In this city of blinding lights,
lays sprawled the heavy darkness,
An unending abyss of death and sorrow
and yet there is joy in new life and success,
An interwoven web
creating shadows and highlights.
We, embrace it all,
The dark shadows and blinding lights.

Today it's different... for they don't understand
what it's like to be caged
like an animal - captive.
Innocent until proven guilty - they say
Prove me guilty - i say,
For I am not the man you want,
I am the victim -
Of lies, deceit and betrayal.
Yet, I shall stand tomorrow,
After all these falls,
A tougher man - A better man.

mukungarh ki kaichee

this village is known for its scissors...they are known far and wide for the sharpness and accuracy of the scissors they make...

years earlier their ancestors made swords for the maharajas and now they evolved into scissor making as the times changed and they needed to survive...but the lack of work and the goodness of their work are the reason why this art seems to be dying... their scissors once bought will last u a minimum of thirty yrs and even if u cut iron for 5 continuous yrs it wont become blunt!...and so the people who buy them never come bk!!...

among the many scissor makers only two families survive and even now their children have taken up other jobs. yesterday i met a scissor maker who would not talk to me. he would sit and continue working while i stared in awe at him working the metal.

it took a lot of coaxing and prodding to finally break in...and when i did i found this amazing warm person conflicted by his present times and the lack of work but carrying within him a love for his art and a devotion so deep that i had to respect him. a humbling experience...

we sat and had chai..showed them videos...talked to the little girls who fought with their older brother...listened to the old mother who had so much to tell...they were talking and how!...pouring all their fears and stories into one conversation...feeling exhilarated and sad at the same time..we left having given a little and getting a lot back.

these scissors are special and one has to own one to know it!...

milann john!...the mastermind behind the crime...

travellers...on the same beat
abhinav saxena...so sound!

~mukungarh~

the shoot's finally happening!!...from the moment i started off on this project to now... things have been falling into place...like the planets have alined togther to make this shoot successful!!..and im grateful..

this is my final diploma shoot which i chose to shoot in a little village called mukungarh..my ancestral place and a place thats gettin lost...taking along with it my history and identity...I started out by comin here on my own with mum and looking around..the initial recce in the freezing winter...and the light breeze of spring..now finally here in the scorching heat of this summer to shoot this film..

mukungarh is a small village in the northern region of rajasthan..three hours from jaipur it belongs to the shekhawati region of marwar!...this time ive come here with a part of my crazy crew... there's a sound guy and we call him abhinav... the brain i call milann and myself...and the most important production person here...my mum and the cook..krishnaji!!.. :D...we're stayin in my aunt's haveli here...the rooms are ancient and the stone is rustic..the place is tucked away in time and yet moving towards rapid modernization..

CHANGE... being the crux of my shoot...stories of the past and the realities of today...all in one architectural wonder of stone, morals, customs and memories...

the place moves me and even the heat doesnt tempt me to leave...this feeling of belonging here even though i have never been here has immense power and it's here to stay...

some pics coming up here soon...for more insight check out http://milann.blogspot.com/