KHO-KI-PA-LÜ / UP DOWN AND SIDEWAYS 2017, 83 minutes, Chokri/ Nagamese a film from the u-ra-mi-li project Supported by a Research and Documentation Grant from the India Foundation for the Arts SYNOPSIS “If not for you, I have no other true love When we work together the sun sets early If not for you, I have no love” Close to the India - Myanmar border is the village of Phek in Nagaland. Around 5000 people live here, almost all of whom cultivate rice for their own consumption. As they work in cooperative groups or mülé — preparing the terraced fields, planting saplings, or harvesting the grain and carrying it up impossibly steep slopes — the rice cultivators of Phek sing. The seasons change, and so does the music, transforming the mundane into the hypnotic. The love that they sing of is also a metaphor for the need for the other - the friend, the family, the community, to build a polyphony of voices. Stories of love, stories of the field, stories of song, stories in song. Up Down and Sideways is a musical portrait of a community of rice cultivators and their memories of love and loss, created from working together on the fields. * Kho ki pa lü is the way the polyphonic music of Phek is described in Chokri, the local language in Phek village. It means, 'the sound goes up, the sound goes down and the sound goes sideways'. Up Down and Sideways. ** to contribute please write to uramili.project@gmail.com and we will be happy to share more details on the film www.uramili.in

Uramili Project

Kho ki pa lü / Up Down and Sideways TRAILER

The u-ra-mi-li project is thrilled to be collaborating with the NCPA, Mumbai and ARCE, Gurgaon to be presenting a concert of a group of 20 singers from Phek Village, Nagaland, where we have been filming over many seasons. This will be the first ever concert of this group, and here are some snippets from their rehearsals at Phek in January this year. Do come and listen to the mesmerising Li polyphonies at the NCPA Experimental Theatre in Mumbai on March 19, 2016 at 6:30 pm Book your tickets at: http://bit.ly/1QoMIYR

Rehearsals at Phek

Kaayal Kadhaigal (stories from the lagoon/ current affairs)

Our hunt for Work songs, (songs accompanying various kinds of work) brought us to Bikkapattimandu in the Nilgiris. We had contacted Keystone, a wonderful organization working with tribal communities in the nilgiris, who put us in touch with a few communities we could spend some time and film with. Bikkapattimandu is small village between kotagiri and ooty. There are only nine houses here, all of whom are part of one large family. The people here belong to the Toda community, which has a total population of 2000 in all of the Nilgiris. Their main occupation is buffalo herding which also involves selling milk, butter and ghee. The language sounds completely alien. We were convinced that it was a derivative of some language from the middle east. With a healthy serving of 'zha' and 'sha' and 'zz', the language was hypnotic and unlike anything we had ever heard. We found out later that it actually branched out from early early tamil, way before even languages like malayalam. The Toda women are famous for their embroidery work. The shawl they are wearing and the ones they are making are the most important form of clothing worn at all important functions. The song they are singing is one that accompanies the embroidery. Most of their songs have the same melody, with only the lyrics changing depending on whether they are herding cattle or having a festival. The child of course couldn't resist when he heard these women singing whilst working, and decided to join right in =) FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To know more about the u-ra-mi-li project or to contribute, see www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - October 26th - Toda embroidery song

Great to have started travelling again after almost ten months. apologies once again for not putting up anything for the past month. we got a bit busy with our shows in bangalore and then with packing and then finally with travelling. we decided to travel around in tamilnadu to begin with. the first place we visited was Kannarapalayam (very close to mettupalayam at the base of the nilgiris). we spent a few days here filming with a group of thudumbu players. the kids here are used to seeing the grown up men rehearsing and performing for festivals and temple functions. they are not allowed to touch the thudumbu, so they practice on paint box covers, plastic bottles, plastic plates etc. the group we filmed with used to practice on slates that they used in school, that is before they were deemed fit to touch the instrument. and for those of your concerned about the mike, dont worry it survived. FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To know more about the u-ra-mi-li project or to contribute, see www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - October 19th - thudumbu masters, kannarapalayam

Miss Meena is an original play created by Perch and Rafiki in 2010. This was filmed a year and half ago during a show in Kerala. We have been sharing a lot of music, and thought the timing quite apt to share some music that we have helped create. All the music and songs in Miss Meena have been written, set to music and performed by the entire cast. The play itself is inspired by the Visit, a play by Friedrich Durrenmatt. Written by the inimitable Rashmi Ruth Devadasan, and directed by the dont you dare you use any adjectives before my name Rajiv Krishnan, Miss Meena is a classic tale of revenge immersed in the magic and lure of cinema. the play allows the actors to use any languages they are comfortable with, which you can see in this song itself. the play is mostly in english but also uses tamil, kannada, hindi, and a sprinkle or two of more languages. after 18 shows in rangashankara over the last two years, miss meena returns to bangalore. do come if you can. there is a lot more song and dance and colour and magic, all in all a good fun play. hope you enjoy it =) more on the groups perch and rafiki can be found at www.perch.co.in and www.rafiki.in FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To know more about the u-ra-mi-li project or to contribute, see www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - September 14th - Miss Meena

Tulku ji is an absolute people magnet. He loves to be around people, and people get drawn to him. Imagine a slight mix between the screen personas of dev anand and rajesh khanna. Total charmer. Tulku ji grew up in the village of lari in the spiti valley. Tulku is a name given to him by the people, as it means llama of the highest order. He is a retired water pump operator and a farmer. As a child he used to go to manali to study. This meant a 7 day trek, as there were no roads. One of his fondest memories is of having acted in a hindi film 'boond jo ban gaye moti' (the drops that became pearls). He along with some 15 other children were chosen to act for a song sequence in the film, in which jeetendra sings (well actually mukesh does) yeh kaun chitrakaar hai (who is this artist). Tulku ji had a hard time convincing his family that he is actually in the film. A few months before we met him, a friend of his managed to get his hands on a videocassette after serious searching and string pulling. Feels terrible that we found it so quickly on youtube. But here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9b63nSt9jY Tulku ji is one of the last living exponents of the local instruments kokpo (which you see in the video) and the piang (which you can see in our 17 minute film). During the winter months the valley gets fully snowed in. at this time the locals stay at home and party. All birthdays, weddings, and functions happen at this time. At this time, tulku ji goes from village to village teaching and inspiring people to learn their music. The instruments and the folk songs are slowly finding their way back into the communities. Just before we filmed this, he fished this grey coat he is wearing out of his bag. How often do we get to wear our traditional clothes anyway? Besides it will look better in your video. This was filmed in zion cafe in tabo. the owner of the cafe is a student of tulku ji. the wall paintings are all done by tourists. during the four hours we filmed that day, about 25 different people walked in when they heard tulku ji, and joined in on the songs. FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To know more about the u-ra-mi-li project or to contribute, see www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - September 7th - Tulkuji

Meet Vedanth Bharadwaj and Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy. They have been singing together for some time now. We have been fortunate enough to attend many concerts of theirs and also worked with them on other projects. They have been travelling and performing songs of kabir for the Kabir project. Their music has that old world charm. Partly because of the melody, but mostly because of their own personalities. Vedanth is known to faint due to excessive laughter. He enjoys ridiculously cheesy films and bad jokes. His 'ahem' sense of humour has become an integral part of his concerts. Its surprising that he has resisted from adding these jokes or observations in his music cd. Which is one of the many reasons why you must catch him live in action. Bindu is a graphic designer and musician. She comes from a family of musicians and has been trained in carnatic and Hindustani music. She has a million dollar smile and likes to close her eyes while she sings. Physicists working on time travel have been spending considerable amounts of time immersing volunteers in bindu's voice. they haven't gotten any work done as they keep getting distracted. The two of them sing in hindi, tamil, kannada, Bengali, Marathi, and I am sure a few more languages. They sing kabir songs, film songs, bhajans, soft rock, and then some. This song was filmed last night at a concert. The song itself is one of our favourites. Those who have heard this tamil song before will be in for a little surprise half way through the video. Do yourself a favour and check out their music online. Their latest album Suno Bhai is now available at http://www.flipkart.com/suno-bhai-music/p/itmdbc2jttm9w5tg?pid=AVMDBC2JJDHU3NGG FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To know more about the u-ra-mi-li project or to contribute, see www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - August 31st- Vedanth Bharadwaj and Bindhumalini

Its been fascinating to see kids from across the country. How they play, what they play with, the kind of toys, the way elders react to these games. Many times we end up having that expression on our face that we had while watching an episode of masterchef Australia kids version. In our 17 minute film we had a tiny sequence of this kid riding a donkey downhill at full speed. That kid would come running back up and jump onto another donkey. He would lie down on it while it raced downhill. At times he would try to stand on it. all this without a saddle or even a rope for support. The terrain itself is so steep and filled with pebbles that it worries us as observers. A bit like the video today. This was filmed on the way back up from the village of nongriat (the one with the living root bridges, photos of which were shared earlier). As you can see these kids come sliding down on just two small planks of wood and pretty damn fast. A lot of the toys we have come across are fabricated from waste. An open tin can where the flap goes thadak thadak when its rolled with a stick and two wheels. Strange mechanical parts (possibly from a bike or some heavy machinery) that form an installation of sorts. Knives, swords, fire, grumpy animals with sharp teeth, the kids find a way to play with everything. You end up looking around at the elders almost begging them to say something to these kids to be careful or something and then you realise just how ridiculous you are being. FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To know more about the u-ra-mi-li project or to contribute, see www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - August 24th- Kids from Mawshmok

We had put up a song by Rewben many weeks ago. As some of you might remember, Rewben Mashangva sings his own genre of music called Naga folk blues. He started out singing the traditional form of Tangkhul folk, and then found himself being inspired by the music of Bob Dylan and Bob Marley. Over a few days of conversation with Rewben we got a brief insight into his music. Apparently he started feeling a bit awkward after a few of his initial performances. He was very troubled by the differential treatment vetted out to folk performers vs those who sing in English. There is a clear hierarchy he says, the ones who sing in English are given better rooms, better money, different means of transport, but most importantly they seem to be respected more as musicians. Since then Rewben has spent a lot of time learning English and has also added English songs to his repertoire and of late has even started writing his own lyrics in English. But this doesn't stop him from spending time with older tangkhul folk musicians and learning their songs. What to do (something he says quite often, with the 'what' sounding particularly british, like 'huwaht') English brings to me an audience that I wouldn't otherwise have. When he runs out of songs, he sings out the newspaper headlines. The print size is bigger so its easier to read, plus it helps me practice my English, he says. We got quite excited by this and the next time we went to see him, we took along that days local english newspaper, Sanghai Express. Besides the altogether yummy quirk factor, this also gave us an opportunity to bring some of the local news from Manipur out here for you. FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To contribute towards the Uramili Project, please visit www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - August 17th - Sanghai Express.mpg

The sun sets by around quarter past four. By seven the group starts trickling in and settles around the bamboo bon fire. Bamboo burns different from most wood. It burns fast, and with a faint whistle as all the sap comes frothing out from the other side. The burnt bits slowly bend backwards and gently curve towards the sky and give it a last glimpse. Then they fall noiselessly to the ground. Around the burning bamboo sit a group of farmers. These men and women have gathered together at the house of the person whose land they worked on today. As payment or rather as a token of thanks, this person cooks them a feast. You might remember a few of these farmers from our earlier videos. Where they thrashed and winnowed and carried heavy bags of paddy up steep hills and sang. The songs during work are more like grunts and wails, sounds of pain and exhaustion wrenched out of their bodies in the form of polyphonic harmonies. The focus is on the work. In the evening however, they relax. They chat a while, exchange stories, laugh, flirt and holler every now and then, as you see towards the end of the video. it's a sound of joy, of abandon, a sound that tells all those who are afraid at night to not worry and sleep well as there is someone else who is awake . FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To contribute towards the Uramili Project, please visit www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - August 10th - Li at feast

When we couldn't find a place to stay in the village of Khinchan in Rajasthan, the local school master offered us one of the rooms. At which point, Gomati, one of the school kids mother insisted that we come and stay at their house instead. in the evening as we were lounging on their terrace, some neighbours dropped in to investigate who these two creatures are. Meet Indira devi, our neighbour for a day. We had a small baithak of sorts on the terrace. We spoke about travelling, about acidity, Siberian cranes and also holi as it was just around the corner. Indira devi is one of the more accomplished singers who refused to sing without her accompanying musicians. She has sung many times on TV. Khinchan gets a good deal of press coverage as they have some 15000 migratory Siberian cranes that come to visit every year. Locally these cranes are called khurja. Indira devi has sung songs on the khurja, which have become a staple diet for most news channels. When no amount of pleading worked, we bargained with her. A song for a song. =). At which point, although full shy was coming, Anushka sang Yamuna yatrile from thalapati. Indira devi listens to this tamil song, and says, ahh good choice, Singing Krishna songs just before holi. At which point one didn't have to plead anymore. She readily sang another holi song. As there were no lights on the terrace we used a torch (the first donation towards the uramili project =)). Hope you enjoy it. FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To contribute towards the Uramili Project, please visit www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - August 3rd - Indira Devi

This was one of the first video recordings we did. Walking from hauz khas village to green park, we found these women walking towards us. We made eye contact, they smiled, and started singing. Here we were looking for performers and these four just magically appeared in front of us. We were doubly excited as we were heading to rajasthan in a few days and we were getting a small sample of what was to come our way. As for the song, we don't know if the entire song is this repetitive or if they were only singing one line for us. It seems silly and quite often we have gone, aiyooo ha ha ha, but honestly the excitement and the enthusiasm that they sing with and also the subtle variations they bring in make one look forward to the same line again to see what else can they do with it. We have seen this clip many times and it continues to bring a smile. FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To contribute towards the Uramili Project, please visit www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - July 27th - Holi women

For this weeks Friday Release we have shared two clips. although they are two different stories in time and space, there are so many similarities and connections that they need to go together. the first one is of Rana ji. we have written about him on our blog and his name keeps coming up when we talk of uttarakhand. he is a poet/ activist who is working to create community based sustainable eco tourism in the Nanda devi region. this is was filmed outside his house, while he sang a song of protest from the Jhapto cheeno aandolan which he spearheaded many years ago. the second part was filmed in the village of reni. Rana ji took us to meet Bali Devi, one of the 30 odd women who was part of the Chipko movement. rana ji was also a part of it and merely 16 at that time. Bali Devi shared some stories of the movement and sang us a couple of songs that accompanied it. FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To contribute towards the Uramili Project, please visit www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE - June 20th- Songs of Protest

We filmed this in the village of Chongkham in Arunachal Pradesh. Chongkham, as the locals told us, was considered at one point to be the richest village in Asia. What is interesting about this space is that when you walk around, it feels as though you are in Thailand. Not that we have been to Thailand, but the style of construction, especially the monasteries are very thai. The people here are in fact descendants of a tribe that came from Thailand, and are called thai khampti. We were fortunate enough to be able to film for a few hours with these two wonderful women who run an all womens theatre troupe. The initial bit is the entry of the demons. These women make the masks and the costumes, and this piece is usually accompanied by musical instruments. But in this piece they are making the sounds of the instruments vocally as they didn't have the instruments on them. The second part is a conversation between two lovers. Apologies as we don't have their names as of now. We had requested a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend who translated for us to sms it to us. She forgot, and we also forgot. So now that we remember we will call her and get the names. Please to not mind. FRIDAY RELEASE is an endeavour to share raw footage from the u-ra-mi-li project. We'd like to give you a sample of the kind of stories we have and are looking for; some of these stories may make their way into the final film, others won't. Do tell us what you like, what you don't, what links you see between different kinds of music or visuals, what you've seen before, or what the clip reminds you of. To contribute towards the Uramili Project, please visit www.uramili.in

FRIDAY RELEASE July 13th - Chongkham

Uramili Project (2012-01-21 07:07:04 +0000 UTC)

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Uramili Project

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