Shooting in New York

I have been away for a long while. Moving into a studio and managing groceries apart from the semester end work rush was rather heartening I must say.

The film 'Notes on Leaving and Arriving' takes me to film in New York this weekend.
A city I had always wanted to shoot in. And shoot with a small camera.
Am filming at the WTC, Times Square, Houston Street Taxi Drivers in Subways etc.
Am also meeting Bina Sharif: the well known Pakistani theatre artist who wrote and performed immensely on what happened post 9/11. She is to play act testimonies that I had collected in Jamia Nagar some eight years back.

So, usually when I work these days in my apt, I put the recorder on and listen to them again.
Some of them are funny about not being able to hang out in the streets.
Some of them are about loss of love and freedom. All of them are about women who live in this place called 'Jamia Nagar'. All of them, like me, in some way, love the place.

Am still trying to work my way through the complexity of conveying experiences of a place like Batla House.
A place 'on the dark side' to use Dick Cheney's classification of topographies in post 9/11.
I have watched 'Sur Name Viet Given Name Nam' over three times now.
Am struck by the film so completely.

This brings me back to the Theatre Professor I am still looking for:
two months back he opened the door for me as I rushed for class. 'You look like a Terrorist, I must say. You'd play a brilliant one.!'. Let me find you dear Professor. We need to talk.