In search of incredible India

 Event 

In search of incredible India - Spiti Valley

Part of the Hazard, Risk and Disaster (HRD) Research Seminar Series 2020-21.

Spiti Valley is a dry cold desert in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is part of the Trans-Himalayan mountain range and lies on the western edge of the Tibetan plateau. It gets buried in the snow during winters and hardly receives any rainfall during summers, but people here lead a very comfortable and happy life. The conditions are harsh, but still they grow some of the finest varieties of peas and barley. How do they manage their resources? How do they live in harmony with nature?

To find answers to these questions, Pushpam Singh travelled to Spiti Valley with his friend Kesar Chand. Together, they spent five days in the valley, stayed in the small village of Demul, interacted with the locals, explored the area, and discovered some fascinating realities. After the recce, Pushpam sat down and wrote the script. A year later, he went back to the valley with a team of five, stayed in the village for a week, and shot the entire film.

The film is now available in the public domain and can be viewed on YouTube.

In this talk, Pushpam will walk you through his storytelling and filmmaking technique. He will also discuss how storytelling can be integrated into research, and can be used as a powerful tool to reach out to a wider audience.

About the speaker

Pushpam Singh is the founder and director of Kraft Films – a creative video production house based out of Bangalore that produces videos for branding, marketing and advertising. In the last four years, he has worked with some of the biggest companies – Cisco, Juniper, Akamai, AppDynamics, Expedia, Star Plus and many more. Prior to this, he did his MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. In 2012, he published his first poetic novel called Shades of Shadows, which was long listed for the Crossword India award. He has also written and directed many documentary films – In Search of Incredible India, Pathways to Resilience, and Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Dr Kesar Chand works in the North East Regional Centre of the GoI, GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, but maintains substantial links with the Kullu District in Himachal Pradesh. His research expertise is multidisciplinary: climate change, air pollution and disaster risk reduction.