Vikram SINGH
The Fakirani Jats are a nomadic community who have traveled for centuries along the western coast of India and Pakistan with the Kharai, a special breed of sea-going camel unique to this region. Today, both the Fakirani and the Kharai are on the verge of extinction. Our main character is Adam Abdrehman, the head of one of the last truly nomadic Fakirani Jat families. Nearly 200 of his camels have died in the last three years, the animals devastated by a lack of food and the choking of their traditional migratory routes by the unchecked and often illegal industrial expansion in the region. Adam¡¯s eldest son, Ismael, insists the family must sell the remaining camels to build a new life for themselves. Adam faces a choice – lose his beloved camels or his family? This film speaks to a number of questions confronting India today: What are we prepared to sacrifice in the name of economic development and growth? Which ways of life can be sacrificed? What ecosystems merit preservation? What connections to the land, and which types of traditional knowledge are we prepared to sever for the sake of industrialization?
I¡¯m fascinated by how people and animals share spaces. I spent my early years on a large animal husbandry research farm in Haryana, where my father was a veterinary doctor. As a filmmaker, I have repeatedly been drawn to the stories of conflict and coexistence with animals.
I am a beneficiary of the rapid transformation of India over the past three decades. I grew up in a family that raised buffaloes, and I now make documentary films, a privilege if ever there was one. The Fakirani Jats have had a very different trajectory. Their numbers have dwindled, and their way of life has been rendered almost untenable. Their story booms with resonance, timelessness coming into direct, jarring contact with this very specific moment. There is so much to offer, lessons for our present and future about how to survive and thrive on a planet with dwindling resources, yet they are told their lives don¡¯t matter at each turn. This film is an attempt to emphatically say – that they do!
Vikram SINGH