Mela Chi­raghan – A Few Rhymes is an annual cel­e­bra­tion com­mem­o­rat­ing the death anniver­sary of the Pun­jabi Sufi poet and saint Shah Hus­sain, who lived in Lahore in the 16th cen­tu­ry. With the arrival of spring, a diverse array of sub­al­tern groups seek­ing wish ful­fil­ment, bless­ings of the saint, states of ecsta­sy and union with the divine flock to the poet’s shrine, where they engage in devo­tion­al rituals.

Danyal Rasheed is a cin­e­matog­ra­ph­er, direc­tor and pro­duc­er in Lahore. In 2010 he found­ed his pro­duc­tion com­pa­ny Dhaara Films. His projects include: NOOR (2012, 78 min, assis­tant direc­tor), a road movie about the iden­ti­ty crisis of a trans man, show­cased at Fes­ti­val du Cannes; NIGHTLIFE (2013, 10 min, cin­e­matog­ra­phy), short por­trait of a male child sex-worker; A WALNUT TREE (2015, 81 min, cin­e­matog­ra­phy) depicts an old man in a dis­placed per­sons’ camp of the war ridden FATA region, explor­ing themes of jus­tice, trauma and desperation.