When the great partition hit innumerable people of India and Pakistan, it brought rage in a million more citizens of both the nations. People had to leave their homes and be on streets for days, months; for some it became a forever home. Almost everybody cursed the partition. Almost everybody! But then there were a few families which stood firm on their grounds, witnessed a difficult phase, but, today, that phase has made them strong enough to leave their mark not only in India or Pakistan, but all around the world.
The multitalented, the effervescent, fashion and art photographer, radio host and jewellery designer, Mustapha Tapu Javeri’s is one of the most influential people in his country. He is an exceptional artist, having won the title of Nikon’s top 32 photographer in the world. His comes from a proud Gujarati family, which decided to live in Pakistan post-partition. While very few Gujaratis could prosper in the country, his family turned out to become renowned jewellers. It was from his parents that he developed the artistic character and his sister became a high-ranking civil servant in Pakistan.
Featuring Tapu along with 99 other most influential Gujaratis from various parts of the world, India’s eminent media house, Maneesh Media, is coming up with a coffee-table book (a creation of wonderful pictorial biographies) to be released today, Thursday, the 17 of January. Not many pictorial anthologies are written, neither do many Indian books praise many Pakistani artists. But the talent Mustapha has and the mark he has made make him a true jewel to be written create legacy. Tapu too has been a regular visitor to India, often exchanging fashion ideas between the two countries.
With the Jewels of Gujarat, we hope Indo-Pakistan relations improve even more. Art can definitely end the differences and such initiatives with people like Mustapha will for sure bring the difference, not only bringing the two neighboring nations together, but giving the world the lesson of connecting beyond boundaries.
