‘My Mother My Village’ to be screened in Bhubaneswar on January 2

Bhubaneswar: Odia movie My Mother My Village which recently screened at 55th International Film festival of india’ in panorama section will be screened at a special event Organised by Bou foundation titled Bou Divas in January 2.

A press meet was organised recently where film director Subash Sahoo, veteran filmmaker Sabyasachi Mohapatra, Himanshu Sekhar khatua were present.

The Film tell the story of Seba Bou who groomed girls reaching puberty in all those set skills that a young woman needs to become a good wife and daughter-in-law. The film attempts a nostalgic look at the last custodian of old tradition through the eyes of her son.

In a remote village in eastern India, lived ‘Seba Bou’, a mother figure, the whole village looked up to. She was a local mediator, a counsellor, guide and, when the need arose, even a doctor. She was the foster mother of all villagers and relevant to their lives as river Kani which flowed through the village.

Till her death, some years ago, Seba Bou was a custodian of traditional values and used to groom young girls to become good daughter-in-law. She would train them in the art of cooking, stitching, homemaking, weaving, handicrafts, rituals and herbal remedies. She also taught ‘Kandana’, a style of singing which depicts the pain and longing of a girl about to marry and and leave her parent’s house once and for all.

As post liberalization India embraced new cultural influences, Seba Bou fought to retain the magic of traditions and culture.She was the last custodian of a time no longer fancied by the young. With her demise, the centuries old tradition vanished for ever.

Subhash sahoo said 18 years ago, I started to record my visits to my mother, who lived in a remote village in Odisha, India. Over the years, what started off as a personal diary, slowly became a document chronicling a change in time, traditions and values.

Life, then was simple, no crisis was personal and the institute of marriage, diligently nurtured by my mother through her selfless act of ‘Bride-grooming’ was sanctimonious. Today, social media has pervaded through that entire heritage.

My film reflects upon a lost past, a ‘social media’ driven present and an unknown future, all seemingly unconnected, but tied with the same umbilical cord.

This film is also my rediscovery of my mother and my motherland.