It was an adventure trip for her and its outcome is the one-hour documentary titled ‘To the Tribal Beats of Konyak’ which captures the social and cultural life of the people of Nagaland, especially those of the Konyak tribe.
Lekha Raman from Peruvamba near Payyannur spent five days in Nagaland with a three-member crew to make the documentary that focuses on the life and culture of the people of Nagaland. The journey was not without a sense of adventure as she and her crew members were constantly aware of the dangers of travelling in the insurgency-affected State. The documentary that she made was worth the adventure, she said recalling her personal experience during her visit there and her interaction with the people.
"Initially, even Malayalis settled in Nagaland, mostly school teachers, were reluctant to host us, fearing that they might attract hostility of the insurgents", Ms. Raman said. Some of the Malayali families, however, hosted the four-member team from Kerala visiting Nagaland to make the documentary.
Ms. Raman wrote the script, directed and produced the documentary which mainly dwelt on the livelihood and culture of the Konyak tribe, a dominant tribe in Nagaland. The documentary features the tribal folk dance and agricultural activities of the people in Nagaland. It also includes interviews of the chief of the tribe and some of the Malayalis settled there.
It was her first endeavour in documentary-making and it also captured the bewitchingly attractive landscape of Nagaland. She recalled her experience of being confronted by a member of a Naga rebel group when she was travelling with her crew members to a village.
She said that the visit of a girl from Kerala had even surprised the chief of the Konyak tribe. The tribal chief was very hospitable, she said. Her objective was to introduce Nagaland and its culture to the people of Kerala. The documentary also throws light on the serious social problems such as alcohol addiction in the State. She also said that she was planning to screen the documentary for the public to watch it. The crew included Ambu Krishnan, Sunil Kuppol and Rakesh Raghavan.
