अच्छा दिन, Acchā dina, Good days

a film by Marieke Warmelink

 

Equilibrium, Sandarph

Residency Program, September 1 - October 6

Partapur, Rajahstan

India

 

 

Made possible by Equilibrium, a project of Beneshwer LokVikas Sansthan and Sandarbh in collaboration with Waldpodenakademie

 

 

Acha Dina is a short film I created in collaboration with a group of women of Semeliya, a small community in Partapur.

The film is a poetic representation which reflects on the position of women in Indian society and the role they play in daily life. The video captures changing times and its effect on structure of the village. 

The starting point of the film is a dialogue with the group of women, who each had to list 5 wishes for the future.

 

Furthermore is the film is based on an installation 'Make in India' which consists of 29 pairs of trousers. Therefor Marieke visited 29 women in Partapur who’s husbands work in Kouwait. The men are away for many years and often return home once a year. It is therefor the women who run the homes, deal with family business and often work on the fields or have other jobs. Marieke Warmelink challenges the presence and absence of men in relation to these women’s lives.

The installation 'Make in India' became the starting point of the film.

An important aspect in the film is the sound; you can hear a traditional song which the women sing, based on one of their traditional songs, but specifically altered and composed for the film.

 

 

Equilibrium is a project or Sandarbh, in collaboration with Beneshwer Lok Vikas Sansthan [BLVS] and Walpodenakademie. The project is supported by Creative Encounters: Cultural Partnerships between Asia and Europe by the AsiaVEurope Foundation (ASEF) and Arts Network Asia (ANA) in collaboration with Trans Europe Halles (TEH).

 

 

EQUILIBRIUM is an international cultural initiative that aims at building creative contexts in villages and towns in India. Currently located in Partapur, the main aim of this project is to provide a platform for artists from Asia and Europe to enter into a dialogue with local communities via members of women’s self-help-groups in and around Partapur.  

 

Partapur is a town located in the district of Banswara in Rajasthan. It falls in the largely tribal region of Vagad, and the Bhil tribe forms the largest section of the population. About 4 hours drive from Udaipur – the world-renowned ‘tourist city’ of India, Partapur has very little stake in the tourism industry of Rajasthan. It has very recently been recognized as a Nagar Parishad or City Council, though agriculture still forms the mainstay of the economy. 

 

 

 

Special thanks to

Neema Devi

Lakshmi Devi

Lakshmi Devi

Sangita Devi

Neema Devi

 

Premlata Rajesh Joshi

Isha Vijay Joshi

Chanda Pintu Vyas

Premila Sanjay Sharma

Suryakanta Hiralal Sharma

Nita Navin Acharya

Bhanumati Dinesh Acharya

Vandana Arvind Kumar Bhatt

Nootan Lokesh Bhatt

Veena Pramod Bhatt

Divya Punit Bhatt

Kalpana Devshankar Pandya

Nisha Manoj Rawal

Payal Jayesh Rawal

Bharti Nilesh Rawal

Sheetal Bhuvnesh Bhatt

Sharmila Rakesh Upadhyay

Heena Ritesh Pandya

Sandeep Jhaveri

Rohini Kamal Acharya

D. S. Yadav

Sheela Rajendra Upadhyay