Mirza Muhammad Saeed

“Reel”

Edinburgh

    Interview               Pothwari

“We used to use a cassette, which we also referred to as a ‘reel’ in Pothwari, to communicate. We used to record and send messages on it and we used to get a response from our family members in Pakistan after one to two months. We used to be so happy knowing someone’s voice had arrived. There was no way to communicate properly then because we couldn’t meet each other in person, so this was a way, and we’d listen to each other voices and become happy. Whenever there was a happy occasion we’d talk about it – an engagement or a wedding, or if there was a death we’d console each other. That’s what we used to record.”