This work by Suryadoy which he refers to as ‘an exploration of daily survival’, tells the story of struggling endurance. Buried behind the laws of man-made borders, ‘the nuance of life’ of a forgotten community are a testament to both struggle and resilience, he explains. Lost within the political debates of security, they are barred from the simple right to a peaceful life. This is not merely lost freedom; it’s a constant humiliating fight to find a home with another’s permission. Humanity is lost behind these fences and families torn apart by a conflict they did not create.
Their economic, social, and political existence lies entirely at the mercy of the fences, the very ones that divide them from their own people. Such is humanity’s obsession with creating division and territory. ‘The shifting light, the mundane artefacts, and the simple rituals of life became threads in a larger tapestry.’ Bound by greed and politics, life seems to have lost its colour for those who had the misfortune of being born near the borders, locked behind fences.
Yet, the border melts for one day during Maha Shivratri, when people are allowed to reunite with their own ‘for a single day of shared faith and tradition.’ They gather to pay homage at an old Shiva temple located in no man’s land, an event ironically facilitated by the same security forces who oversee this very division. In that fleeting moment, the fences seem to dissolve, offering a glimmer of hope, of borders being broken to uplift ‘human connection and cultural heritage.’ After all, if division is man-made, then unity, too, can be reclaimed.
This story compels us to look beyond the barbed wire, to see the people, their resilience, and the universal longing for connection that binds us all.
