Children of the Pyre .....

 

Rajesh S Jala, a Delhi based documentary filmmaker has been making documentaries for more than a decade. His 2006 documentary “Floating lamp of the shadow valley” based on life of a nine-year-old son of a Kashmiri militant received many accolades and was screened at various International film festivals such as Raindance film festival in London , Amsterdam documentary film festival and Palm spring film festival in USA .

His recent award winning 74-minute documentary “Children of the Pyre (2008)” is a shuddery tale of seven children aged between nine to fifteen years, making a livelihood by collecting coffin shrouds from the dead bodies at the Varanasi’s Manikarnika cremation Ghat. The seven principle characters Ravi , Yogi, Manish, Sunil, Kapil, Ashish and Gagan collect shrouds by snatching or stealing them from the burning pyres and selling it for a meager amount of two rupees to the local shopkeepers, who later refurbishes and re-sells them for twenty five or thirty rupees.

A tender age where education and playground should be an integral part of their upliftment, these seven children are faced with the gruesome realities in life of child labor and untouchability. The struggles of daily survival have made them convert the cremation ground into a source of livelihood and playground for fun and frolic. The children belong to the community of “Dom Caste”, workers on the cremation ground who are considered untouchable by the society due to their close association with the dead bodies. The innocence of the seven children and many like them are bruised by the dogmatic belief and social stigma of untouchability and they often succumb to invectives, appalling work conditions and intake of drugs like marijuana to escape the macabre nightmares of the burning human dead bodies.

“Children of the Pyre” won many accolades when screened at the international film festivals in Pusan, Amsterdam, Leipzig, Thessaloniki, IFFI Goa and Tampere Film Festivals and has won awards as the best documentary film at the Montreal World Film festival, Canada and the Sao Paulo International film Festivals, Brazil. Recently, the documentary filmmaker has been invited to the American Premiere at IFFLA ( Los Angeles ) for a festival screening on 25th of April 2009. In case any one is interested in meeting him or screening the film during his tenure, he can be reached at rajeshjala@gmail.com.

Children of The Pyre was awarded best documentary (Grand Jury Prize) at IFFLA. The film website: http://www.rajeshsjala.com

Interview:
1.What was your inspiration behind making a documentary like “Children of the pyre”?
I was always keen to make a film on Banaras . Two and a half years back I went to Banaras for a recci and I spent a month there. During this period I got an opportunity to meet these extraordinary 7 children.  I was shocked to see the kind of work these kids do.  Immediately I decided to do this film. This unusual subject, children working at the busiest cremation ground in India , inspired me to do this film

2.How was it working with the seven principal characters?
Initially the kids treated me like any other visitor but when they saw me spending most of the time with them, following them through days and nights, their perception changed and so did their approach towards me. Gradually we became friends  
Shooting at Manikarnika cremation ground was the biggest shooting challenge in my 12 years of filmmaking career. Besides physical and emotional challenges, there were lots of hurdles we had to face. At times we had to face the wrath of the relatives accompanying the dead body. And some times the local crematories or touts would intimidate us. But gradually, we built up a good rapport with the locals and eventually, almost everybody supported us.


3.Please tell us the message you wanted to convey through your documentary.
I want to convey a number of messages through the film. To highlight the miserable conditions of millions of ill-fated children who don't get an opportunity to go to school. Millions of children who are working under extreme sub human conditions at a tender age and to highlight the menace of untouchability and inequality in our country. 

4.What were the difficulties you faced while filming in such a macabre environment at the Varanasi cremation ground and how did it effect you at a personal level?
This film has left a deep impact on me. Filming at a cremation ground, where almost 150 dead bodies are cremated each day was one of the most difficult experiences I have gone through. Especially in the beginning it was an emotional torture to shoot at this cremation ground. Dead bodies coming after every 10 minutes with the chants of Ram naam satya hai (Lord Rama’s name is the truth) echoing in the air almost create a haunting environment at Manikarnika. During the peak summer schedule, the temperature at the ground was above 50 degrees and we shot there for many days. The whole crew got sick. Our energy was drained out. I was limping and I could hardly talk. At personnel level, following these kids for 18 months taught me a big lesson that these kids are more courageous and tolerant then me.

5.Please share with us your plan to open a “Children of the pyre” trust for rehabilitating the kids working at the cremation grounds.
I am very keen to transform the lives of these kids. We are in the process of consulting and approaching some leading NGO’s to take up this issue. Hopefully, very soon, we will collaborate with an NGO to accomplish this noble mission of rehabilitating these underprivileged children.

6.Did you expect the documentary to gain tremendous publicity and win accolades? How do you feel about the response and appreciation?
I believed in the strength of the subject and the quality of the film. But I didn’t expect the tremendous publicity and accolades it gained. Thankfully, the film is getting an overwhelming response. The film was awarded best documentary at Montreal World Film Festival, Canada and Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Brazil , 2008. The film was either in competition or officially selected at Pusan , Amsterdam , Leipzig , Thessaloniki , IFFI Goa and Tampere Film Festivals.

7. How do you plan to promote the documentary and where are your future screening of the documentary to be held?
The film will have its American Premiere at IFFLA ( Los Angeles ) on 25th of April 2009. The film is also selected at forthcoming Munich Film Festival in May. There are a couple of international distributors interested in acquiring the rights of the film. Hopefully, you will see the film on some American or European channels in 2009.

8. Any personal message you would like to convey to the aspiring documentary filmmakers.
Think films,… eat films…, sleep films and make films.