सतलुजनामा (A river runs through it)

  • Dates
    2022 - Ongoing
  • Author
  • Topics Contemporary Issues, Documentary, Landscape, Nature & Environment, Social Issues
  • Locations Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, India

A river runs through it offers an intimate view of a river system undergoing major changes because of the human made landscape alterations in the form of various constructional activities and Hydro electric projects.

 Rivers, are like stories, and they are like stories that classical structures on form would approve. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end. In between, they flow. Or would flow, if we let them, if we dont restrict them.
       “A River Runs Through It” delves into the intricate narratives of the Satluj River, situated in the North-western Himalayas of India. The transformation that this landscape and river basin has witnessed over the past fifty years surpasses the changes observed in the preceding millennium.
 
Through the stories which this river basin offers, this project illuminates the profound human and environmental repercussions that have occurred in just five decades, stemming from the dynamic human-made landscape alterations, incessant construction activities and hydroelectric projects along the Sutlej River.
        This project offers an intimate view and stories of a river system and the various topographical and cultural changes it is going through - stories about the people, the land, the mountains, the trees, the rocks, the culture. Eventually all these stories merge into one, and a river runs through it.

   नदियाँ, कहानियों की तरह, स्वयं में एक कथा संरचना होती हैं जिसमें एक स्पष्ट शुरुआत होती है, एक मध्य होता है, और एक समाप्ति होती है। बीच में, वे बहती हैं, और बहेंगी अगर हम उन्हें बहने दें, अगर हम उन्हें रोकें नहीं, अगर हम उन्हें प्रतिबंधित न करें।
 
 "सतलुजनामा" भारत के उत्तर-पश्चिमी हिमालय में स्थित सतलुज नदी के जटिल आख्यानों को उजागर करता है। पिछले पचास वर्षों में इस परिदृश्य और नदी बेसिन में जो परिवर्तन देखा गया है, वह पिछली सहस्राब्दी में देखे गए परिवर्तनों से कहीं अधिक है।

  इस नदी बेसिन द्वारा प्रस्तुत कहानियों के माध्यम से, यह तस्वीरें सतलज नदी के किनारे मानव-निर्मित परिदृश्य परिवर्तनों, निरंतर निर्माण गतिविधियों, और जलविद्युत परियोजनाओं से उत्पन्न, केवल पांच दशकों में हुए गहन मानवीय और पर्यावरणीय प्रभावों पर प्रकाश डालती है और एक निरंतर बदलते हुए भूदृश्य को उजागर करती है।

  यह तस्वीरें एक नदी प्रणाली और उससे जुड़े विभिन्न भूस्थलीय और सांस्कृतिक परिवर्तनों की एक आत्मीय दृष्टि और कहानियाँ प्रस्तुत करती है - लोगों, भूमि, पहाड़ों, पेड़ों, चट्टानों और सांस्कृति के बारे में कहानियाँ। अंत में, ये सभी कहानियाँ एक में मिलती हैं, और उनमें एक नदी बहती है।

© Ashutosh Shaktan - Zalmpari, Rarang Kinnaur.
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Zalmpari, Rarang Kinnaur.

© Ashutosh Shaktan - Image from the सतलुजनामा (A river runs through it) photography project
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A monk resided in this cave for approximately 25 years, attracting people seeking his blessings. In 2016-17, he unexpectedly fell in love, choosing to leave the cave and live with his partner. However, after an year, he returned alone and stayed here until his demise in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, a broken lock on the door serves as testament to the transient nature of his journey.

© Ashutosh Shaktan - Image from the सतलुजनामा (A river runs through it) photography project
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Ramanand Guruji, a retired teacher in Urni, Kinnaur, has dedicated the past 20 years to opposing hydel projects. Despite losing his only son in a valley accident, he perseveres alongside his wife in their home atop the Landslide Site in Urni.

© Ashutosh Shaktan - Image from the सतलुजनामा (A river runs through it) photography project
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At the confluence of the Sutlej and Spiti rivers, a mesmerizing pattern emerges on the rocks, shaped over millennia by the relentless carving of the rivers against the mountainside.

© Ashutosh Shaktan - Image from the सतलुजनामा (A river runs through it) photography project
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In the village of Rarang in Kinnaur, Yogeshwar Negi adorns a Chilgoza seed garland, a tradition rooted in the region's scarcity of flowers. The use of these garlands is integral to Kinnauri weddings and religious ceremonies, representing a longstanding cultural practice.

© Ashutosh Shaktan - Image from the सतलुजनामा (A river runs through it) photography project
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While i was setting the camera, i asked them what actually were they doing? one of them replied, 'we are building a wall', i smiled and went back to setting up the camera, 'indeed a wall', i mumbled quietly.

© Ashutosh Shaktan - Image from the सतलुजनामा (A river runs through it) photography project
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Sanamjit Singh stands on the tarpaulin-covered roof of his house in Urni, where the aftermath of the landslide has left cracks in the roof and walls. Expressing fear, he shares that his family lives in constant apprehension of another disaster, given the widespread cracks in the area, making it prone to landslides.

© Ashutosh Shaktan - Image from the सतलुजनामा (A river runs through it) photography project
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The location of the 1000MW Karchham Hydroelectric Power Project vividly reveals the discernible transformation in topography. It appears as if the landscape is undergoing a profound mutation, marked by the impactful changes brought about by the hydroelectric development in the region. Oct-2023 Kinnaur.

© Ashutosh Shaktan - Image from the सतलुजनामा (A river runs through it) photography project
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In Khadura village, Kinnaur, I met Sonam Yangmo while asking for directions. As we spoke, she emphasized the vital significance of the Sutlej River to the culture in kinnaur likening its importance to the Ganga. She shared that traditional funeral ceremonies are conducted along the Sutlej's banks.

© Ashutosh Shaktan - A bridge in Batseri, Kinnaur, lies in ruins after a landslide here claimed the lives of 11 tourists.
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A bridge in Batseri, Kinnaur, lies in ruins after a landslide here claimed the lives of 11 tourists.

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