Summer Documentary - 2 Weeks in the Villages!!

Above is the teaser for the documentary that my students and I are working on, and that I have intermittantly been mentioning in these blogs! We are super excited about it, and I know there are technical problems and areas of improvement, but can you believe that we were able to put together these 4.5 minutes from all our random village trips? Student "Bumblebee" worked so hard editing this. There is a hint of a story!

We are still honing down the narrative or storyline. The predominant theme is that all the villagers keep saying that everyone has to leave the village -- for a better life and because they have no choice. If you have any feedback, I would love to hear whether you think you would like to see a parallel story of the Woodstock documentary students leaving India, incorporated into the actual documentary or remaining separate in the "Making of". Let me know what you think!

(Sanjeev and "S" filming at the fish mela)

Anyhow...these past 2 weeks, my student "S" and I have been living and filming in the villages. It was wicked fun!

We most recently came back from 4 days in Khas Kudoan, Sanjeev's village. He took us to the annual Fish Mela, where 10,000 villagers gather at the Aglar River. Instead of using dynamite or bleach (thank goodness!), they gather the bark of the Timeroo tree and turn it into powder, which is a natural narcotic. On the special day, they quickly dash the powder into the river and the fish temporarily turn upsidedown. Then there is a mad frenzy by all the men to catch the fish with their hands or nets. It's CRAZY!!!

It's mostly a social activity, and the men yell in excitement when they catch a fish! (The women stand on the side, but I think they should catch fish too!) The men wear a homemade kind of fanny pack in the front, and it looks funny when they are digging around in the pouch.

(interviewing Smiley Fish Guy)

(Nagendra joins in the fun!)

At Khas Kudoan, we interviewed and helped in farming -- hand pulling weeds from the corn fields. Sanjeev's extended family is so fun and filled with energy, there are tons of people! It was fun being a part of the chaos!

(our buddies!)

(S interviewing Sanjeev's brother while boys watch)

Prior to that, we spent 5 days at Sarab Talla, with Grandpa's family. It was really great to go there in a relaxed atmosphere, away from the stress of schoolwork. We got to know their family even better, especially quiet Reena who ended up talking so much. Her sister Rita was away at a teacher conference, so hopefully we'll get to know her better next time.

"S" and I farmed for about 2 hours, using a pick to remove weeds from the dal (lentil) plants. I took many breaks to stand up, but Grandpa and the gals remained squatting the entire time! The next day, S and I were so sore.

I don't have a lot of pictures, because we spent most of our time filming, so you'll have to watch the documentary when it's done! But here are some funny ones!

(the grandchildren goofballs -- that's a tripod bag!)

(Rohan is hanging from a window during Reena's photo session)

(Surab has listened carefully to the instructions to show teeth while smiling)

On the last day at Sarab Talla, we took some more "glamour photos". Grandpa's family finally got me to wear a sari. Can you believe it?! (knowing my aversion towards dressing up) It was really funny because I am a bit bigger than them, and so the first sari shirt I tried on, I couldn't even get my arm through it! The second sari shirt, I couldn't even close it. But we stuck with that one!

(S and Grandma)

(huh?)