Taaza Khabar: Meera at home
Director: Bishakha Datta; Cinematographer: Ranu Ghosh
Duration: 00:41:23; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 21.634; Saturation: 0.069; Lightness: 0.284; Volume: 0.217; Cuts per Minute: 9.737
Summary: Part of the footage of the film Taaza Khabar directed by Bishakha Datta and produced by Nirantar. The film is about the journey of a team of all women journalists of Khabar Lahariya (a grassroots newspaper published by the women themselves) through several obstacles. The determined efforts are to ensure the 62nd issue of Khabar Lahariya reaches its readers on time. The women are from Chitrakoot district in U.P. who report stories that find no space in mainstream media. It also portrays how these women have created their own space and established their identity in a context where patriarchy and caste-based discriminations are dominant. In this event, the camera follows Meera, one of the Khabar Lahariya journalists, in her home, from when her day starts early in the morning to when she gets ready to go to work. It captures how she manages multiple tasks at once, making breakfast, taking care of the children's needs, and finally getting ready herself to go to work. It offers a rare glimpe into a day in the life of Meera - her domestic experience being widely different from her professional self.
Meera is sitting on the floor of her kitchen getting prepared to cook breakfast for the family. The light is dim and the only souce of light comes from a lamp. Meera starts to cook egg on the stove, while her youngest daughter, Golu watches her cook. Meera asks Golu to stay away from the hot stove. She warms up slices of bread on a pan, talking to Golu and occasionally shouting out to her other children to get ready quickly. One of Meera's daughters prepares for her bath. Meera's voice in the background asks Golu to sing her a song. The rest of Meera's family are seen freshening up in an open space of the house. Golu starts to sing. Meera continues to prepare breakfast and arranges the pieces of omelette on the bread slices and makes sandwiches, arranging them neatly on a plate.
Karwi, Chitrakoot
Home, kitchen, milk, breakfast, egg, eat, tiffin, plate, song, spoon, mother, bath,
home, sister,soap,terrace
drink, water, lamp
toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, clothes,
Meera's other children are getting ready, taking bath and changing clothes. The sun is up and the place looks brighter. Meera does vaiours household chores. She helps her children get ready, combs her daughter's hair and chats with her. Her daughter is very happy that her mother is combing her hair. Meera then sits down to brush her teeth and wash her face. She calls out to Golu who comes for her bath. Golu is not comfortable with the cold water and keeps hugging Meera everytime she pours a mug of water over her. Meera smiles and holds Golu when she hugs her. Meera seems very fond of Golu, and Golu of her.
parrot, glass, arrange, comb, hair, water , bath
vessels, food, chair
The camera captures the space of the kitchen well, showing its layout and how it opens to a larger area where the children sit and have their breakfast. Meera walks past, in a hurry, getting prepapred for her own bath. She asks her daughters to hurry up and finish dressing quickly as its getting late. Her daughters, however, don't have a sense of urgency and slowly get ready in front of a mirror, combing their wet hair and wearing fresh clothes.
saree,
mirror, uniform,
Meera starts to tie a light pink saree around her. She neatly pleats and pins up the pallu (the loose end of the saree) at her her shoulder. She dries her face with a towel, and starts to comb her hair in front of the mirror. Her husband is seen getting ready behind her. Meera puts on a red bindi on her forehead and wears her round glasses. She sets the time on her watch and wears it on her left wrist. She sits on a chair outside and puts on her floaters. While she has a glass of tea, her daughter brings Meera her bag, and Meera starts to look into the bag to check if her things are in place. She takes out a few white pages, checks it quickly and puts it back inside. She gets up to leave and says bye to Golu. Golu immediately starts to cry and holds her trying to prevent her from going. Meera smiles and asks her other daughter to catch hold of her, so that she can leave. Meera leaves a crying Golu behind.
bindi, forehead, ring, glasses, time, watch
leave,work
walk, journalist, ask, road
Meera walks around her neighbourhood, setting out for her day's work. She walks into one of her relatives' house and informs her that she is off to work. It's a very rural setting, with small homes, a temple, and mud roads. Meera walks across the village, quickly and with purpose.
toys, play, children
Back to Meera's home, her children play with an electronic toy chicken. A song repreatedly plays from the toy. It entertains them for sometime before one of the girls brings a few dolls to play with. Meera sits and watches them play. She is happy to watch them enjoy themselves. They then start to sing Bollywood songs loudly and play with the dolls, pretending to dance with them. They make up stories and give characters of themselves to the dolls and give dialogues from real life from different situations at home. Meera laughs at their play tactics and enjoys their creativity.
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