The temple town of Aranmula was recently making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The move to set up an international airport, which was allegedly given an environmental clearance flouting all norms, was the beginning. Though the National Green Tribunal set aside the clearance which was later upheld by the Supreme Court, the dust has not yet settled on the controversy. Aaranmula: Aaranmula at Crossroads , a documentary by P.R. Sreekumar takes up the issue, and explores the rich heritage of the land, unscientific development initiatives and massive people’s movement against the airport project.
The 57-minute documentary captures the legacy of the land on the banks of Pamba, which is famous for its Parthasarathy Temple, boat race, Vallasadya, the Aranmula mirror, ritualistic art form of Padayani, and sacred groves.
“Having been associated with environmental issues, the dying wetlands along the Pamba and the crumbling ecosystem of the region caught my attention. The paddy fields and wetlands form the lifeline of Aranmula. The proposed airport project would have robbed the region of all its natural wealth. Kozhithode, a key tributary was filled up for the project. I felt that it was important to document how the people of Aranmula rose to conserve the natural wetlands and revive the traditional agricultural practices. K. P. Sreeranganathan, an environmentalist who has been fighting for the cause, guided us in the project and we could also collate comments and viewpoints of many prominent people who have been opposing the project,” says Sreekumar, who has scripted and directed the documentary. It has been produced under the banner of Kurinji Cultural Forum by Sreekumar and M. V. Rajesh.
The film was first screened at the third Delhi International Film Festival 2014, under Green Film category. Sreekumar’s earlier works are Neelakurinji, Pambattam, Parameswaravijayam: Oru Chuttikatha, Vallithai, Naalam Pookkaalam, Chavara Parukutty: Kathakaliyile Sthree Parvam, and Vaalkkannadi.
