In March 2011, friends Anushka Meenakshi and Iswar Srikumar took an impromptu decision to pack a camera and travel through the country free of itineraries and schedules. They sent an e-mail to friends and family asking for some monetary assistance before they left their homes in Chennai. Some handed over cash in envelopes, others transferred generous amounts to their bank accounts. Two years on, Meenakshi and Srikumar have travelled to the farthest corners of India and are now completing two documentaries.
The duo are working on a film titled U-ra-mi-li (the song of our people), which captures the songs and rhythms of everyday activities. Through their journeys across Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat, they capture the songs of train singers, cattle herders, embroiderers, etc. “When we started filming, we went in with no idea. We were filming things that we found interesting. Then we slowly started focusing on this... we hit upon it in Himachal’s Spiti Valley, near the Tabo Monastery. We came across a group of farmers who were singing while planting barley. That was the most outstanding experience we had had till that point,” says Meenakshi, a documentary filmmaker.
Despite their extensive travels over the last two years, Meenakshi and Srikumar say they still have a long way to go. In the meantime, they have uploaded around 200 minutes of raw footage on the Web for people to view or use for educational purposes. “This will easily take us another two years,” says Srikumar, on the eve of the screening in Mumbai.
It is rather uncommon for filmmakers to display their work publicly when it is still a work-in-progress. In this case, the makers felt it was necessary to seek feedback at regular intervals. “People give us ideas on where we can film. Recently, two women from labour unions came to watch the film. They gave us a lot of input on industrial sounds. All this is very useful because while a database on musicians might be available, a database on songs sung while cattle are grazing is not,” says Meenakshi. Srikumar adds that this is a process they have also used for the theatre collective Perch. “As the play progresses, we do a showing every 10 days. People come and give feedback, and that goes back into the play. This way we have an outside eye,” he says.
Their second film, Neihi Mozo Hanu Dizo Le (Without you I am nothing), concentrates specifically on work songs in Phek, Nagaland. Last year, they received a grant from the Indian Foundation for the Arts that has allowed them to make six trips to the region. They hope to complete this film by the end of the year. “When you watch somebody working, it is interesting to note the quality they bring to their work. The rhythm helps them motivate each other to do the same thing over and over again. It is very theatrical,” says Srikumar.
Back in Chennai for the next few months, Srikumar and Meenakshi are now plotting their next trip. “Maybe central India, because that’s something we haven’t explored as yet. But who knows?” says Meenakshi.