THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Children always have a different outlook on the things that they see around them. They are also the ones who aren’t afraid of taking chances and speaking out their minds. A group of students from Christ Nagar English Higher Secondary and Christ Nagar Central School have together come up with a documentary on Karamana river, one of the important lifelines of the city. The 45-minute film titled ‘Sathyaputri Dukhaputri’ made by the students of classes VI, VII, IX and XI focuses on the pollution choking the river and its current pitiable situation.
The documentary was conceptualised by Preena S, teacher and nature club coordinator of Christ Nagar English Higher Secondary School. “A year ago, I, along with a group of students, had met the CM to urge him to take steps to prevent the river from turning into a garbage dump. The students had even taken pains to prepare pamphlets listing a set of guidelines, which they had come up after a discussion with the faculty, to be included in school textbooks. But, there has been no follow up on it,” says Preena.
Except for the cinematography, the students handled all the major roles. Malavika S Thampy and Ashin Prakash of classes VI and XI together penned the script while Malavika co-directed the documentary with Devabala and Chaitanyan D Prakash of class VII. The origin of the river around Peppara and Aruvikkara dam was chosen as the location for the three-day long shoot.
The story unfolds through a children’s trip to the Karamana river. The work traces its history and origin. The message that they wish to convey through the film is crystal clear. “People, especially children, should think twice before throwing away plastic wastes into the river. More than adults, we children are our target group because be it an idea or an action it has more impact on kids. We plan to distribute the CDs of the documentary to other schools,” Preena said. The documentary will be released next week at the school.
