AMOR FATI

02/10/2015

I had stopped over in New Delhi last month en route to a project. I heard about many ex-soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces on an indefinite relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar. Apparently they had been 'lathi' charged on Independence Day, this year. I couldn't find out much about it in the newspapers or on any of the TV channels, so I went over to check it out for myself.

The ex-servicemen have been requesting the present Govt. of India to pass OROP (One Rank One Pension), as promised before the last Indian General Elections. A large number of them had traveled from very far to be present. It was like a 24hr camp site. I got a chance to meet a few of these soldiers. Some of them had been camping at Jantar Mantar since June14, 2015. It has been 108 days since they started.

I ended up chopping some of the open, free ranging conversations I had into a film. More details in the video note attached, see what the Hulla Bol is all about : https://youtu.be/c0X7a0YgK6A

Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces have been on an indefinite relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar since June 14, 2015. The ex-servicemen have been requesti...

18/06/2015

We've started a channel on Youtube today!

This first transmission is a bit of space-time shared with the Apatāni women in Arunachal Pradesh, a field recording, a harvest song. We shot this the day after a storm. The rice bowls were a blinding gold.

Subscribe on Youtube to watch our mini documentaries and match frequencies : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yclQ4Y1PNHw

This first transmission is a bit of space-time shared with the Apatāni women in Arunachal Pradesh, a field recording, a harvest song. We shot this the day af...

30/11/2014

II

I met Khila's husband, Premchand, a quiet man prone to fits of laughter, a native of Ilahabad. They seemed deeply in love. Between half giggles and some restraint, she told me their story while serving up rice and a large dollop of ghee on my plate.

Khila and Premchand live by the river Beas.
Interestingly, water turned out to be the moot point of their tale.

He had decided to set up a business in her valley with a friend, a hotel. She lived down the mountain side, and their buildings drew water from the same pipes weaving up the mountain from the river. One day there was no water in the tap, and she yelled in the general direction of the hotel asking them why they had shut the water. She didn't stop till Premchand made an appearance on the roof of the other building. He watched her hurl profanities for awhile before he shouted back saying there was a water shortage and they needed to keep the supply shut. She laughed, "No water in Himachal Pradesh?! Where are you from anyway?" she yelled back. Two minutes later the tap was turned on and Khila went back to her washing.

A week later, Premchand came by to ask for Khila's hand in marriage. She agreed. She knew they could have a good argument.

'Imagine Himachal not having water,' she said to me, laughing.

28/11/2014

I

Khila Devi sells ski suits to tourists, has a running kitchen serving chai to passersby and teaches girls from surrounding areas weaving in the evenings in a small village in Himachal Pradesh.

I spoke to her about why she wove carpets, and she told me it was a way to remember where she is from. Culture is 'something like child birth’ she said.

"When a child is born, he is attached to the mother by the umbilical cord. It must be cut. But the memory of it will pull the child back. It must. If it doesn’t, then no mother can do anything. The child must remember to remember."

24/08/2014

One of the best demos I've ever received on the street, and the Okarina, ocarina, a descendant of the medieval gemshorn.

20/08/2014

A film came to life when I followed the sounds of a boat being made.
What better way to kick off Amor Fati.

Amor fati, the love for where the path takes you.

Fish oil, jackwood, coconut husk and jute no nails in sight. Just a tune singing out this morning, the boat as a water instrument. Summer, here, means the se...

25/01/2013

Steering the craft.