On International Indigenous Day, which was yesterday, my sister and I went to Bangalore International Center to watch a film screening of “Through the Adivasi Gaze”.
It was a superb experience.
In that film, I saw what I experienced in my own village back in Bankura, West Bengal: our (adivasis’) lifestyle, our way of thinking, similar rituals to ours, etc.
It felt like someone of our own had made the film.
And so did she, Sneha Mundari, a filmmaker and visual anthropologist.
In the film, I watched the famous Munda martial arts and dance; I don’t recall what it’s called. But it was indeed fascinating.
I also got to watch many of the stories of the Munda community.
After the film screening, a discussion took place between Sneha Mundari and Nandini Tank on stage. (Nandini Tank is an assistant professor in the Department of English and Cultural Studies, Christ University.)
The discussion was enlightening even for me because I learnt about various other tribes, their cultures and histories.
One story from the discussion stuck with me.
It was about how one community’s festival was slowly forgotten and how, through social media, they organized a kite-flying competition.
And for the last 3-4 years, they have seen their festival being revived.
I also learnt that many Adivasi youth use social media to share their stories about their tribes, cultures, and backgrounds.
After the discussion, the panel was open to questions.
And I learned more about our Adivasi cultures and communities through their answers.
And it was a fun experience.
After that, some of us went to a restaurant and talked more about how the Adivasi gaze works and so on with Sneha Mundari.
Sneha also said that how you place the camera is political. Whether you place the camera below or above, it matters.
Honestly, it was a good time.
So yeah, my sister and I had a great time at the film screening of “Through the Adivasi Gaze” and at dinner with Sneha Mundari.
I would like to end this blog with a few lyrics from the famous Santhali song-
“Ol minatama,
Ror minatama,
Dhorom minatama,
Aam ho minam”
It means: Your script(Ol) exists(minatama), your language(Ror) minatama(exists), your religion(Dhorom) exists(minatama), you(Aam) exist(minam).
Thank you for reading this line! It means a lot.