Have You Seen the Arana? (2012)

• 77%
• 2012
• Documentary
• Sunanda Bhat

The film interweaves contemporary narratives with an ancient creation myth to explore the effects of a rapidly changing landscape on lives and livelihood. Set in a rich and bio-diverse region in South India, we journey through a land that is witnessing drastic transformation in the name of 'development'. A woman's concern over the disappearance of medicinal plants from the forest, a farmer's commitment to growing indigenous varieties of rice organically and a cash crop cultivator's struggle to survive amidst farmers' suicides, offer fresh insights into shifting relations between people, knowledge systems and environment. As hills flatten, forests disappear and knowledge systems are forgotten, the film reminds us that this diversity could disappear forever, to be replaced by unsustainable alternatives.