Lal-Mati

'Lal- Mati' (Red ground), follows the historical journey of the Sufi saint, Shah Jalal, who is credited for being a major figure in spreading Islam to the Indian subcontinent in the 13th century. Having completed his religious training in his early twenties in what is now modern-day Turkey, Shah Jalal was handed a glass vial by his uncle who told him to spread Islam and stop only until the colour of the soil under his feet matched the deep red colour of the soil in the vial. The journey took him decades, traversing across the Middle East and present-day India, eventually settling in Bangladesh where he took part in a battle that would have a long-lasting legacy in the region. The place he settled, in Sylhet, Bangladesh, is where my family is from. As a young child growing up with this tale and the rich mystical folklore surrounding it, I came to view the story as a metaphor about the stories we tell ourselves of what our true purpose in life is. The work interplays historical and fictional narratives and contains text from classical South Asian poets writing on the themes of exile, destiny and fragility of life.