The Devi Chronicles, A Film Highlighting The Plight Of The Himalayas.
Gokhuri, Uttarakhand, India
My name is Niki Nirvikalpa and I'm a 32-year-old film director from Bangalore. I'm making THE DEVI CHRONICLES, a 75 to 90 minute film that I hope will change the fortunes of the Nanda Devi mountain area and the 25 million people who are impacted by it. Read this story and fund this crowdfunding campaign - the proceeds of which will go into making this film .
I've already started working on the film that will document the destruction happening in the Himalayan region and how global warming is impacting all those who are a part of this region, and that it will soon affect millions who are part of the same ecosystem. The film intends to sensitise people about the gravity of an entire ecosystem being destroyed! We need your support to help us make this film by raising INR 11,20,000.
With Nanda Devi as the central focus, this film seeks to address the issue of climate change and traditional values of Jal, Jangal and Jameen of the people of Uttarakhand. This, we will explore through the myths and legends of Nanda Devi, their rituals and shraddha of being and working in the High Himalaya. The film’s narration will be through puppetry, live footage, interviews with scientists, hill folk as well as the Last Guardians of the Himalayas.
We will be exploring the Himalayas' state of environment; and the progress, or devastation that is being wrought with the current model of ‘development’.
We have already travelled over 7,000 kms by road, walked and trekked over a 1,000 kms in our quest to make the film. We need YOUR help to complete the film, and to share this daunting story with rest of the world.
The images below of the Pindari glacier
PIC: Images above show the RECEDING Pindari glaciers from 1897 to 2016.
The above series of pictures shows the retreat of one of the glacier systems called the PINDARI glacier. It's part of the Nanda Devi mountains. The first is a map from 1847. The second image is a photograph clicked in the year 1941. And image 3 is a picture we shot in June 2016. The difference is stark and extremely disturbing.
The two pictures below highlight the plight of the once beautiful, and snowcapped Nanda Devi mountain!
NAME: The Devi Chronicles
Duration: 75 to 90 minutes
Cost: INR 11,20,000 (Detailed cost sheet below)
Schedule for shoot & completion: August 2017 to Feb 2018
Exhibition /Screening plan: We plan to screen this movie at multiple points.
Pic: Road clearing work
Pic: The impact of development
Nanda Devi, loosely meaning the 'Bliss-giving goddess', is the most venerated among the many goddesses and local deities of Uttarakhand. Her temples and cairns dot the landscape and mountains of Uttarakhand, throughout the region where she is revered as the 'Devi'. A few facts about Nanda Devi are below -
We will be doing a trek across five glaciers, some of which are culturally significant in the state of Uttarakhand. We will visit the glaciers of Pindari, Kafni, Namik, Sunderdonga, Milam, Lwan, Nanda Devi East, Roop Kund, Lata Kharak and the Duranshi pass, winding up at Hom Kund, at the base of Nanda Ghungti.
The crew will travel for 150 days approximately, in some of the toughest terrains of the Himalayas. The number of crew members will be kept to a bare minimal considering the rough terrain that we will have to traverse for extended periods of time.
Capturing the lives of people spontaneously is not an easy task which is why we've eschewed all forms of private transport and will be travelling only through public transport, or walking with people, in order to connect with them and encourage them to open up to us.
This film will include traditional songs about the 'Devi', and we will be covering some of the most important festivals associated with her, including Nandashtami.
This film will also include traditional forms of puppetry that range from Uttarakhandi to the ancient form of thol paava koothu, or shadow puppetry from Kerala, to retell some of the myths associated with Nanda Devi.
This film will be shot and edited entirely on 4k. This will make the film ready for TV telecast, as well as a theatrical release.
We will be interviewing anthropologists, environmentalists, geologists, cultural researchers, and many more.
Some of the people we have spoken to in our journey so far have been stalwarts like Padma Vibhushan Sunderlal Bahuguna (part of the Tehri Andolan), Padma Bhushan Chandi Prasad Bhatt (who was instrumental in starting the CHIPKO movement), Padma Shri Dr Shekhar Pathak (eminent historian), Bill Aitken (eminent author), among many, many others.
The Nanda Devi has held a fascination for me ever since I was a kid. When Dr Pant and I met over 5 years ago, we immediately hit it off with our common love for the Devi, among many other things. Ever since, we have been meanng to make a film on the Devi. When in 2013, we started planning to make the film, the devastating and tragic floods in Kedarnath hit. We decided to follow that, out of which came Devi ki Duvidha. In late 2016, my car was broken into after a shoot, and all the stuff we had ever shot--from our first film to the last--was stolen. So, I decided to invest all my savings, and make this film.With dire stories of climate change that have been raging across news channels and the internet these days, and people talking about it like it is the end of days, we, too, were feeling the melancholy. We wanted to explore this through the eyes of the natives who have been feeling the brunt of it in the High Himalaya.
This is a story that needs to be told, and needs to be heard.
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