home
They say it is love. We say it is unwaged work. - Silvia Federici
mai ni meriye: a multimedia project about the labor of “love”
@mai_ni_meriye
‘Mai Ni Meriye’ is a reference to a popular pahadi (hill) song by Mohit Chauhan, a globally famous music artist originally from Himachal. The song lyrics ask someone’s mother how far various towns in Himachal are. The song is an ode to the beauty and magic of Himachal, and I think speaks to the way mothers are the ones who know the ways around the state, not just directionally, but in the path of life.
Mai Ni Meriye is a pocket-sized zine and artbook, and a short documentary film containing content from interviews with 19 local women in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh– a hill station town among the Himalayas in Northern India. The goal of the project is to draw attention to the aspects of labor within a traditional family structure, and to understand reproductive labor from the perspectives of women at the grassroots level and for the labor of “love” to be part of a wide range of conversations from small village discussions over tea, to mainstream platforms with influential voices- all in service of a new perspective on women and housework.
Concept and Production by Aashna Singh
Book Design and Photography by Farheen Fatima
Film by Abhinav Sharma
Funded by Kickstarter Campaign and designated as a ‘Project We Love’