The Village Documentary is done!!! On Amazon!

The village documentary is now on Amazon! YAY!!! Feel free to check it out and spread the word if you like it.

("Leaving home is never easy.")

It's been two years since the last post. Time flies! Since then, my new friends have turned into "old" friends and everyone has gone their separate ways, while keeping in touch of course. Life in California is way easier aka less challenging than in India, but that also means a little more ordinary. One of the things that has continued is working on the village documentary, which is about how people in the village are moving towards the city.

In October 2010, "Palayan: A Story of Exodus" played at the Commffest Global Community Film Festival in Toronto, which focuses on social issues and change. Our student producer Shubhi who is now studying at Pratt Institute flew to Toronto to represent us!

In January 2011, the documentary screened at the the Script Film Festival (for social justice and change) in Cochin, Kerela, India. Our film competed in the student category against heavyweights such as the Centre for Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai, and Satyajit Ray Film Institute Kolkata. And guess what? We won 2nd place!!! That included a trophy and Rs.15,000 which will go back to the villagers. A famous South Indian actress named Revathi was head of the jury and watched our film, whoohoo! Our student writer Neha Abraham flew to Kerela to represent us; as she said in the documentary, she has remained in India.

(Neha receiving the award at Script Film Festival)

After hours and hours of more editing (thanks Vanessa!) and hours of artwork design (thanks Diana!), the dvd is now on Amazon starting today. Feel free to join the facebook fan page at "Palayan: A Story of Exodus". All proceeds will go towards the villagers.

("Coming Soon to Amazon" flyer)

For people who have followed this blog, thank you again! There have been many more adventures since India, such as teaching English in Korea and traveling to Nepal and Bhutan to visit Woodstock students and explore. (A shout out to my student's father Chhimmy -- his company is Baeyul Treks and he's awesome!) CLICK HERE for photos. Besides teaching math, I now also teach a class on tv production. Yay!

(With Chhimmy and the gang in Bhutan. Summer 2011)

(Bollywood moment in Nepal! Summer 2011)

USA -- the Journey Back

(Looking towards the road ahead.)

Dear Loyal Readers,

The time has come to finish the Tangent Journeys India blog and to start on a fresh adventure. I have been back in the United States for 5 weeks now and have spent most of my energy re-adjusting to American life and finding a job. Despite my efforts in trying to move to Portland, OR, I ended up with a job in "northern" California teaching middle school math. I will be near the forests, mountains, and beaches. Surfs up!

I've run into so many new and old friends on the way back. Tonight, my parents and I were graciously invited to the house of Surj and Judy who have been reading this blog and live in the same city as us. Surj, his brother, and his guest had all attended Wynberg Allen, Woodstock's competitor school in Mussoorie. It was great to catch up on the state of the hillside and share a common bond that each of us experienced separately. Their wives knew all about these places and patiently listened to all the stories during dinner. I'm sure they've been listening to these for years and will do so for many more to come! Thanks, Surj and Judy!!!

(Surj and Judy were awesome hosts!)

What can I say? Leaving India has been very hard. I miss the trees and the mountain fog and the bazaar. I wish I could buy some beans from the sub-z walla instead of having to drive to a grocery store and pay 60 times the price. I've been watching bollywood movies, cooking okra with tumeric, and studying Hindi since I got back. Am I just going through withdrawal or did I gain a lifelong interest in the things that many other Indian people are interested in too? That remains to be seen. I still don't understand cricket.

But the Woodstock hallways and quad? The cafeteria? The monkeys? The thing I will miss most about Woodstock and Mussoorie and the Villages, are the people. So here are the goodbye and hello pictures of some of the people I met along the way. First, after landing.

(My Australian friend visits Los Angeles!)

(My cousins with the Fabulous Embroidered Mustache Man)

(My pals in Portland! Alex is from WS!)

(My relatives in Taiwan!)

(My WS student and his family in Taiwan!)

Meeting all these people has been cathartic, and it has definitely been great seeing former WS'ers -- like shopping with my student co-producer at a California mall and hanging out with a fellow WS teacher at my parents' home. The two worlds collide!

Anyway, here are scenes from the last few weeks!

(Graduation: Have fun in college, students!)

(See you later, Grade 9's!)

(Bye, Advisor Group!!!)(Stop complaining, you guys!)

(Peace out!)
(Study hard in math!)
(I have more work for you guys, Team!)

(I will miss you, Grandpa's family!)

(Jananand is cool.)

(See you later, Darab and Naz!)
(More scientific conversations!)

(Yeah, Famous Kebabs!)

I feel like I finally settled at home and am off again! Oh, did I mention that the documentary is almost done? It's in a rough cut form now! We'll see if I have to post any promotional stuff on this blog!

(See you in the USA!)

Snow Day, Reena's, and Vinod's Wedding

(Reena gets married)

It's been a while! The weeks are flying by and there are less than 3 months left in India for me! Which means there are only about 2 months to finish editing the documentary, ahh!!!!

Since school started in mid-Feb, it has snowed and people have gotten married. Here is a recap of the past month. First, two dedicated documenary students and I spent a week couped up in my apartment, editing night and day. Imagine a curly haired mad woman waking up in the middle of the night to log footage. Dedication! We did take a one-day break, however. Sanjeev brought us around the touristy spots of Mussoorie. We hit Kempty Falls, Everest House, Company Gardens, Mall Road, and the cable car. The funny thing was, every vendor and random villager we walked by, knew Sanjeev! So we were left alone!

(Kempty Falls)
(Everest House)


(Everest House -- dorks!!)

(Everest House grounds)

(Everest House Tibetan prayer flags)

(cable car in Mussoorie)

One beautiful day, it snowed! It was the perfect sticky snow to make a snowman. I was just itching...and rushed home after school. Luckily, there was still some snow left and my neighbor kids were really enthusiastic!

In the beginning of March, the school was kind enough to let 7 members of the documentary team and I to take a day off from school and film a double wedding at Sarab Talla. This was no ordinary wedding -- two of Grandpa's children were getting married! His son Vinod had met another villager and fell in love. On this day, they had a traditional wedding except that it was a love marriage!! Very unusual, especially in the village. His sister Reena had been matched up with a taxi driver from Mussoorie, and in arranged marriage. Grandpa's family is the one I am most attached to, and feel like they are my second family. So it was bitter sweet to see Reena leaving home to move to the "city". Vinod has already been working and living in Dehra Dun, a bigger city, for a year and so he and his wife were going to live there.

Our documentary is about exodus, how the villagers are moving out to the cities. We are not trying to answer whether the exit is good or bad, but just trying to pose the question for now.

(Vinod and his bride)(musician for all the dancing)

(my docu team)

(docu team filming!)

I got rather obsessed with taking pictures of Reena, I almost forgot to take pictures of her groom!

(Reena's photo shoot!!!) (She is supposed to look sad.)

(The pooja or religious ceremony)

("tied the knot")

During this very long ceremony where Rena had to walk around her platform 7 times, we had a lot of time to film "b-roll" of other scenes nearby.

(my neighbor filming)(Grandpa's oldest son Nagendra and his son)

(the village women crowded around the platform)

(the scene from a rooftop)

Next, Reena and her husband had to exchange bindis with everyone, which is putting the red mark on your forehead, using your right ring finger. When a guest gets the bindi, she is also handed a small envelope with 10 rupees inside. At the same time, the guest puts some small gift money on the table.

(Reena's older sister who now lives in the city)

(Now that Vinod's wedding is done, he attends his sister's)

(pooja at village center, wedding shoes)

Once all the religious ceremonies are over, this is when Reena's fake sadness turns into real sadness. It's time to leave her home...for good. This part is called the Barat. She is about to get into a taxi that will take her and her husband to his village. There, they will have another night of festivities and dancing and the day after more rituals. Reena will barely get a chance to sleep or eat. So the emotional impact of leaving her family is combined with meeting her "new" family for the first time, along with hunger and fatigue. Well, they are going to his village but will actually live in Mussoorie, the town.

(Reena is sad.)

(Sanjeev filming in the background)(leaving the village, there's the taxi)

(the women usher her out)

(getting into the taxi)

(the men follow the taxi out)

We are all sad, but the villagers are the saddest. It's like the entire village has come out to bid farewell to Reena. I wonder where in American society that kind of community and solidarity exists anymore. Of course, once an American gets married, we have the free will to visit anyone and travel anywhere we want. How many people really know the core of who we are? Everyone knows Reena, like they all saw her grow up and grew up with her. Survived with her.

Moving to the city, is this a good or bad thing? Everyone craves a "better" life, but what is that? Exodus, its motivations, and realities are full of contradictions.

Anyway, stay tuned for the documentary! I'm excited to see how it will turn out!! Above are only a fraction of the photos, CLICK HERE for the entire February and March 2009 album. There are 3 videos of some older women dancing inside a house too, socializing and celebrating during the several days of the wedding. Until next time!