Landslide in India

In southern India, the hilly Kodagu or Coorg district received extremely heavy rains during the last monsoon. Landslides covered over much of the farmland and homes. After losing so much all at once, women have shouldered the tasks of finding new sources of income and helping each other. Two producers from Bangalore travelled to the district to document the recovery activity. Featured voices: Kavitha singing in the Kodava language; Anita, small farmer from Monnangeri village; Revathi from Devara Kolli village – a landless farmer working on a coffee estate; Damayanthi, a farm woman from Makkandur village; . Nayana Balaji, an English teacher at a college in Madikeri -one of the first persons to volunteer at relief camps; Saleela Patkar, a coffee grower from Madikeri, coordinates a livelihood rehabilitation project for the government organization Myrada Kaveri Pradeshika Samsthe (MYKAPS), Pushpavathi, from Monnangeri village, teaches a tailoring class for MYKAPS; she lost her home, her hotel, and much of her farmland in the landslide. Ashrafunnisa is an entrepreneur from Madikeri who employs tailors to make school uniforms; her house collapsed in the landslide; she also teaches a tailoring class. Damayanthi is a headmistress who coordinated the re-opening of a local school. Meenakshi, physical education teacher. Leelavathi, a farm woman from Makkandur sings is a prayer to Ganesha, India’s most popular deity, known for removing obstacles.

Credits:

Persons interviewed:
Coordinators of rehabilitation projects: Naina Balaji (Project Coorg, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) and Saleela Patkar (MYKAPS funded by PLAN International)
Persons affected by disaster: Damayanthi, Anitha, Revathi, Pushpavathi, Ashrafunnisa (Latter two are also trainers at tailoring centre)
School Teachers: Damayanthi (Head Mistress) Meenakshi (Physical Education Teacher)
Singers: Leelavathi, Kavitha
Interviews, Script, Narration: Smita Ramanathan
Interviews, Narration: Manju Venkat
Editing: Varun Venkat, Venkat Ayalur
Voiceover: Nilu Kulkarni, Sapna Rawat


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