Do you know about the Instagram-famous Bohra Sisters?

Firmly hidden behind the spotlight is a wonderful Instagram account that harks back to past but never dwells in it

The post that pays tribute to the grand dame of Indian music is set to the soundtrack of the 1972 magnum opus Pakeezah, starring Meena Kumari. The song is ‘Chalte Chalte’ and the rendition by a younger but already legendary Mangeshkar was a poignant reminder of the beauty of a bygone era.

Curious as to the antecedents of the account, The Established reached out to the Bohra sisters to interview them and get to know them a little better. Determinedly shy, the sisters Zainab and Sakina Sabunwala refused to get on a Zoom call or a phone call, preferring to respond to us about their unique blend of nostalgia that combines animation, old Hindi film songs and memories from their earlier life spent in Rajasthan, over email. Sakina and Zainab create utterly charming stop-motion animation videos and GIFs which are a combination of digital and hand drawings, inspired by personal experiences. These endearing posts feature their family, childhood, food and cultural experiences. In the past they’ve created a wonderful video for the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders that combines the sights and sounds of the Bengali capital.

The following edited excerpts from an interview with the sisters reveal little about them personally except a dedicated love for art and staying anonymous.

Tell us about the Bohra Sisters?

We are a team of sisters who hail from Udaipur and share a passion for creating animation videos. We are both in our thirties. At the moment, Sakina works out of London and I (Zainab) from India and Kuwait.

What is the genesis of this social media idea? How did it evolve?

We started our Instagram account as a hobby. Our initial thought was to create a page for our childhood memories, and we thought of doing it in a way where, instead of just posting real pictures of our childhood, we could create animation videos depicting our experiences and interactions in a story-telling manner. This would allow us to put our individual hobbies to use as well–mine, which is making animation videos and my sister’s, which is drawing.

Is this a full-time occupation? Tell us about your professional backgrounds?

Both of us are engineering graduates. Sakina is an electronics and communication engineer and I am a biotech engineer. We both have pursued our engineering careers to begin with. But now we are working full-time on Bohra Sisters.

Do you deliberately stay away from the camera?

We don’t feel the need to appear in front of the camera. We let our art speak.

Did you grow up in India?

We were born in India and as kids we spent our early years there, before moving abroad. Currently we try to visit whenever we get a chance.

Since you both live in different time zones how does that work out professionally?

I stay in Kuwait and my sister, Sakina, stays in London. Thankfully, in today’s world, with all the technology around us, that’s hardly an issue. With little coordination, literally everything can be accomplished online.

Have you noticed a spike in your followers' post any event depicted by you, for example the passing away of Lata Mangeshkar?

Yes, we did see an increase in followers at that time [of Lataji’s passing away]. But our followers visibly increased after one of our favourite videos that we made on Women's Day, [to the soundtrack of the Roja number] ‘Dil hai chota sa,’ went viral.

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