The women of Uttarakhand are known for hard work, courage to face stark reality of life while their husbands are away to earn a living. They were active participants in the movement for the formation of separate hill state and Chipko movement. These hill women are also known for collectively agitating against liquor mafia which is ruining the life of the young people. This concrete social reality of the hill society is reflected in “Suberau Ghaam”, a feature film in Garhwali, which released in Delhi recently. The narrative moves round a woman who never accepts defeat, facing a chain of tragic incidents that destroy her happy world.
Born in Garhwal and now based in Mumbai, Urmi Negi has written the script and dialogues. A documentary maker, she frequently goes to the U.S. and Latin American countries to showcase her cinematic work. She is also the protagonist in the film which is directed by Naresh Khanna. The lyrics and music score by Narendra Singh Negi, a well known folk singer, enrich the value of the film. It is a welcome departure from the run-of-the-mill films being produced in Uttarakhand. The film has no cheap scenes between young lovers dancing round trees often bordering on vulgarity. In fact, there is no clichéd theme like boy meets girl in the film.
The camera follows the life of the female protagonist who has a lovely kid. Her husband is in the armed forces working as Subedar. The camera captures a forest with dense trees and the woman is trudging up the hill all alone to meet her old father. The mother and the son engage in the lively conversation to laugh away their tiredness. Juxtaposing this scene is the one where her worried old father waiting for her arrival impatiently because the way the daughter has to cross is hazardous.
The old man’s daughter-in-law appears briefly but her conversation with her father-in-law and sister-in-law reflects the bitterness of the life of women whose husbands have not visited home for years and are working in plains to earn livelihood, remitting money back home. The young woman has to work hard on the fields and bring fodder for cattle, apart from looking after the ageing father-in-law. The other aspect of the film is that it brings alive the distinct ethos of Uttarakhand social life. The husband of our protagonist is a Subedar in the armed forces. There are a number of folk songs, which glorify the patriotism of soldiers as well as the deep desire of women to see their husbands.
Joining army is the first preference of the young people of Uttarakhand. (It is said that according to the population ratio Uttarakhand has the highest number of serving personnel in the armed forces and there are 1,70,000 retired army personnel in Uttarakhand). Subedar is a highly revered person in the hill society. The character of Subedar is “Suberau Ghaam” takes on liquor mafia just after his retirement. He has his dream of leading a good life after retirement and to make his son a commissioned officer. He commands high respect in society and deeply loves his hard working and intelligent wife. Ironically, he falls in the trap of mafia. The film reveals his fall from social respectability and the ruin of his family life.
These various thematic elements contribute to reinforce the central theme of the film the power of hill women. The village women join hands and start militant movement against the mafia and destroy his underground distillery and order the assembled drunkards to leave the place at once, some of these men are also thrashed. (In fact, there is an example of collective force of women to punish addicted men folk, beating them with Bichchu Ghaas-stinging nettle.
One of the highlights of the film is the scenes of the episode of Chakravyu in which Abhimanyu is killed by the Kaurva warriors resorting to unethical means. The producer has organised Pandav Jagar at Gupt Kashi, centuries old folk theatre of Garhwal with elements of the Sanskrit theatre, which was performed by traditional artists. The director has not used this gripping scene not for mere display of hill folk art and to decorate his film but the show watched by the mother and the little son is used as a source of cosmic truth and non-perishable character of Atma, soul. Towards the end it becomes tedious, contrived, a little abstract losing its earlier vitality and flow. But on the whole the film deserves appreciation and it will go a long way to boost the nebulous film industry of Uttarakhand.
