Eyes leap like stars across a sleeping world in the imagination of the Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, a deeply loved voice in the life of Kutchi herders, and in Sindhi cultural life in general. He lived in the first half of the 18th century, eventually settling on top of a bhit or ‘mound’, away from towns and villages- hence being called ‘Bhitai’ (the one of the mound). Latif often speaks in the voices of strong women – Sasui, Marui, Sohini – real women who lived many centuries ago, but whose tragic love stories grew over time into widely-loved poetic legends evoking powerful feelings and ideas.

As we journey through a day in the life of the herder communities of Kutch, we also implicitly journey through a dream universe sketched by Latif’s poetry- where one quarrels with the moon, and eyes have secret trysts with the Beloved.