Children of The Pyre

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WHEN filmmaker Rajesh S Jala’s two documentary films — Floating Lamp of the Shadow Valley and Children of the Pyre —were screened, the audience was left completely awe-struck by the filmmaker’s talent in documenting the lives of these unfortunate and unprivileged children. The former dealt with the life of Arif in Kashmir and the latter about seven children, who make their living out of the dead at Manikarnika, Varanasi.
The two documentaries were screened as part of CANSWER initiative, a day-long programme that also saw an interactive session with directors Balu Mahendra, Madhu Ambat, Rajesh S Jala and Hariharan.
Speaking about the initiative, Dr Rajesh Jeganathan, managing director, Billroth Hospitals and the founder of Dr V Jeganathan Foundation, said, “I started the foundation in the name of my father V Jeganathan. In order to spread awareness on cancer we started CANSWER, a public outreach programme on February 4.” The objective of CANSWER is to create awareness among both, the urban and rural public.
“As part of the initiative, we had these two documentaries screened.
We have also invited students to participate in the short film and photography competitions on cancer awareness so as to reach more people. We’ve received 250 entries till now and there’s a special jury formed to select the winners.
Three winners from each category would be selected. The first prize consists of Rs 60,000 in cash and Rs 30,000 for the photography contest.” On the occasion, CANSWER donated Rs 1 lakh to PLAN, an NGO with whom filmmaker Rajesh Jala has tied up for the rehabilitation of those seven children.
Dr Rajesh Jeganathan also announced that the foundation would sponsor Arif with Rs 25,000 towards his education.
“CANSWER would be a continuous campaign and we would organise many events,” said Dr Rajesh, whose Dr V Jeganathan Foundation has allocated a sum of Rs 60 lakh per year towards treating cancer affected patients and 10 beds have been allocated for these patients at Billroth Hospitals.
“Child welfare is also our priority. The foundation would create awareness on diabetes, heart diseases and AIDS in the coming years,” informed Dr Rajesh.
Sharing his experiences on documenting the life of Arif, a boatman, in his documentary Floating Lamp of the Shadow Valley, Rajesh S Jala said, “I w e n t t o Kashmir in 2 0 0 5 - 0 6 , where I met Arif and it’s an extraordinary story. I was with Arif for a year documenting him in different seasons.
He is in a public school now and thanks to Dr Rajesh for donating Rs 25,000 towards his education.
He is in class seven at present.” Rajesh also added that he went to Manikarnika and developed a special bonding with those seven children, whom he documented in his award-winning documentary Children of the Pyre. “I spent a month there to make a film and I followed those kids for the next one-and-a-half years,” said Rajesh, who then tied up with PLAN, an NGO to rehabilitate these children.
Rajesh informed that four among the seven children are in a boarding school and one joined in a dance academy, as he’s extremely interested in dancing. “We’re working something out for the other two as they’re too old to join in a school, “ he said and added that “Children of the Pyre is not just a film, it’s a mission to try to change the lives of the kids.”