Videos

Researched and filmed by Gayatri Indira Vijaysimha and Dev Narayan Chaudhuri (Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai) © 2010. This is a cutout of their video documentary on the Khasi music of Meghalaya edited for the Tribal Cultural Heritage in India Foundation. More information on Khasi cultural heritage is found via the foundation's Search page: indiantribalheritage.org

Khasi is one of the indigenous communities in Bangladesh. The community has been living in Sylhet region. The main occupation of the Khasi indigenous people of this district is cultivation of betel-leaf in the small hilly lands. They search for lands and plan to farms diverse crops but landless situation has not allowed them space to do that rather their problems are getting intensified due to the skyrocketing of the daily commodities.

Why do songs die? Can they be revived? In Syndai village in War Jaintia, women remember a song called Long Hai, supposedly a weeding song. Long Hai has not been sung for at least 65 years in the village.

The film is on the issue of Adivasi labourers in the tea gardens of Assam and Bengal. It is the first film based only on Kurukh language.

“Lamlian Lehlam”: Lamlian Lehlam is an amalgamation of different dances of the state of Mizoram (Dakcha Lam, Sarlamkai, Tlanglam, Cheraw, Rawkhatlak, Khuallam, Chheih Lam, Chawn Lam, Solakia, Paikawng Lam) weaved together to tell a story. It showcases the rich culture of the different tribes in the state. The choreography and arrangements were made by Pachhunga University College’s Chhawkhlei Cultural Club. The video of this dance was released in July 2021 and is available on the official YouTube channel of Pachhunga University College. Lamlian Lehlam has been performed in different platforms including the Dubai World Expo in March of this year, where members of the Club were invited to perform.

Researched and filmed by Gayatri Indira Vijaysimha and Dev Narayan Chaudhuri (Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai) © 2010. This is a cutout of their video documentary on the Khasi music of Meghalaya edited for the Tribal Cultural Heritage in India Foundation. More information on Khasi cultural heritage is found via the foundation's Search page: indiantribalheritage.org

After hearing a story about a temple on the top of a hill and a mysterious sage with powerful talismans from a friend, Utpal decides to travel to the temple and obtain one of the objects from the sage. The object grants three wishes. This short film shows how Utpal decides to make use of those wishes.

Gatika is a measure of time. It is said that Time in the old days in India was measured in 24 minute cycles. There were sixty 24 minute cycles in a day. And each cycle of 24 minutes is called a gatika.

In the Buddhist Nyingma-Gelug tradition, a gatika is said to be the perfect time to complete a task with perfect focus, and in cinema, we measure persistence of vision in 24 frames per second (fps).

In 2014, I unplugged from all city networks and started traveling by road or on foot through rural India full-time. I met masters of the handmade crafts, farmers and soothsayers on my path. It is a full moon tonight and I thought it the perfect time to talk about the cumulus of work at my studio GATIKA over these years. I will release 24 vignettes in the coming days, glimpses into the lives of women, myths, rivers and that wonderful Idea of India I grew up around.

This first vignette is from Arunachal Pradesh, the banks of the river Kley.

The streets of Shillong are fraught with arguments… A Bihari filmmaker married to a Khasi finds himself using the phrase as the title of his new documentary to start discussions on the much-debated topic, the existential crisis of the hill tribe. * Are the men of the Indian plains stealing Khasi women’s affections? * Will the influx of outsiders and mixed marriages prove apocalyptic for the indigenous people? * Is matrilineality a curse in disguise? 'La Mana / Not Allowed' explores the marginal multicultural dreams of Khasi Shillong

A sequel to "Glimpses of Assam", this documentary presents further report on this enchanting land of melody and moods. Following the river Brahmaputra, which flows through Assam, the film spotlights the river's vagaries in alternately ravaging and helping Assam to reap rich harvests.

Researched and filmed by Gayatri Indira Vijaysimha and Dev Narayan Chaudhuri (Tata Institute of Social Sciences Mumbai) © 2010. This is a cutout of their video documentary on the Khasi music of Meghalaya edited for the Tribal Cultural Heritage in India Foundation. More information on Khasi cultural heritage is found via the foundation's Search page: indiantribalheritage.org

Video from Have A Good Day

Nagaland is a place known for the tradition of headhunting. This was discontinued many years ago, however, the last few of the Konyak tattooed headhunters still remain. I had an opportunity to go and meet them personally and this is how it turned out to be.

An indeterminate portrait of Saurav Kumar Chaliha, a face-less fiction-writer of Assam, India. For nearly six decades he has existed only through his voice, and writings having no biography, no official photograph, and the so-called interviews. A rare species in today's much-hyped literary world, and that too in the present market-driven economy!

This document is published by the Department of Art & Culture, Govt of Mizoram.

Heng document kan upload te hi mipuite tan a ṭangkai kan rin avanga dah kan ni a. Henga thil hrilhfiahna leh ngaihdan an sawite hi a dik ber e tihna a ni lo a, ṭhangtharten an zirchiang zel a, rin dan pawh a danglam hret hret thei a ni tih hriat tur a ni.