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Chasing the Monsoon : an odyssey
The
seed to makeafilm on the vagaries of the Monsoon The proposal posted in late May 1996 came through in early July. Well, there were people who would help us to carry forth our dream. We got some funds from TVE, London, and NOVIB, and with inputs from our organisation, we embarked on our chase. The day the green signal was received, the crew, already assembled and kept on hold, swung into action and we clambered on to the first available flight to Assam, a state already reeling under the havoc created by flood waters-courtesy the 'generous' monsoon. On landing in Guwahati, we were greeted by a gloomy and cloudy sky. "Bad light", murmured the cameraman. I nodded in the affirmative but it did not worry me. Being from the region, I knew that the clouds could dissipate in seconds and give way to bright sunlight. The first day was hectic. We set forth gathering information. "Where are the floods?" "Everywhere" we were told. But most of the flood affected areas were not accessible. The rivers were in spate and, in the path of destruction, had swept away many roads and portions of railway tracks. On the second day, we set forth to capture the floods on film. When we reached the boundaries of an officially declared flood ravaged district, we stopped at a crossroads and asked the people where the floods were. They told us that if we drive down any of these roads, we would reach a point where the road had been torn apart by the angry torrents of water. At the end of the 'PWD' road, we were confronted by a vast expanse of roaring water and massive devastation. The surging waters were flowing unceasingly. We could see doors of houses, roofs, parts of furniture and other belongings being swept away. We switched on the camera, the crew now sad and morose at the sight of such destruction. The villagers told us that what we were shooting was not a river. Underneath the waters lay their precious fields with crops. This year, the floods decided to breach the embankment and turn the village of Dhantola into a river bed. The rest of the villagers were staying at a school improvised as a relief camp. We waded in waist deep water with the equipment firmly lodged on our shoulders for several kilometres. Finally we arrived at the relief camp, wet and hungry. But our discomfort vanished when we met the people rendered homeless by the flood. Bereft of their homes and hearth, these people were still optimistic, waiting for the flood waters to recede so that they could go back to their land and rebuild their life. We spoke to them and interviewed them on camera about whether this particular disaster could have been averted. Most of them were of the opinion that it was the weakness of the embankments which caused the disaster. It set us thinking about how an embankment, said to be a flood management mechanism, was actually responsible for a flash flood. Despite their heart-rending, miserable state, the villagers had not forsaken their traditional Assamese hospitality. They insisted on cooking part of their relief rations and feeding us. We left the camp, awed by the stoicism of the people and their tremendous will to survive, and also a little guilty at devouring part of their meagre rations. Back in Guwahati, the family grapevine informed me of something amazing. Wonder of wonders! While' floods devastated a major part of Assam, there were other areas which had not received any rain at all! The farming community of one particularly dry area, terrified at the prospect of no rains, were organising a unique function. A chosen frog couple was being joined in holy mauimony! All this to seek the blessing of the rain-god Indra! We picked up our equipment and went to record this unique ceremony, complete with a baraat and wedding songs. We also captured on camera the attempt by the bridegroom to run away but caught and brought back'. The final of the ceremony was of course the feastof which we partook generous portions. Unfortunately, we could not find out whether the rain-god showered his blessings or not, because we had to leave for Cherrapunjee the next day. Cherrapunjee, which till a few years back received the world's highest rainfall is today called a wet desert. We wanted to find out what had gone wrong with Cherra. On reaching Cherrapunjee, the crew went into a trance, marvelling at the scenic beauty, the greenery, the people and the slow and happy pace of life. And, of course, the much talked about low lying clouds. Keeping in mind that sunset hits Cherra-pretty early, we then rushed around shooting. We interviewed local people, asked them their views about what caused the monsoon td shift favours and why Cherra is now famous as a 'wet desert'. During the dry winter months, Cherra is water starved, despite the generous bestowal of rains during the monsoon. We witnessed the widespread felling of trees, the open-cast coal mining and other industrial operations which could cause environmental degradation. Our research into the importance of monsoon rains for agriculture revealed to us the vitality of water harvesting. Therefore our next schedule took us to Central India. We visited Datia in Madhya Pradesh where people are reviving traditional practices of water harvesting. In and around Jhansi we spoke to farmers who have benefited from the adoption of water harvesting structures like checkdams. We learnt from them how vital the timeliness and quantity of monsoon rains are to our food growers. Back in Delhi, with our treasured horde of tapes, we started hammering out a film. We wanted to establish the importance of the monsoon rains and how the storing of this rain could be beneficial for our farmers. We put forth case studies of places which had failed to benefit from the bounty of the monsoon and of other places which bloom due to water harvesting. The film is our homage to the monsoon rains, till date the main stay of our rain fed agriculture; our empathy for the flood affected people and our appreciation for those who have successfully harvested the monsoon rain. Now its winter time and the harvesting has started. One cannot help but wonder what those people in Dhantola are harvesting. We only hope that their will to survive has helped them start life anew. q |
germinated in the communication unit. Butalongwith came the
realization of the enormity of the project. It is not easy to
chase a phenomenon like the monsoon, known for its unpredictability
and its wild run through the country. In his book, Chasing the
Monsoon, Alexander Frater details the hardship he was subjected
to during the chase. And here we were, dreaming to do the same with
camera and crew!