Heartstrings of the Khyber

Shaherzaad Laila, the cotranslator for Heartstrings of the Khyber, has also been one of the pioneering members at Folkloristan since the early days of Folkloristan’s inception at the Digital Media Wing, a project begun by former prime minister Imran Khan’s government. With an expertise in folk music, Shaherzaad also works at Rung, an institute dedicated to instructing and conserving Pakistani folk music. She has worked for WWF, PTV, and other private and public institutions as an Urdu writer.
 
Komal Salman is the founder of Folkloristan, a digital platform dedicated to preserving and sharing Pakistani oral tradition. Driven by a passion for storytelling, both textual and visual, Komal’s work revolves around the translation, documentation, and visualization of local folktales. She believes that technology is key to making these age-old tales accessible to a global audience and redefining the way we connect with cultural heritage in the digital age. She is also one of the pioneering members of the Ethnology and Folklore Guild South Asia—a collective for cultural and academic collaboration across borders in the region.