"Jannat ki Rail"

Jannat ki Rail

The Train to Heaven
A short experimental film by Yousuf Saeed

New Delhi, India, 2006
Duration: 07 minutes +
Original language: Urdu-Hindi
Subtitles: English

Summary: Deriving from the images and sounds of the contemporary Muslim culture of India, this short film celebrates the spirit of popular faith and its expression. Using the allegory of a train journey, the song and the images from devotional posters weave a tapestry of the popular Indian Islam and its folklore.

Among the most vibrant examples of popular visual art found in Indian towns and villages are the religious posters and calendars depicting deities, saints, and places of worship, sold at shops or roadside stalls near temples, mosques, and dargahs, and adorned at walls inside homes, shops, or in worship-corners. The modern printing press and the mass production industry have transformed this art form into a full-fledged mass culture, characterized by its own popular aesthetics, the depiction of the folklore, and the marketing devices. Although a majority of Muslim posters available in south Asia portray the shrines at Mecca and Medina, or the Quranic verses in calligraphy, it is also common to find the portraits of local saints, their tombs, miracles, and other folklore, represented as vividly as in a Hindu mythological scene.

Also sold with these images are cassettes of popular devotional songs that have much in common with the posters. One such song, Jannat ki Rail (The Train to Heaven) uses the allegory of a train journey - a very common symbol in India's rural landscape - to express the popular devotion and religious aspirations of Indian Muslims. The affects used in this short digital film especially complement the popular esthetics of the images and the music.