The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Highlighting the other side of Bangalore

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 03, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Highlighting the other side of Bangalore

Staff Reporter

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

interaction: Suresh Heblikar, film-maker and environmentalist, with students from government schools at the first anniversary of Adobe Youth Voices Programme in Bangalore on Thursday.

BANGALORE: The writing is on the wall — “We’ve given our lands for the airport. Give us jobs.” Farmers talk of how they have given away their lands for a mere Rs. 6 lakh for the construction of the Bangalore International Airport and are left with no source of income. Young people from rural Devanahalli are learning English because they will otherwise be left out of the global wave hitting their lives.

Comment

They comment on how the airport has provided no form of employment or comfort to the affected villagers.

A Sacrifice in Devanahalli, a documentary by Samvada, a non-governmental organisation portrayed the other side of Bangalore’s fast track towards progress.

“The sensitivity with which this and other documentaries have been made is amazing. It brings in an uncommon perspective to important issues such as education and child labour,” said Suresh Heblikar, environmentalist, at the screening of documentaries at the first anniversary of the Adobe Youth Voices Programme on Thursday.

“Child Labour”, by children from Association for Promoting Social Action (APSA), won the prize for the best documentary.

The film, though with spelling errors in its subtitles and amateur production, poignantly captured the life of children at railway station, their daily routine, their addiction to drugs, abuse at the hands of authorities, their reasons for running away from home, their yearning to go back and their fears of having to face family members again.

Documentaries

Four documentaries, three animation short films and a three-part photo essay were screened at the function. Nine schools and five non governmental agencies were part of the Youth Voices Programme by Adobe Systems where students from marginalised communities were given Adobe tools and digital technology to create these works of art.

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