IMAGES
Bring back the waters
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The search for water was a central theme at “Voices from the Waters”, the Second International Film Festival on Water. MALA KUMAR
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Photo: Akhilesh Kumar
Scarce resource: Films help create awareness about the seriousness of the problem.
The serene waters of Loktak, the largest fresh water lake in North-eastern India, are made more picturesque by floating islands or phundies and the thatched roof huts on them. As a location for a feature film, this may look perfect. For award-winning
director Ariban Syam Sharma, however, Loktak was the subject of a documentary that showcased the pathetic effect of lopsided-development on a celebrated water body. “Everyone kept speaking about the beauty of the lake, but few saw the problems — people living in and around the lake are forced to buy drinking water. After seeing this film, a friend from the U.K. said he was more shocked that people in the State kept quiet about the problem than about the problem itself!” said Syam Sharma, a participant at “Voices from the Waters”, the Second International Film Festival on Water, held in Bangalore recently.
Fifty films from 30 countries were screened over five days, 14 directors interacted with the audience, several activists spoke about their work in mobilising communities across the country to take care of water bodies and an exhibition of paintings and photographs was held at the Gurunanak Bhavan.
Organisation
“Voices from the Waters” was organised jointly by Arghyam, a not-for-profit organisation working towards providing safe sustainable water for all; Bangalore Film Society and Films for Freedom, Bangalore, in collaboration with Water Journeys: Forum for the Fundamental Right to Water; Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, Ithaca College (FLEFF) and Urban Research Centre. The First International Film Festival on Water was organised by Bangalore Film Society in 2005.
“Window Facing the Sun”, an Iranian film by Bijan Zamapira, set the tone for the festival. A cinematic prayer for rains, the film is a depiction of a desert community’s fervent prayer for rain and life in their scorching land. Curating from a list of 140 entries was a challenging task. “These films were from excellent directors, each with a different viewpoint, and a different cinematic expression. We finally chose films that were the most relevant, engaging, or urgent and we consciously chose films by directors who do not normally come into the public view,” said George Kutty, founder of Bangalore Film Society (BFS) and editor of Deep Focus, a magazine brought out by BFS.
Unique facet
In fact, a unique facet of the festival was the presence of grassroots-level water activists. In Kerala’s Muttukkandi village, Pokkudan is a supplier of Rhizophora seedlings. He spoke about the mangroves’ incredible role in a biological system that acts in many ways to buffer erosion, enhance bio-diversity, minimise high tide, tsunami impact and many other things. Further up the country, Gandhian Shivaji Kagnikar has dedicated his life to watershed management to provide safe drinking water to the community. “In the semi-arid and drought-prone areas of Belgaum, we have adopted methods that have helped us have water even during dry seasons. Now, young people spread awareness about forest planting, check dams, pond silting, recharge structures, and many homes in the villages around Kattanbhavi have gobar gas plants,” says the indefatigable worker.
Farhad Contractor, a young activist working with an NGO Sambhav, spoke about his experiments with traditional water structures. While waiting for lunch, Farhad busily drew diagrams to explain how people could take charge of their own water needs.
Working with communities in Barmer and Jaisalmer, Farhad has been empowering people by getting them to revive traditional water management methods in desert and semi-arid areas. Chattar Singh, a singing encyclopaedia of desert structures, spoke about the tanka, naadi and beri of Jaisalmer.
Eklavya Prasad, a development professional works in Bihar, seeking solutions to people in flood-affected areas. His focus is on identifying livelihood opportunities for people living on the embankments of the Kosi and its tributaries. If Eklavya looks for livelihood; Premji, another activist working with SAMTA in Khagaria, raises his voice to provide flood-affected people with food and medical supplies. “When the waters of the Kosi and its sisters rises, people on the embankment have to co-exist with snakes and scorpions,” he says.
“We talk, we make films, we write and read about water and its scarcity,” said award-winning filmmaker Anwar Jamal, “but we need to make an impact. I think feature films make a larger impact on audiences. In fiction, one can play with time and space, and thereby fit long periods of a story’s enfolding into one film. With documentaries, there is a limitation.”
Jamal’s “Swaraj: The Little Republic” is set in a small village in Rajasthan. Four strong-willed women try to change things. Instead of seeing political power as a means to satisfy selfish interests the women look upon it as an enabling instrument to fulfil the needs for their community. The search for water is their priority.
Central theme
The search for water is a central theme in many of the films screened at the festival. In others such as Saraswati Kavalu’s “Cutting off a lifeline”, one can see the effects of modernisation and urban development on the life of a river.
Pradip Saha’s film “Faecal Attraction” took a tongue-in-cheek look at the problem of solid waste. “No one wants to talk about it. If only city dwellers asked for good sanitation instead of a ‘pretty’ lakes or rivers, nature would have taken care of our sewage systems,” rued Saha, Managing editor, Down To Earth and an associate director at the Centre for Science and Environment.
Ironies of inequity
Dakxin Bajrange, a social activist from the Chhara community of Ahmedabad, brings out the ironies of inequity in “The Lost Water” on the salt cultivators of Kutch. “Shadows of Tehri” by Anirban Dutta attempted to capture the essence of old Tehri town in Tehri Garhwal, Uttaranchal, before it was lost under the swirling waters of the world’s highest dam built over the Bhagirathi and Bhilangana. Says the veteran eco-activist Sunderlal Bahuguna in another film, “Only the 3A formula can save humanity: austerity, alternatives, afforestation.”
The conference on the final day brought out the fact that, amid the growing concern about water scarcity, there is hope. People have adapted traditional methods of water management along with modern alternatives. “Inequity in distribution has become a matter of importance and is the main reason for water scarcity,” surmised Rohini Nilekani, Arghyam Chairperson. Said Anupam Mishra, author of The Radiant Raindrops of Rajasthan, “These films need to reach out to more
people. It’s good that a travelling exhibition of the films has been planned.”
For more details, contact filmsforfreedombangalore@gmail.com
or bfs@bgl.vsnl.net.in.
Visit www.arghyam.org
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