Exacerbated by their religious differences, India and Pakistan have been engaged in conflict over territorial disputes since their partition and independence from British colonial
rule in 1947. This history has had a profound impact on the lives of ordinary people in both countries. Anthems is one of the video works by Abidi that alludes to these conflicts between the two populations, underscoring their absurdity while capturing moments in which they manifest in everyday life. Here, the artist plays the parts of two women dancing along to popular music in India and in Pakistan, respectively. Unaware of the other’s existence, each seems to be absorbed in her dancing—but soon they are competing with each other, turning up the volume on their own music and crowding the other out of the frame. Eventually, the songs become so entangled that it is impossible to hear either of them. All that remains is a discordant clamor. The work illustrates how even daily activities and pastimes can be subsumed in nationalistic competition.
