Dispatches from Pakistan

Several Dawns over the Indus: Three Maps

1 SeveralDawnsovertheIndus ThreeMaps zahra malkani maps are not perfect copies of what lies on the ground. They are re-presentations, explorations: they harbor feelings as much as lines and curves. The first map, with English writing in stencil, names Pakistan’s largest administrative areas: Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan, and Sindh. The names leak across borders, following the trails of the people in their extended homelands: the Baloch cross into Iran, the Sindhis into India. These are historical boundaries, not identical to political ones. The second map juxtaposes the outline maps of Balochistan and Bangladesh.They are about the same size.Will they have the same fate? The third map, in pencil, shows the swollen Indus and its tributaries . They connect the entire region and, when they choose, flood the plains and displace the people. Below the map is a verse by Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. It was originally written in Sindhi and is from his Shah Jo Risalo. 2 Zahra Malkani several dawns over the indus 3 Where with violence waters flow and beasts abound Where even through sailors, waters depth cannot be found, Where furious beasts of water howl and roar, Where whole boats are sunk without a trace, Not a sign, no piece of their board remains: Where from whirlpools mysterious, none ever come back, There, lord, to those who cannot swim render thy help. —Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai ...