Anupama Srinivasan

In the dense forests of the Eastern Himalayas, moths are whispering something to us. In the dark of night, two curious observers shine a light on this secret universe.

'Mod' is an attempt by the filmmaker at communicating with the young men who hang out at the ‘notorious’ water tank in her neighbourhood in Pratap Vihar, Ghaziabad. The water tank is a space that is frequented by the so-called ‘no-gooders’ of the locality, a place where they play cricket, play cards, drink and smoke up. When she enters the space with her camera, the boys are curious and at the same time wary of it and her. They sometimes resist, sometimes protest, and at times, open up. As the film unfolds we get a hint of the lives the boys lead and the fragile world they create for themselves at the water tank.

From the vast coastlines of Tamil Nadu, to the arid lands of Rajasthan and the lush greenery of Sikkim, the camera joins local children on the journeys of their daily lives: to and from school, in their classes and after-school play, and doing chores. The children are shy but face the camera directly to talk about their families, their teachers, and their own feelings. Their gazes imply straightforward doubts about the adult world, which the director captures, in taking a sincere look at the meaning of education.

Far from the mainland and mainstream consciousness, in a region ridden with uncertainties, Tora is a quaint village with bad roads, erratic transport service, a dysfunctional school, no hospital, no power supply, no mobile network and no job opportunities.

The Film takes us to rural schools in the predominantly tribal district of Dungarpur in southern Rajasthan. With two Government school teachers as focal points, it explores the challenges of being a teacher and a student in fairly adverse circumstances. Children come from difficult contexts with very limited material resources, absentee fathers and younger siblings to attend to. How do teachers respond to this situation? How do they bring children to school and create an environment in which they are motivated to learn?