mohaiemen

Shokol Choritro Kalponik

In the context of Bangladesh, where history is never past the pressure for creating what Naeem calls “shothik itihash (correct history)” is immense. Extending his past work on contradictions of “shothik itihash,” Mohaiemen presents a new chapter in “Shokol Choritro Kalponic” (Bengali for “all characters are imaginary,” a disclaimer sometimes shown before television serials or films).

This work replaces the relentlessly dystopic news items of today with alternate realities, using language that falls between research and whimsy. “The ultimate everyday object is the daily vernacular newspaper (not the English edition, within which my own writing sometimes becomes trapped)-- distributed, sold, shared, wall pasted, and finally recycled.”

The single-issue newspaper, “Dainik Kalponik (Daily Imaginary)” is set in a utopian future of 2024 after the victory of communism in Bangladesh. Another way to say all this may be, "Jodi shopne polao khabo, tobe ghee diyei khabo (If I eat polao in my dreams, I may as well eat it with ghee)”.

This 16-page newspaper imagines a past where the left prevailed and looks at the future through that lens. The headlines include: “Delhi erects statue to Felani in front of Parliament,” “Apple opens 2nd factory in Chittagong,” “Bangladesh wins Fifa World Cup, etc.

Thanks: Nazmul Sultan, Nusrat Chowdhury, Shabnam Nadiya.

Commissioned by Dhaka Art Summit, 2014.