NEREW: The Novel Rainbow
Preservation and promotion of local heritage has become a much-debated topic in recent decades. Technological innovations and media have brought profound and innovative transformations in this sector to offer alternative ways to harness local heritages for development.
Nazir Ahmed Bulbul and his team also came with an innovative idea to contribute in this ocean of opportunities by establishing a local production channel, called NEREW (Wakhi word for rainbow). The idea is to preserve and systematically present art, material culture and local heritages through time-based media. The idea has been further supplemented by the efforts of KADO to develop the capacity 
of potential indigenous groups in producing broadcast quality videos and other products to promote, both. social cause of preservation and commercial cause of economic development.
The group has already initiated different projects by documenting local festivals. It has also been developing documentaries on different themes. These include interviewing elders to digitise indigenous knowledge and oral history, among others. They are also planning to use the local cable network to educate and entertain local community. For this reasons future projects will focus on developing documentaries and docu-dramas about various genres of the region’s heritage, festivals and rituals. They also want to experiment with live coverage of events, interviews with high flyers and prominent personalities of the region, health awareness programmes, education, environment related talk shows, career guidance, entertainment, dramas and development issues.
The group is now in the process of instituting an organizational mechanisms and acquiring modern equipments for the production unit. They require the support and help of all those who can help them to create linkages with other institutions, provide technical support, equipments or financial resources. To support this cause the team of Pamir Time has initially donated five thousands rupees and will also extend supports in creating linkages with relevant actors.
(If any one is interested in providing any type of help in this regard they can directly contact Nazir Ahmed Bulbul, Abdul Hameedd or inform us, the members of Pamir Times.)
Great work! congratulation Nazir and team.
I hope Nisar and KADO will facilitate local social and cultural entrepreneurs to promote the art, culture and creativity in the region.
Using ICTs to promote culture and public good is a demonstrated reality in the world.
May I suggest Nazir and his team to come up with two branches of NEREW, one non-profit which works for public good as a civil society organization dedicated to promotion of performing and visual arts, the second branches acts as, for-profit, actually providing consultancy service and commercial production, which supports both the artists and the non-profit branch on a sustainable-basis.
This was one of my many many dreams and wishes!!
Bravo Folks !!
Amin Beg
Congrats to nazir and team
This is a right step at the right time. every individual and society this time is caught and attracted by different cultures and values, here we need to make a way of our own that we can keep an identity rather than running after different identities. what i can present my service here at this time is that i can request my channel to on air a special assignment or ducumentry through AAJ TV made by NEREW.
AMJAD ALI
AAJ TV
Very good idea by Bulbul and his team. The second point I want to stress and agree that, has been highlighted by Amin—-
The last and formost important one as i suggest that the Team of NEREVE or Nerew should open a joint account and circulate the same for donation. That is the proper way and good base for the comming generation——
I , personally not recommend sending donations on individual Name that ll creat misundestanding in coming time—
media always play great role to promote cultures, exposing public issues, provides informations nd entertain peoples .congratulation nd also thank for taking this incridable step.
God bless u all
Excellent Initiative;
This is indeed a dire demand of the time to work for conservation and preservation of our culture and docment those. This would be also a great opportunity to use it for the promotion of tourism as well. I offer my support if I you think i could contribute in any capacity
Bravo all those are part of this initiative
This is a fantastic job. One of the defining features of the contemporary phase of globalisation is the explosion in IT, anc communication techonologies. Media is at the forefront of global systems of communication as well as it is increasingly becoming powerful, not only as a source of entertainment but also a source of creative expression and educating the masses on a diverse range of topics.
I congratulate both memebers of the team of NEREW and KADO for taking a much-needed and strongly-felf step. May i suggest to the authorities concerned about supporting and commissioning drama-productions in the local languages, because this will help preserve local culture, in addition to offering an oppurtunity to demonstrate creative potential of young writers.
BBC has got outstanding documentries on such topics as wild-life that features endangered species including the snow leopards. KADO may contact BBC offices to gain access to these documentries and perhaps show them to the local people with either translations or with Urdu subtitles. BBC foundation does encourage such intitiatives from the developing countires.
Bes regards
alli al-Hakim
congratulation to sir nazir and his team , it is a right step for all because from this step we can improve our culture and it can be also benefit for tourism also we can maintain our culture because our new generation have started to follow the culture of europen and for this awarness and i can offer my support with you for this good decision.
with best reguards,
sayed rahman islamabad
Thanks to all of you for forwarding valuable feedbacks. We are also planning to establish a registered Pamir Media Group having 2 different components as NEREW Production Unit and Cyber Information System. The cyber information system will consists of http://www.gojal.net, Pamir Times News and Magazine. This will also institutionalise http://www.goajal.net and Pamir Times.
The feedback of Amin Bhai is also worthy to consider during initial phase. We will need his support to develop an institional mechanism.
The production unit has opened an account in SBL, Aliabad which will be made available at PT within few days.
Keep debating and providing innovative feedbacks for NEREW.
Congratulation to Nazir and his team on establishing a local production channel. NEREVE si indeed a superb initiative.
Aafiyat Nazar
as the name is unique so is the idea .i believe t NEREW will help in preserving and promoting our culture to the rest of the world.
i congratualate Utood NAzir and his team for taking this step and i will be happy in providing my service to NEREW.
fazal abbas
SSUET
Let me say it is a great and very crucial initiative. KADO has always come up with creative approaches to preserve our culture and heritage. I must say it was KADO which played the pioneering role to keep alive, develop and promote the art and artifacts of Hunza valley through their various projects, i.e. KHDP, Kasbe Kamal, and Sharma Rehabilitation Center etc. Again the use of IT is their great step towards developing/promoting our heritage. I appreciate the efforts of KADO staff who, I know, work beyond their job description and duty limitations. The role of KADO Board and volunteers: simply matchless. Thanks KADO.
Now NEREW: waw, what a fantastic choice Nazir, Hamid and group. Very rightly you people mentioned the beauty of our culture and heritage. Really I am very excited about the effort of each and every member of your team.
Amin Bhai has given very valuable idea in order to shape and sustain this effort. I would suggest NEREW to establish a close working relationship with WTCA. Not necessarily being a part of, but their collaboration must be strong enough to support and promote each other. WTCA has a wealth of audio, videos and pictures of various events. Those treasures must be explored, polished and promoted. It is very important and I hope NEREW can and will do it. Another thing, may I suggest KADO, WTCA and NEREW to work on a joint venture with AKCSP in order to train our new generation artists (interested youth) in Wakhi traditional music. By traditional music I mean, Sitar, Rubab, Daf, Gabi (Tetek) and Ghezek (violin). I think there are very few persons in our area who can play these instruments. So we need to preserve and promote these skills as well.
After going through the comments posted by Amin Bhai and Zulfiqar it seems that the possible structure of this initiative could have three components: 1) non-profit, 2) for profit, and 3) media/cyber info system. It sounds better. Zulfi can do better.
i must congrate sir Nazir for this beneficial idea i belive that NEREW will represent us in the world for the promotion of our cultural and other things associated with that my service is always there if i am needed in this regards…
Didar Karim Bari
NUML university islamabad
Congratulation! It seems a great step to ensure an efficient system for protecting and moving our cultural heritage. I envisage that this initiative will bring on board not only quality products from all Xik communities, but also provides a platform to connect to our pasts.
NEREW team could go a step further and create vibrant and accessible digital repositories of cultural information. Once developed, these digital repositories, should then be made accessible to old and young alike, so they can record and contribute further content and better understand their own identity within the context of their unique cultural system. This dream could be realized through balancing two approaches: social and technical. The former would require participatory methodologies that engage the xik communities to tell and retell, interpret and re-interpret, learn, relearn and unlearn their traditional narratives. The later would require a generalizable technology which provides appropriate, secure, two-way access.
I acknowledge that this is an idealistic approach for the xik communities who live in the areas where ICT is scant. Internet may take years to reach all the Xik communities of the globe, but can we afford to wait for that long. As a first cut, NEREW team may start developing such repositories. This core of cultural material may become the seed to stimulate community conversations about their own heritage and the development choices they face.
Wish you Luck,
Parveen
Congrats n Prayers
As I went through the post I remebered a quoation associated with NEREW(rainbow) that “After fifteen minutes nobody looks at a rainbow” but since it’s a Novel Rainbow, it’s gonna stay forever.
Let the beautiful colors of the Nerew be our Love than that of a pot of gold.
LOVE
Congratulations for the initiative of NREW, Nazir & your team.
To become a researcher or student of research is not good in a way. It makes a person critical—but, of course, positively. May I ask few questions to get answers for my understanding, if am allowed?
1. Is it necessary to make NREW as a non-profit organization for its sustainability?
2. If NREW becomes a non-profit (not-for-profit) organization with its mandates as cultural preservation and promotion, then what would or should be the roles and responsibilities of the WTCA?
a. What could be the aftermath effects and impacts of such non-profit organizations on the existence of the WTCA—being a teenager (17 years old)?
b. Is NREW the first ever initiative for the cultural preservation and promotion at the organizational level?
c. Is NREW or the team the first ever indivisuals for the documentation of the cultural traditions or oral heritages of the area?
d. If NREW has to be a non-profit organization to supplement its sustainability, doesn’t such initiatives encourage other individuals to opt for such initiatives? Again, questions will come upon the survival of communally unifying bodies such as WTCA?
3. Then, can’t NREW be totally commercial organization?
4. I wonder that nearly all commentators including the Pamir Times use sufficiently culture and cultural heritages. May I venture to ask that what are their understanding of “CULTURE” and of course the “HERITAGES”? Being educated/ students, can we have debates on such topics for our conceptual clarity instead of just throwing the words in the world?
The mandates intended to be carried out by NREW are also the mandates of WTCA (please see the byelaws). Nazir himself knows it very well being an executive member of WTCA yet. I’m just a member now, as I had resigned from the position of General Secretary. So, I would like Mr. Amin Beg and his idea supporters to be more analytical and objective. If I have misunderstood, please make me understand.
Time and again I used to stress the WTCA authorities (who are still there) to pace beyond the performing arts and take initiative for other objectives also such as documentation and preservation components, but unfortunately, either they couldn’t envision it or may have certain genuine limitations.
I appreciate Aejaz Karim who, at least, has indicated his concern about the presence of WTCA and its dominant roles in the region. If NREW has include the non-profit for its economic sustainability then why not to strengthen WTCA and its mandates. The WTCA authorities and members should awake at least now. They are requested to kindly convene promptly the Annual General Body Meeting, present their progress reports including financial reports, and nominate such creative and prominent personalities in for the the WTCA’s new cabinet and let them expand their creatitivties. The old cabinet now ought to to be changed at any cost.
I hope that the issue raised would be taken academically and in pragmatism and not be taken personally rather I would request to keep in view the communal integration and WTCA as a binding force, The purpose of these questions or comments neverever meant to dishearten someone, rather coming up with more understanding of the issues in the future. I apologize, if I have misperceived something.
Fazal Amin Beg
WTCA has contirbuted immensely to preserve our culture and this does not that it is enjoying monopoly on all cultural innitiatives. I dont think NEREW is negating what WTCA has done, rather it is a step forward in preserving and presenting our culture in a more professional and effective way. We should forget who is doing what and always be positive and forward looking.
We are proud of WTCA and we salute them for the marvelous job done in the past but has been in the sheds perhaps asleep for quite some time.
We shoud support NEREW with very innovative, progressive and professional minds behind it and more importantly with tremendous will power to deliver. Let us hope that the team of NEREW are positive in their attitudes unlike the WTCA which was a sort of agressive in its political affiliations of its members. I strongly agree with what Amin Beg has suggested above. I believe in the capabilities of Bulbul and know all of them whome he is working with on this project.
I am there for you, Bulbul, to help NEREW in whatever way I may be able to.
I strongly support the idea of NEREW and I congratulate Nazir ahd his team for taking this very timely step and I assure him of my whole hearted support to make it a success.
I totally agree to the ideas put forward by Amin Beg, and I hope Nazir will take his suggessions and request him to be on board with you for organisational and policy making and seek his advise in making it a modern organisation.
I would like to analyse some questions raised by my learned (donishmand) Bech Fazal Amen Beegjon in his above comments. I hope he takes my harsh comments softly (positively)
By the creation of NEREW nobody has challenged or questioned WTCA for the commendable job it has done and achieved so far.
No doubt WTCA has done a marvellous job by promoting, preserving and organizing very successful events in the whole Gojal Valley but NEREW is a fresh initiative with the intendion to make its own efforts using modern communication technology for production, promotion and broadcasting with the help of the local network and hopefully using the internet to reach the global viewersIt can further help WTCA by facilitating to allow use of its network for reaching broader masses. It is the age of media and technology so it can be utilized to entertain, educate and propagate in a more effective way.
I agree with Kareem jon that WTCA is not enjoying monopoly or authority on Wakhi Culture and anybody else can not talk about culture.
Let us be positive and do what we can do either individually, in groups or with the platform of WTCA or anyone using the internet. Uncle Fazal’s questions have created doubt im my mind that perhaps NEREW has challanged the authority of WTCA and have claimed that they are the first to promote and preserve Wakhi Tajik Culture.
I think the people associated with WTCA think they are sort of final authority and masters of Culture and Heritage while the rest are fools. In near future so maney media groups could come and produce documentories or our own educated youth would be writers of books, stories, plays and can make documentories, should they come and seek permission or NOC from WTCA.
What does Uncle Fazal mean by asking if Nerew and its team claim to be the first ever individual to documentation and preservation at organizational level. They have never claimed that they have done it.
Uncle Fazal is worried about What will WTCA do if Nerew or any body else venture in production on commercial grounds, It is WTCA who has to think for its survival not those who are intending to produce an item(s) involving culture.
Is Wakhi Culture a sacred thing that unauthorised or un licenced people like me (including you as subscribers or contributors of PT) who are part of the cyber community are barred to discuss.
Let us not be worried of NEREW,I hope it is as beutiful as is its name. I know Bulbul Nazir as an honest fellow and a cultural figure himself will never harm WTCA. I can bet on his clear intentions and let us all be clear that the concerns raised by Uncle Fazal will never take effect.
Thanks Ali Rahmon (monjon) for your nice comments. We need to come out of our personal affiliation (likenes) diffrences (dislikeness) at individual or group levels. We need not to allow these personal likeness and dislikeness hamper like swoards upon the oranizational and communal causes.
If you talk of Mr Nazir Ahmad or Mr Amin Beg, besides the kinship relationships, I think I know them very well in academic perspective that is why there is my coridal respect for them. Especialy, I think we have got teahers-students relationships and vice versa.That is why I say that we may know each other very well. Or may be I’m wrong, I am misjudging and may not know them more than you. Is it?
The situation which I was trying to asses with my meagre vision was not challenging their creativities or talents; or discouraging them to opt NEREW as a commercial venture, but rather showed my concern to opt for another cultural entity on non-profit basis for cultural preservation and promotion.
Monjon (Kashkalut)! We need to think from our mind not from our heart. Thinking with heart will lead us to covert or overt emotions such as personal likenes and dislikeness. While thinking from our minds may take us to logical searches and queries to know and analyese something without any prejudice.
Thank you for your comments, once again.
I think there is no harm in having NEREW working side by side with WTCA, or may be it can become a part of it? But the concerns shown by Fazal Bahi are also important to consider. Many of you would remember a cultural event organized by WIRF or WRIF at Gilgit many years back, where WTCA should have been involved but it was totally ignored. What happened to WIRF afterwards? I think no body knows this name anymore. was it formed only to oppose WTCA?
Formation of NEREW is good, but we also need to strengthen our existing structures.
Aziz at Mansehra
Respected Fazal, sher Karim and Kareemjon:
You people are debating a very genuine question about the parallel or coexistence of WTCA and NEREW. As the NEREW team has no access to internet to answer these educated concerns. However, i have regular interactions with the team so i want to share with you the background of NEREW.
While recognising the importance of ICT tools especially local cable network, KADO wants to develop a potential gruop of interested people to work as independent enterpreneur to preserve, promote and dessiminate indeginous knowledge and heritages. As a pilot phase KADO selected a potential group in central Hunza. The group is now named as Deevako production Unit. KADO imparted trainings on media production with the help of Nisar Ahmed and team . Nisar is from Gulmit and is doing his degree in media and film making from NCA.
Some interested people from Gulmit also participated the training and formed a group as NEREW production Unit. The group has informally started to document ongoing events and special occasions and are in process to develop a formal mechanism.
The main objective of presenting this idea here was to debate and propose ways to develop a sustainable and practical mechanism. So please keep debating.
Nazir Ahmed Bulbul has a great commitment to strengthen and supplement the efforts of WTCA through NEREW.
Zulfiqar
I had the opportunity to be in a session in Gilgit which was basically a meeting of WTCA. I met a young guys from Ghulkin representing WIRF (formed by some opportunist elements for acquiring fund from government agencies).
I think their mandate was to disgrace the office beareres of WTCA and distroy their image and records. I was so depressed and disturbed to see this guy insulting people who were senior to him in all respects. I am sorry for my harsh words, but it was so disgusting to see a yougster mis- behaving like that and that was my openion and experience of WIRF.
So I do not want to see WTCA somewhere near to WIRF again. I hope people will recognize them and be aware of people like them (I do not khow his name but I think he was associated with Ghazani as well)
I hope WIRF is dead by now and thier ill intensions may also have died.