‘One Story (Book), A Dozen Faces’ is a joint venture of interconnected sub projects through which a recently published paperback book Takatu Nights & Other Stories is launched at various platforms engaging diverse community and sometimes binary audience using tools of digital humanities. The book info page is https://www.facebook.com/Takatu-Nights-Other-Stories-201797373941959/
Book reading culture has rapidly decreased in Pakistan. Furthermore, there is a huge gap between English reading community and those who prefer regional or national language. There is an alien relationship, most Baloch do not know what is in an English book. This project renders story in multiple languages through various projects, not only widening the audience but also enabling to build bridges among diverse audience.
For the audience that has distanced themselves from books, the current project builds an inquiry about the book through medium they already use.
This project illustrates that there are in fact infinite ways to represent one object. In order to allow the book to reach diverse audience book teasers are being formed using adobe Photoshop, Flash and audio for the social media as well as for radio. The book has already a Facebook page where the author and the readers interacts through innovative sessions such as reader making and posting drawings on scenes. One section of the book has been translated in ten different languages and is in the process of being broadcasted over radio and social media channels. Scrap book is an animated video that combines the book writing process with feedback from readers in text, image and voice form. For the first time, along with the book launch, the author had launched a Fine arts exhibition on poems and stories from the book. The idea was to send the poems and stories to various artists from varying age group in Pakistan. These artists then re- presented the poems and scenes from the stories through the medium of paintings. The exhibition was displaced entitled ‘Medium is the Message’ along with the book launch on 7th – 8th May, 2018 at Quetta Literary Festival. The book is also reflected through the blogs readers write. In future Digital Humanities project, various memes shall be formed on the text and scenes from the book.
The above digital humanities projects have successfully engaged non book reading audience and has attracted TV people resulting in seven TV interviews given by the author.
Digital Humanities is a new subject in Pakistan and the researcher being the only teacher of Digital Humanities in Pakistan. Showcasing our projects would enable the world to see what struggle we are doing living in the most terror struck city of Pakistan. With threats to our lives in Balochistan, the teachers have to change their routes and university reaching timings on daily basis. In such scenario, teaching Digital Humanities will enable the students to find easier, faster, more efficient and appropriate means to their security threatened system.
Keywords: Digital Humanities, Takatu Nights & Other Stories, Pakistani English Literature, Mediums for Literature, Literature beyond books.