Poet Lakshmanan and advocate R. Murugavel believe that it’s the indigenous tribes who add value to the Western Ghats. So smitten were they by the customs, traditions, and way of life of the tribal people that they decided to spend two years documenting their history. They rode across the Western Ghats on a bike, stopping at tribal hamlets and places of historic importance, recording their observations with a handycam. Thus was born Naali , a 97-minute documentary film.
Simple lives
The DVD of Naali was recently released in the city by director Balaji Sakthivel. Balaji, who grew up watching feature films, said that the documentary taught him history form a new perspective. “I saw the movie from a common man’s viewpoint,” he said. “It speaks of the simple lives of the tribal inhabitants of our forests, of how they live in consonance with Nature.” Balaji said that the fact that the directors were out there with the tribes, added life to the film.
Independent researcher C.R. Bijoy, whose inputs made the film possible, said that Naali was one of the few documentary films that was shot from the people’s perspective. Bijoy is part of the formulation committee of the Forest Rights Act, 2005. “It’s the adivasis who have truly understood the meaning of independence,” he said. “But what is the importance of documenting such a people’s history?” Naali has the answers.
The film begins with breathtaking shots of the Western Ghats. “Tribal people have been living in these hills for thousands of years,” says the narrator Lakshmanan. But these forests are now facing destruction. The tribes are being used as slaves in mills in the plains. Animals are wandering outside their habitats looking for food. Water bodies have run dry, he goes on. The film probes into the reasons why this is happening. “The crux of our documentary is the history of the Western Ghats,” explains Lakshmanan.
Naali traces the entry of Jainism, Saivism and Vaishnavam to the hills. It starts with the Later Cholas who were attracted by the rich flora of the forests. “Even today, we can find traces of the Later Cholas in the Western Ghats,” says the narrator.
The movie talks of the unique agricultural practices of the tribes. They would set fire to a patch of land in the forest and cultivate crops there, using the ash as manure. After harvest, they would travel elsewhere, only to return to the place after about 15 years. Lakshmanan explains how they built their houses using wood from plants such as bamboo that grew quickly once cut.
The Later Cholas were followed by the Vijayanagara kings, the Hoysalas and the Nayaks. In fact, the film says that the term ‘Nilgiris’ was first found in stone inscriptions belonging to the period of Hoysala king Vishnuvardhan.
According to the documentary, when some British troops on horseback pursued a palayakkaran who refused to pay tax into the hills, they were surprised to find themselves in a place that looked and felt like England. This discovery marked the entry of the British into the Nilgiris. They later planted teak there, for they had exhausted oak trees in their country — oak was mainly used to build ships. Eucalyptus was planted for firewood, and then came the tea plantations. Ooty, which was once a small village, developed in to a city.
The narrator explains how teak, coffee, rubber and coffee plantations resulted in the destruction of the indigenous flora of the forest, not to mention the exploitation of the tribal people who were employed there for a pittance. The documentary goes into details about the efficacy of the forest department laws and the rights of the native tribes. It also speaks of NGOs who believe that forests are solely meant for wildlife and not the tribes. Though long, Naali engages the viewer. The film is being screened in colleges across the state, says Lakshmanan. “A tribal leader bought 20 copies to be screened in his village,” he adds. For details, call 91590-33939.
