Date:08/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/08/stories/2008010850740200.htm

New Delhi

The forgotten face of Afghanistan

Kunal Diwan

Dutch shutterbug ‘cap’tures Afghani headgear in pictures

The other picture: ‘Pakul’, the round-topped men’s hat in Afghanistan, is a recurrent motif in Anne Feenstra’s photographs.

NEW DELHI: “How would you feel if one unfailingly associated the cultural cauldron of India with images from Bollywood and little else? These are exactly the sentiments of thousands of Afghanis who have seen their country become a symbol of strife and violence the world over,” says Dutch architect Anne Feenstra who has spent the past three years in Afghanistan discovering the culture of the country as it tries to find its feet post-9/11.

In the Capital for an exhibition of his photographic portraits from Afghanistan, “Afghan Pakul”, presently on view at Market Café in Khan Market -- Feenstra says his endeavour is to capture the overlooked aspect of Afghanistan. “Though six years have passed since the Taliban was overthrown and fighting is confined to certain regions of the country, the preponderance of images from Afghanistan is about war. There are few representations of the other side -- images from the lives of people who are not involved in war,” he says.

The motif in Feenstra’s photographs is the Afghani ‘pakul’ or the round-topped men’s hat typically made of wool and part of the staple attire of men folk in Afghanistan’s mountainous regions. “Photographs of men wearing ‘pakuls’ were unfailingly identified with the war of resistance against the Soviet Union. More recently, the hat acquired a wider symbolism and was considered synonymous with fighting and fighters in Afghanistan.”

Apart from proving protection against the fierce winter, the ‘pakul’ also provides a cushioning for the head as its wearer touches his forehead to the ground in prayer.

“The photographs convey everyday activities of the ordinary Afghani living and surviving from day to day, including one of a father worrying about his sick child, a craftsman concentrating as he repairs shoes and that of a boy enjoying a donkey ride,” he adds.

His photographic excursions apart, Feenstra has been teaching pro bono at Kabul University and has picked up enough Dari (the most commonly spoken language in Afghanistan) that enables him to interact with students and locals. He has also designed the Visitor’s Centre at Pamir National Park in the gorgeous Wakhan corridor of Northern Afghanistan.

The exhibition is open for viewing up to January 21.