Taaza Khabar: Shanti Reporting on TB
Director: Bishakha Datta; Cinematographer: Ranu Ghosh
Duration: 00:42:26; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 51.200; Saturation: 0.071; Lightness: 0.375; Volume: 0.136; Cuts per Minute: 11.498
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, one of the journalists, Shanti, visits Sukhrampur village, in Manikpur block to find out about the health conditions of the villagers. In the process of interacting with them, she unearths various findings about tuberculosis and how it has affected the lives of the villagers.
Shanti, one of the Khabar Lahariya journalists, walks around a village in order to find out the health conditions of the villagers. She goes around asking about their illness and about the medicines available for treatment. She talks to the village women who share their experiences. Shanti walks further down the village and speaks to a few men about their health. One of the men tell her how difficult it is when they fall ill because they don't receive the correct medicines, and even if they do, it doesn't suit them. She meets another man who tells her that he is a tuberculosis (TB) patient. While sharing his pain, the man gets emotional and says that he is the most downtrodden person in the village. He tells her about a family member (Kalavati) who is very ill and might die in a few days. Shanti asks him to show the way to meet her. Another journalist, Shakila, who accompanies Shanti, takes down notes.
Karwi, Chitrakoot, UP
Health, Medicine, Lucknow
Money, village, tuberculosis, local, injection, doctor, Manikpur, house, family,
Shanti continues to walk around the village and informally asks the women sitting if they are fine. They respond meekly and she walks past them. She meets the woman, Kalavati, who is lying down on a bed. Kalavati wakes up and Shanti helps her sit. She sits next to her and asks her about when she fell sick, if she took any medicines and how many days it has been since she's been in such a state. The woman very reluctantly answers in a feeble voice. Shanti asks her to speak up more clearly and says so in an insistent tone. The man starts to explain the condition better, and in the process starts to unbutton his shirt in order to show her how badly the disease has affected him. He opens his shirt and continues to hold it open while talking to Shanti, so that everyone gets a good look at his diseased body. The others standing around gives the names of eight people who lost their lives to TB. Shanti asks more questions about how many of the present villagers have tuberculosis. She prompts Shakila to write down the names when they share it.
hospital, Banda, blood,
death,
government hospital, work, expense
Shanti asks the villagers if any doctors come to see the patients. They all at once say no, after which Shanti suggests that they all do something as a community. One of the men says that there is simply no integration between the villages and all of them function separately. Shanti decides to visit another family who is inflicted with TB and is facing difficulties. While walking, Shanti tells Shakila if she is taking down the names of all the people and that she musn't forget any. Shakila tells her that she is taking down everything. They both discuss the sad state of the villages with no doctors and access to hospitals. They reach the house to meet the TB patient. Shanti talks to a man who has TB, sitting by a tree. He starts to show her the medicines he was given. A little girl playing with a piece of cloth, stands next to him.
chaos, spread, room, water,
cure, difficulty, illness, distance
death, crowd
useless, effort, trouble,
Shanti talks to the group of people who have gathered around her and asks them to take collective action. She suggests that all of them stand united and give a complaint to the authorities stating their problems. They further discuss about other people who are suffering and Shanti tries to obtain more information about the number of people who are unwell in the village. Many village women, with their heads covered stand around holding their children by their side. She gets to know that the whole village is always infested with diseases, be in malaria or TB. Even if some people get better, others fall sick, and so there is always someone who is ill in the village.
The people share other problems in the village with her. There are only six handpumps installed for such a big village and there is not a single well. As a result, the villagers are forced to fetch water from the river. The village ambience is captured adequately covering the look and feel of a rural landscape.
well, handpump, information,
woman, journalist
Shanti reports about her findings in front of the camera. The village is in her background, with a mud road and greenery around the place. Shanti holds a mike and gives several takes before she gets the perfect shot. The beauty and landscape around the village is captured, and the clip ends with a scenic sunset.
sukhrampur, government
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