Shriram Iyengar
Mumbai, 17 Sep 2018 9:00 IST
Nitin Das's documentary explores the healing, educational and meditative properties of being in nature through interactions with individuals who have chosen to walk away from the urban rush.
It was the 19th century American writer-philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, who said, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
Watching India's Healing Forests by Nitin Das is a reminder of the 'quiet desperation' that has become the life of the urban individual in the 21st century. Through the documentary, Das explores the scores of benefits that living among nature offers and which is attempted by several scores of individuals.
The documentary states the educational benefits that studying in the presence of nature has for children. And moves on to the medicinal, emotional and psychological benefits that the presence of nature and its sights has in making a calmer individual.
This is not just applicable to children. As the documentary progresses, it also delves into the lives of several individuals who have chosen, like Thoreau, to remove themselves from stressful urban settings to a more relaxed lifestyles within forests.
From its scenic visuals, to the calm, serene voice narrating the documentary, the film becomes a practice in meditation by itself. However, that is what takes away from the subject. After a point, the documentary refuses to dig deep into its subject.
There is little insight given into the challenges faced by the individuals who have chosen to step away from technology, or the urban settlement. This makes it a bit of a one-sided narrative of the argument. Hearing only the positive signs, makes for dull watching.
While it might not be everyone's cup of tea, the documentary does pick a subject that is not often touched upon. At least, not outside an episode on the National Geographic channel.
India's Healing Forests will be screened at the Open Frame Film Festival 2018 in New Delhi today (17 September).
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