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The recently-screened Kali Bein is based on the efforts of Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal to clean up the river
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Evocative The river has a rich symbolism in Sikh religious history
Road Baba waited for the film screening to begin as he straightened his elaborate saffron toga which matched his bulbous saffron turban. His face was limpid, like a clear lagoon, equanimity personified, and his long beard had visible streaks of grey giving him a slightly avuncular look. He was accompanied by two of his followers, similarly dressed, but younger, and they basked in the aura of the Baba. ‘Road Baba’, so called because he transformed muddy paths into tarred roads in large parts of rural Punjab, is a popular religious leader in the Punjab heading a group of Nirmala Sikhs but he was invited to the screening of the documentary film, “Kali Bein” (The Black River), directed by Surendra Manan, for his fame as an environmentalist.
The documentary, which was screened at the recent film festival on the theme of water, ‘Voices from the Waters’, is based on the efforts of Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal to clean up the river Kali Bein. The river has a rich symbolism in Sikh religious history because many prominent Sikh gurus, including Guru Nanak, are supposed to have led their lives along the bank of this river. The Mul Mantra, the theological foundation of the Sikh faith is supposed to have been recited by Guru Nanak after taking a dip in this river.
The river begins in a tiny village in Hoshiarpur district and flows for a distance of 160 kilometres passing through the city of Sultanpur Lodhi. When Seechewal adopted the cause of cleaning the river eight years ago Bein had been completely polluted and functioned more like a sewer with large tracts of it standing like stagnant cesspools. It was completely overlaid with a green carpet of hyacinth, the killer weed that sounds the death knell for most fresh water forms.
“When I looked at the river I knew that something had to be done about it and I vowed that I would not rest till Bein was completely clean again”, commented Seechewal in an interaction with the audience after the screening. Using the religious zeal of his followers Seechewal started what must have seemed an insurmountable task at that point. The documentary traces Seechewal’s journey over the past eight years cleaning the river. He physically pulled out large swathes of the hyacinth weed, with a motley group of supporters, which included young boys as well. Building solid banks for Bein and local drainage systems along the way, Seechewal did not rest till the river flowed again in its pristine beauty.
Bein was finally clean but not before the process faced a lot of problems from the local government authorities, according to Seechewal. The documentary has done an excellent task in charting this journey of Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, who showed how a religious and social cause could be combined but it also raises interesting questions whether this experiment could be duplicated in other polluted rivers across India. Seechewal said this could be possible but in the case of Kali Bein there was an established local religious leader who had a homogenous religious following.
Chances of such conditions existing in other parts of India are remote but there is no doubt that the excellent documentary shows how organised religion can be used for fulfilling social responsibility.
VIKHAR AHMED SAYEED
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