In Search of Meluhha: The Story of Mohenjodaro

In Search of Meluhha frames the Indus Valley Civilization within the current context of South Asia. Recent Indus floods have highlighted the precarious nature of the Indus River Delta. New research has shown that the Indus Civilization existed at a ‘Goldilocks moment’. With the thawing of tensions between India and Pakistan, In Search of Meluhha is the kind of a Goldilocks project that presents a view of pre-history irrespective of nationalist or religious identity.
The filmmakers begin the Story of Mohenjodaro with breathtaking visuals that take the viewers to the flood plains of Indus River. The subsequent narrative is driven by insightful interviews that articulate subject’s relation to Indus valley civilization and the inspiring effect it has had on their identity as artists, artisans and activists. As a short form documentary, In Search of Meluhha presents a rare opportunity to experience the remnants of a unique civilization and to learn from our combined human experience.

“A captivating approach to ancient Indus culture through the lives of the people who still live in its rich shadows. Something only an original documentary film in the hands of an artist can do.” Omar Khan, Scholar and founder of harappa.com.

“A poignant depiction of Mohenjodaro that positions the historical heritage in the context of current day residents of the area as well as the larger context of Pakistan and South Asia”, Professor Lutfus Saeed, San Francisco State University.

Director’s Statement
(Saqib Mausoof)

I was born in Pakistan and have always felt a strong connection with Sindh, Indus River and Mohenjo Daro. I work in advertising and my job is to be a storyteller for brands and therefore it is natural for me to leverage my skills to tell stories from the land of my birth in a way that they deserves to be told, through the voices of its citizens, the inheritors of the Indus civilization.

In Search of Meluhha, is the story of Mohenjodaro actually told through the eyes of its inheritors. The last is important, because while I have tried to frame the film with verified archeological research, this project is not an academic exercise, or a thesis statement. In fact the narrative represents the voice of Sindhu culture, by the people who live in the land of Indus and are for most parts its inheritors.

Some points that I have tried to address in the narrative are outlined below. These are my opinions as a filmmaker.

1. The name Meluhha is what the Indus Valley Civilization was called by Sumerians. It is so mentioned in Akkadian scrolls, and therefore I have opted for this name rather then Mohenjo Daro or Harappa.

2. The name Indus itself is a British invention, although now popular and accepted, a more appropriate name is Sindhu valley civilization. However, for wider recognition I have used the name Indus.

3. The local voice is frequently missing from the conversation on the Indus civilization, as most experts are western academics. This is not a criticism of the excellent work that has been, but rather an attempt at raising awareness of local activist, archaeologists and artists. Throughout this narrative we play out issues that capture the effect of Indus flooding, impeding climate change, the attitude of successive Pakistani regimes and how the Indus valley civilization plays out in modern Pakistani culture, a predominantly Muslim nation on the fault line of modernity and militancy

4. The question on the status the dancer of Mohenjo daro remains debatable as well. How the dancing girl’s statue, one of the most endearing findings from Mohenjo Daro, was first categorized by the Colonial archeologists as a dancing girl, i.e. a nautch girl, then later used in advertising brochures to attract tourism and now she(the dancer) is being termed a priestess and a princess in a wave of political correctness. However, the fact that the dancer can be an inspiration for the inheritors of the Indus is seldom considered, and how much her stance and boldness is a symbol of modern feminism.

5. The potential of the Indus valley site is immense with regards to cultural and anthropological learning that are part of the history of the Indus Plains. In addition, cross-border tourism to the mega cities of the Indus civilization can really uplift the lives of the people who live and thrive on the Indus delta as well as give an opportunity to our neighbors to see their and our combined heritage.

6. Lastly, a call out to people who care about this wonder so that they can join the cause to help preserve Mohenjo Daro and Harappa cities as they fight against salinity and general wear and tear of 5000 year old structures exposed to flooding and erosion.

TEAM

Director: Saqib Mausoof is an award winning Pakistani- American filmmaker. He is the founder of Black Crow Productions and has served on the board of San Francisco Third I Film Festival and AccessSF public television. His feature narrative, Kala Pul – The Black Bridge(2006), a thriller shot in Karachi by Oscar nominated DP Markus Huersch, was short listed at Singapore Media Development Authority’s Asian Festival of First Films. His Shorts, including the critically acclaimed Absolution (2010) have been shown at festivals in San Francisco, London, Princeton, Goa, Lahore and Karachi.



Narrator: Akbar Kurtha trained as an actor in London at one of Britain’s top Drama Schools. His first professional acting role was in Gurinder Chaddah’s debut feature “Bhaji on the Beach” in 1998. He then went to play the title role of Farid in “My Son the Fanatic” opposite Om Puri and is more recently know for Syriana, House of Saddam and as Anil Kapoor’s  brother in “24” Day 8.


Director of Photography: Ozair Rao is a Filmmaker and a Creative Activist from Karachi. He has worked on several Documentaries, Travel Videos, Experimental Videos and Corporate Projects and aims on adapting a life of a digital nomad  His recent work includes Displaced – documentary on street kids, “Jaan Hataylee Per” – A short documentary on media and terrorism and Karigar – A Documentary on fair trade in Pakistan. Currently he is working on a documentary on Sufism called “Safar Dar Watan” – The Journey Within. In his spare time he teaches digital photography at PAF KIET.

Music: Dhyanidharma Mas is an award winning Catalan classical guitarist, who combines Middle eastern instruments such as the Târ, Luth, Santoor, Tamtam, drone and modern techniques such as the electric guitar, synthesizers, and electro-acoustics. He has won the Laureate of the Villa Medicis Extra-Muros, Composer Grand Prix City of Nice, France Prix SACEM and the Conservatory of Nice Prize. Dhyani by heritage is a Roma(Gypsy) and identifies with the desert bearings of Northern India. In his heart he believes the dancer of Mohenjodaro to be a Queen rather then a dancing girl.

Production Manager: Omer Wahaj  is an independent journalist/writer and a part time musician living in Karachi. He is an editor for Papercuts, a literary journal that focuses on poetry, fiction and nonfiction prose by South Asian writers. Having traveled across many cities around the world, Omer has been able to document both the obvious as well subtle nuances of different cultures. He has previously worked in film as part of the production crew for Kala Pul – The Black Bridge (2006) that was shot in Karachi.

Mel Peppas has been working in the video and motion graphics business for 20 years in San Francisco and London. He has created graphics for both the broadcast and corporate worlds, deftly handling 3D and compositing tasks on a multitude of award winning programming that include National geographic channel, PBS Newshour and NBC Dateline. Mel was drawn by the project’s focus on enigmatic places he’s visited in the past, having spent 3 months traveling in India and Pakistan, as well as Iran and Afghanistan during more peaceful times. “Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, riding through the region of Harappa on the roof of a truck would send an echo into the future. Now many years later, I am poring over images of the Indus yet again.”