Jhulelal, 2020

Clay, potpourri, and bead, 4" x "6

Nimra Bandukwala & Manahil Bandukwala

Nimra Bandukwala (she/her) is a Pakistani artist, community facilitator, and a master’s student in Occupational Therapy based in Mississauga and the UK. She is interested in the intersections of making, storytelling, culture, and wellbeing. She co-leads Reth aur Reghistan and has led art-based workshops for neurodiverse children and adults. She currently facilitates workshops for seniors in the South Asian community.

Manahil Bandukwala (she/her) is a Pakistani writer and artist. Her most recent project, Reth aur Reghistan, is an exploration of Pakistani folklore interpreted through poetry and sculpture. See her recent work in The Malahat Review, CV2, Briarpatch, Augur, and other places. She is a member of VII, an Ottawa-based collaborative writing collective.

“Jhulelal responds to the stories of Hindu deity Jhulelal, who emerged from the Indus River as it flowed through Sindh. He was supposedly able to take the form of the palla fish. We created this sculpture of him based on the origin stories we heard about him in Karachi, as well as depictions of him at the Sri Laxmi Narayan Mandir in Karachi. The fish head, beads, and holy book are all associated with Jhulelal.”