Coming To A Screen Near You: Diary Of A Nobody

Meenakshi Kumar and Nigel Britto

Zulekha Sayyed is no celebrity. But at a recently concluded workshop on citizen journalism in Goa, the 22-year-old Mumbai slumdweller was feted like a star. Small wonder because Sayyed is one of the most recognizable faces of the community video revolution that is changing lives of ordinary people across the country. Rickshawpullers, farm labourers and diamond polishers are among the 100, almost-trained video producers who were part of the five-day workshop.

The extraordinary experiment is a sociological revolution of sorts. By capturing the myriad problems of their humble lives on camera, these largely unlettered people are almost writing a diary. And the diary of a nobody arguably promotes self-awareness , the first stage of self-development . The basic idea is that people have the right to speak, rather than be spoken for.

It is the Indian manifestation of a timeworn trend. In 1892, The Diary of a Nobody was published in England. A lower middle-class clerk was the main protagonist and he defended his right to write a diary.

Similarly, the 100 or so Indian video producers are telling their stories, through the camera today. Video Vounteers (VV), the non-governmental organization involved in their training, says the batch has been doing this since 2006. The experiment is the brainchild of New Yorker Jessica Mayberry, a former television journalist, who divides her time between the US and India. But the idea has been taken forward by VV in concert with Gujarat-based human rights NGO, Drishti. From six community video units (CVUs) three years ago to 13 today, 50 producers originally to more than a 100 across Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh , Maharashtra and Rajasthan, VV has changed many lives. Mayberry says, “It’s amazing to see the change. When I started training some of them, they were shy, inhibited . Today, they are confident young men and women, who can challenge the corrupt system.”

VV is not the only community media group in the country. In Bihar’s remote Ramlila Gachi village , women with handycams on bicycles have become a common sight. Aapaan Samachar, an allwomen community news network launched in 2007, uses women power to focus on local issues, such as lack of electricity and water . The women shoot, edit and even anchor the films, which are broadcast on local television.

A similar story has been playing out for nearly a decade in the hinterland of Andhra Pradesh. A group of poor Dalit women has been trained by a grassroots NGO, the Deccan Development Society (DDS), to make films on subjects close to their hearts — water scarcity , food problems, lack of roads etc. They’ve made films such as Why Are Warangal Farmers Angry with Bt Cotton; Water, Life and Livelihoods and Ten Women and a Camera. Two years ago, their films made history of a sort when they were included in the retrospective section of Mumbai’s International Film Festival.

This raises a pertinent question : Do these CVUs really make a difference and act as an agent of change? Yes, says P V Satheesh, a founder-member of DDS, who was responsible for training the women filmmakers. “The mainstream media will be truly democratic once the marginalized are able to contribute to discussion of various issues. That’s when the real social changes will be noticeable, somewhat like the RTI.”

Mayberry says these videos play a significant role in grassroots development. “It’s important to get people to communicate and CVUs help in that. They encourage community based communication , which is important for development and social change,” she says.

And then there is the blossoming of the individual. Rajeshwari, a 22-year-old tribal from a remote Andhra Pradesh hamlet, is part of the CVU, Manyam Prajya. Today, she is a well-known known face in 34 villages. “Not too long ago, nobody knew me,” she says. “Today, people from higher castes tell their daughters, ‘You should become like Laxmi’s daughter’ .” For Jitendra Makhwan, 26, a Dalit who spent his childhood polishing gems in Bhavnagar, the camera has helped to break age-old caste barriers. For the first time, he was allowed inside a temple, thanks to his camera.

It’s stories like these that convince Mayberry and others like her that they are on the right track.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times of India on its edition dated August 16, 2009.