be(longing) is a collage of handmade paper remade from pages of a novel named Westaward ho!. Set in the 16th century, the novel is a colonial narrative which constructs identities around nation and religion. Phrases from poems written in South Asia and South West Asia are collaged and reprinted onto the handmade papers. This text is guided by the words of 16th century poets Kabir and Dadu Dayal, whose songs challenge caste hierarchy. The collaged text is also composed of words by Rabia al Basri, Annamacharya and Sarojini Naidu.
In response to today’s proximity of nation-states and religion, phrases from these poems, written in longing for a god, nation or an identity, that read less as symbols or metaphors and more as politically contested markers today were intentionally left out. Instead, phrases that speak of river, ocean, body, moon and stars are woven together in longing for climate health. This collaged text on handmade papers is put together to make an image of water painted with ash (handmade pigment). be(longing) is a reminder in Kabir Panth’s words “ बागो ना जा रे ना जा O friend! Go not there” to assert the importance of the here and now.
