“This is your land. This land belongs to you. This is your dream…” The fourth batch started with an invocation by Divya, followed by words of Dr Muthu, who spoke from his experience of being connected with the land for the past decade and the significance of what it means to be a part of ‘Niyathi Commune’, as Manjari and Swathy simultaneously illustrated a holistic rangoli depicting the essence of what Muthu spoke.
‘Wiggle…Wiggle…wiggle to the left..to the right..’
Moderated by Swathy broke the ice and provided the needed grounding for all the forthcoming sessions. The participants were also slowly introduced to daily practices followed in the land and the rationale behind the same, as they felt the texture of the peanut ingested. Next morning, as the gong reverberated, there were conscious smiles and steps taken in silence as one soaked with gratitude in the abundance of Javadhu hills and waters of the stream.
‘ My death has to be a peaceful one…and all these practices are preparations for the same’ elaborated Gowthami as she explained the relationship between the food we eat and thoughts generated, from her self-realised experiences of varied practices. Deepa Pradeepa, the youngest by heart amongst everyone present, explained various ways of excretion of physical muck in our system and the need for the same.
‘ We have to take a balance sheet of our deeds…As much as it is needed to clean the space we are in, it is essential to create a clean space within ourselves…If we meet at the same place after two years, we need to have a balance sheet of our thoughts…It is not necessary to have achieved something grand, but to have an understanding of our thoughts for the past years and what it has manifested into……What has made a bunch of you come here amongst the millions of youths in India today…because you are seeking something and that has guided us..and above all, the most prominent of all ‘Listen to your inner voice’….This was the Gandhian path..’ Above words of Chitra Balasubramaniam, along with insights about ‘The Great Indian Hedge’ by Usha and sharing of transcreation experiences of African literature by Latha Arunachalam, opened up many doorways and a lot of thoughts to ponder upon for the participants and definitely served as commencement of their ‘balance sheets’.
‘ I used to set up the camera and by the time I could set the focus, I used to run outside and throw up because of the smell from stagnated human faeces…. I had been beaten up by the sanitation workers when we were shooting in a landfill….The bruises in the hands of children in Pallikaranai dumpyard is one image that has stayed with me forever…’These words of Ayyalu Kumaran, the cinematographer of Meel, Sathamillai, Coovum, An Imagined Landscape and many other documentaries, gave a vivid picture of various experiences behind making a documentary. It was indeed an experience to watch a documentary along with its creator. ‘ I never went through proper schooling but went to a big University…what you consider as Jail is our university…Trichy, Vellore, Coimbatore, and Nellore have been in all these central prisons and have learnt from them…Marxism has been my education before that it was MGR…I was a huge fan of him…But it took me about thirty years to understand that change cannot happen through protest but only by working along with people.. Then we set up an association for Dhobi in a small way…later it became a National movement..’ Tha. ma. Prakash’s experience sharing gave an insight into various political ideologies and why one has to grow beyond them into directly working in the field along with people in order to bring about a change that is desired change. As the dusk set in, we were greeted into the wild by a swarm of fireflies as they lit up our paths as we hiked up towards Nellivasal.
‘ I come from a small weaving family…I run a small organic shop and work with indigenous people along with my mentor, V.P.Gunasekaran..I have 25 years of a different life which I want to share with you…I have been in Jail for 20 years..If I had not been to jail, I would not have been here, sharing my stories with all of you…I was remanded in prison for life, and I started making plans for escaping from the prison, and I had been preparing myself for six months…till one day I saw a theatre artist in prison, and it is the literature and art form that changed the course of my life….I have been taken three times to encounter, but in split seconds, there is a magic that happens, and I am alive here in front of you.’ Sharing his life story by Anburaj definitely left the participants in a state beyond question. Anburaj still continues to visit the prison as a reformer and as a director of a theatre group for prisoners. He has been the pioneer in bringing up many amendments supporting the livelihood of prison inmates and is now closely working with the state and central government for many reforms.
‘ I never knew what paint is made of… We have all used watercolours, but how is it made? It never came to my mind earlier…Over the last eight years, I slowly started searching about these…The very first documentations were done using red mud, charcoal and saliva. Later, they started using animal fats…everything was experimenting and learning and that really gets me excited…I have been researching this for many years, and I share my learning with children…We have come together to build a platform where people can access the knowledge about natural colours. The enthusiasm and love Nikitha has for natural colours was reflected in the paintings by the participants. The paintings were, in turn, a reflection of their thoughts, for most having experimented with making their own colours for the first time. The session not only gave an awareness towards natural colours but also a deep understanding of one’s own colours. Yeshok’s session gave an introduction to the ecology of the forest and his experiences of being connected with this forest. The participants chose the saplings they liked and exchanged it with other participants as a gesture of trust and letting their love be nurtured by others.
As the evening grew darker, there was magic in the air as there was a chorus by all participants in a language never heard before. As the dome echoed the strings of ekthara, everyone was mesmerised with their eyes closed by the voice of Sahnti Baul. As reflected by one of the participants,’ I love music and I have been to various concerts in different spaces…But there was a divine gush within myself on hearing her voice in this dome, which I have never experienced before. Shanti Baul is a practitioner of the Baul tradition and a disciple of Parvati Baul. The night was spent in the silent echoes of ‘na…naa..naaa’.
The five-day Niyathi commune came to a closure with reflection circle of their experiences, learnings. Paintings of birds spotted by young aspiring ornithologists Sahasradhara, spread its wings of hope. As we called it the end, magic happened yet again as we were graced by the presence of the voice of many stories.
Pictures: Ayyalu R. Kumaran, Kausik Srestaluri, Vimal Vimal
