Jowar Gatha Film Screening and Discussion

● Online | 16 May 2024 | 5:30–7:00

While the discourse on millets has largely revolved around their benefits as a whole, what does it mean to explore a single variety like jowar (sorghum) and examine its impact on the communities that cultivate it?
Our virtual discussions ‘Beyond the Plate’ explore how food is more than just the act of eating.

Our Beyond the Plate event for May 2024 featured a screening of Jowar Gatha,—a documentary directed by Laxminarayan Devda, which looks at the many facets of cultivation, culture, and community that often tie into one another—followed by a discussion.

 

The film was produced by Samaj Pragati Sahyog (SPS), a grassroots initiative for water and livelihood security in Madhya Pradesh, which recognises storytelling as a vital means for conveying knowledge. It has been showcased at several prestigious film festivals, including the Pune International Film Festival and the Mumbai International Film Festival.

Meet Our Panellists

Pinky Brahma Choudhury, Co-founder and Director, SPS Community Media

Read more about Pinky’s filmmaking background here and access other films made by her here.

"We give a lot of importance to the local language, ensuring that the protagonist can express better in their own language."

Pinky Brahma Choudhury elaborated on the importance of using the Nimadi language in the film. She highlighted the commitment to linguistic authenticity, which meant that the film resonated deeply with both the subjects and the audiences. Pinky discussed the film’s palpable impact among local communities, where screenings often became interactive sessions with villagers sharing songs, stories, and experiences related to jowar.

Shobhit Jain, Co-founder and Director, SPS Community Media

You can read more about SPS Community Media’s work here, as well as some of Shobhit’s other films here.

 

"It's not just filming people; it's about developing a kind of deep friendship."

On the success of Jowar Gatha, Shobhit Jain emphasised the trust and rapport built with the local farming communities over many decades. He also delved into the complexities of reviving jowar-farming, a concern the film brings to light. Shobhit pointed to market pressures that have led to a decline in jowar cultivation, with farmers shifting to cultivating crops like wheat owing to better market rates. Despite the cultural and nutritional significance of jowar, the market remains a significant barrier to its resurgence. Along with Pinky Brahma Choudhury, he explained how the MSP (Minimum Support Price) for jowar, while theoretically supportive, has largely been ineffective on the ground, limiting its commercial viability.

Laxminarayan Devda, Director of Jowar Gatha

‘Even now, when I close my eyes, I feel like I can see the soul of jowar’

 

‘अभी भी, मैं आँखें बंद करता हूँ तो मुझे लगता है कि मैं ज्वार की आत्मा को देख रहा हूँ।’

‘Even now, when I close my eyes, I feel like I can see the soul of jowar.’

Laxminarayan Devda is a farmer and filmmaker from the village of Pandutalab in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district. We spoke to him about his experience of working on Jowar Gatha—read it in English, here, and in Hindi, here. 

Discussion

• The slow shift in perception of millets from a poor person’s food to a superfood, and the need to balance market demand with access for growers themselves, in order to consume their own produce.

• The challenges of multi-cropping with millets and how it fits into the future of our food systems. 

• Knowledge gaps and  the need for more research on the individual tolerance ranges of millet species to differing environmental conditions. 

• Providing communities with small-scale processing machines that can be operated by women to promote minor millets and break gender barriers in agriculture. 

• The need for millet policies  that prioritise collaboration between researchers, government departments and non-governmental organisations, farmers, and consumers to foster participation in framing agricultural policies.

Learnings

• Browntop millet, now relatively unheard of, was once a staple food in South India. Mr. Prasad said that they have seen the browntop crop survive where maize and soybean have failed due to adverse climatic conditions.

• Sahaja Samrudha and NEN are working not just to revive crops, but also bring back festivals associated with them. They believe strongly that cultural and agricultural practices go hand in hand. 

• The need to foreground farmers when we talk of food systems: ensuring that increased demand doesn’t make millets inaccessible to growers, improving processing technology to reduce drudgery, and acknowledging  the role of women and marginalised farmers in millet preservation. 

This session was a collaboration between The Locavore and Rainmatter Foundation for the Millet Revival Project.

Beyond the Plate is an initiative by The Locavore where we engage in meaningful conversations, live events, and dining experiences that look at food beyond the sum of its parts. It is our attempt to narrow the divide between what’s on our plate, where it comes from, how it’s produced, and the deeper stories around it.