go, he is a very worried man. But what is this all about?

Mela 2002 has been on the drawing boards for about two years. Khalid who is an anthropologist by profession is also the Deputy Director of this project that has been initiated by the Norwegian Arts Council (NAC), the government of Norway and the Pakistani community in Norway. There are an estimated 60,000 Pakistanis who live and work there. The idea was to bring the best of Pakistan’s culture to Oslo for a three day event starting on 6th September. In an unprecedented move, His Majesty, the King of Norway, has graciously accepted the invitation to inaugurate the festival – an honour indeed for our country. Together with his Norwegian friends and countless connections in the world of artists and musicians in Pakistan, Khalid has been painstakingly putting together a team of about 50 performing artists that would travel to Oslo and perform there – and perhaps in other parts of Norway as well. There are painters, dramatists, writers, dancers, musicians who form the list and some of them are not new to Norway either. The Norwegian Arts Council has been active for years and somehow exhibits a deep and abiding affinity for our artists since there are many who have visited Oslo and experienced the great affection the Norwegians have for us. I am, personally, at a loss to understand this, but then strange are the ways of the world. Their organization in Pakistan – one assumes it still exists and hasn’t fled like the rest of the world has - NORAD, has been extremely active for years. I have little personal knowledge of all they have done, but on many occasions met and saw performances from Norwegian artists and heard from many friends about their own performances in Norway that were appreciated by the people. Samina Peerzada, Madeeha Gauhar, Salima Hashmi and scores of others have travelled and performed there so obviously there is something about our (abandoned) culture the Norwegians love.

To make Mela 2002 happen, Khalid and the NAC have put together Rs 42 million so far that will cover the costs of putting on Mela 2002. All the artists who have been chosen by the Norwegians assiduously will be guests of the Norwegian government and all expenses, including their performing fees have been earmarked and accounted for. Some Pakistanis have already travelled to Norway to put together final touches to where the shows are to be held and all have been in a state of readiness as the final date has come closer. The Pakistani ambassador to Norway has been deeply involved in the project convinced that it can only bring laurels to our country and create a favourable image that can contradict the much larger picture that the west carries about us. However, inspite of all the best efforts, the project has run into stormy seas. Perhaps many might have missed Khalid Saleemi’s press conference in Lahore last week where he despairingly announced that Mela 2002 was in serious trouble. After all that has been done, the project is short of funds, which largely relate to two areas. The first is the freight that is required to transport a traditional decorative truck all the way to Oslo where it will be on display for quite some time and will then be returned to Pakistan. This truck represents something unique about our country and we are all well aware of the fascination that this art-form has acquired for westerners. There are books and documentaries about them and it is a great symbol that reflects our unique artistic talents. However, carrying a truck is no easy matter and the costs are high, but the Mela has no more money left to pay for it. The second area that has caused the organizers sleepless nights is the cost of transporting about 50 artists to Oslo and back – there are direct PIA flights to Oslo but who is going to fund 50 tickets?

Without the 50 artists, the Mela loses all impact and drama. It loses out on crowd appeal and it will render the entire exercise largely meaningless. Khalid Saleemi made yet another trip to Pakistan, as did the Ambassador, to try and meet the people that matter and get these two projects funded. I know for a fact that for ten days, Khalid ran up and down Islamabad talking to many, many people – all well-meaning, all sincere, all enthused with the idea of Mela 2002, but at the end of the day, with time running out, he has nothing in his hands, not even one ticket. Being an animal sadly out of touch with the way things get done here – through the highest interventions and at the very last second, he has simply despaired. He had thought that the alarm his press conference would initiate would result in something. It has. Nothing. Whoever he talks to – and he has talked to and met many important officials, have promised to make things happen, but of course, we who live and survive here, know that this is much like the mirages we see. There is no shortage of good-intentioned people – Pakistan’s full of them, but that is neither here nor there. Some of them have spoken to very important people – both in the army and in the Ministry of Culture – letters and faxes have flown around and at every level, there have been positive murmurs, but nothing has moved. Khalid Saleemi has understood that a project need not have high merit to be considered. It can happen, irrespective of whatever merit it has or does not have, provided you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone – that’s a long line and there can be many breaks. Officials are simply unavailable, don’t have the time, are rushing to yet another emergency meeting and there are always far more important things on the agenda.

God knows how badly we need to represent the other side of our country – the land where music and the arts have flourished for centuries, where some of the most eloquent poetry and music for the soul have come pouring out, where so much natural talent lies, largely unrecognized. It is true that our main boulevards feature Ghauri missiles and not poets or dancers or abstract pieces of great art, but there is no holding back the refrain of wonderful words or beautiful melodies that reach further than speeches and promises. It is this side of our country we have long abandoned and it is here that our neighbour that we love to hate, has excelled. All things creative as far as the world knows, are Indian. We are home to Osama Bin Laden and his tribe of misguided zealots. We have another side, but who has seen it? Yesterday, Khalid Saleemi called and asked me if I knew Mr. Tressler – I do and I don’t. Our families grew up together aeons ago, but all I could tell Khalid was that it was too long a shot. Of course, Mr. Tressler will be at the Mela being a guest of the Norwegians, but whether the truck will make it or indeed the 50 artists, is a matter that only the highest in the land can decide.

This summer we air-freighted 5 tons of mangoes and distributed these free to the surprised and bemused Norwegians. They must wonder how can a country air freight mangoes and not artists?