DECCAN VILLAGE

Produced in 1966, "Deccan Village" is a documentary that describes the way Indians navigate their daily lives around their basic needs with a focus on agricultural production in this area. This film was written and photographed by Tony Morrison B.Sc. F.R.G.S. and edited by Walter Storey. It is narrated by Nan Winton and originally released by Rank Educational Films. Deccan in Sanskrit means "south" and the area discussed in the film is the southern region of the Indian Subcontinent. There has been much research done on the role of government officials in this region and this film contains rich footage of the Indian rituals. Two men riding an ox cart (0:49). Grazing animals such as sheep, oxen, cows, and donkeys in a field (00:52) with a shepherd present (1:00). Oxen ploughing with supervision of three younger boys (1:17) a woman carrying a basket on her head (1:29) while other women gather millet (1:32). The cart without the oxen in the middle of the millet field (1:36). A woman using a sickle to reap the grain crops (1:42). A man tending oxen (1:48). A man sweeping the grain crops’ land (1:54). Sacchuarum Officinarum or Sugar cane plants (2:23). Four men wearing white cutting the cane (2:39). Two other men crush the cane after removing its foliage through a machine and press out the juice (2:42). A man burning the crushed cane (3:11) fuelling the container that boils the juice (3:22). Brown sugar in forms of liquid is produced (3:30). A man using pulley drawn by oxen to pull water slowly from a well (3:39). A man employing a diesel pump to supply water for the fields (4:00). Diesel pump water flow (4:18). Oxen bathing in the water in the reservoir (4:25). Two kids using in the reservoir (4:31). A young man washing the oxen in the tank/reservoir created by damping the field in the form of a lake (4:40). Women washing and beating clothes on the stones (4:45) and then spreading the clothes under the sun (5:04). Two women carrying water in containers on their heads (5:11). Women making chapati/bread and other types of food (5:21). Men carrying goods with oxcarts (5:36) and others carrying them on baskets and loading up horses and ponies (5:45). Men and women carrying goods on foot (5:54). The market with crowds of people sitting in circles exchanging gossip and money (6:12). A man weighing the goods he trades with different weights on the scale (6:42). A snake charmer with two snakes entertaining the crowd (6:58). A man making a pot with the traditional pottery wheel that is made of human hair and cow dung (7:07). Images of welding procedures at a local factory that creates agricultural equipment such as wheels, cogs, water pumps etc. (7:20). Suited man walking around a classroom and young boys writing (7:50). Sanskrit written on a blackboard (8:03). Adult men and women writing Sanskrit in smaller blackboards (8:05). Young girl giving lesson to the older women sitting on the ground and taking notes (8:22). A man singing and playing tambura and another playing the drums (8:36). A young girl dancing (probably kathak) to the singing musicians (8:52).

Complete catalog record

Transcription

[Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] india is the home of a large number of people in 1961 there were nearly 440 million of them and this figure is increasing annually these people rate deck and plateau there are many similar villages on which the people depend for their existence [Music] nine out of every ten indians work the land but because of poor soil and old farming methods many villages are barely self-supporting and are not productive enough to help their poorer neighbours cattle have meager pasture on this sunscorched landscape the animals which thrive best are the goats they can live on more grass in dry oxen are widely used for drawing carts plowing the deck and soil receives only 20 to 40 inches of rain each year and so dry zone crops are grown they include ground nuts cotton and millet which is the staple food of the people living here these women are gathering millet called bajra [Applause] [Music] the crop is carried away in baskets for threshing [Music] the bhajra is threshed by oxen in this way are separate from the stalks [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] another major village crop is sugar the cane is cut and after its foliage has been removed it's fed into a mechanical crusher which presses out the juice [Music] having passed through the machine the crushed cane is taken away and burnt [Applause] this waste provides fuel for the fire on which the juice is boiled for four or five hours [Music] a thick brown sugar called jaggery is eventually produced [Music] oxen are also employed for drawing water this is the traditional method it's slow and strenuous [Applause] at this bricklined well a new method is being used here the diesel pump is at work to supply water for irrigating the nearby fields [Laughter] water for bathing and washing is stored in the village reservoir or tank as it is called men women children and oxen use the tank which is simply constructed by damning the stream with mud walls so that the water forms a lake the women do their washing at the water's edge they beat the clothes on stones and spread them out to dry under the hot sun some of the water from the tank is carried back to the village where it's used for cooking purposes [Applause] this woman is making chapati for protein the villagers rely upon goat meat split peas maize buffalo milk and rice imported from other provinces of india foodstuffs are bought and sold at the local market some people take their goods to market by oxcart [Applause] others load up their asses and ponies while most make their way on foot [Applause] the market is the center of village life it's a meeting place for the people to exchange gossip as well as money and produce [Applause] [Applause] all kinds of foodstuffs household articles materials and clothing are on display trading is simple and effective there is no self-service here the customer just sits down on the ground and begins to haggle with the cellar until an agreement is reached [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the snake charmer provides one of the local entertainments this cobra seems rather unfriendly pottery is a traditional craft the potter's wheel is made from human hair and cow dung and weighs over 100 weight a mixture of clay and dung is used for the pot local factory industries are springing up in many villages this small foundry produces important agricultural equipment plowshares wheels cogs and water pump castings are made just as important as the development of agriculture and industry in india today is the development of education because it is ignorance that hampers the country's progress these children are learning to read and write [Music] [Applause] adult education is part of a national program which aims to make adults up to the age of 40 literate [Applause] [Music] children who learn to read and write often spend their time giving lessons to their elders play outside the temple at island each day [Music] the music is played on the tambura and drums [Music] a dancer joins the singing musicians and this tradition forms a link between the india of the past and the slowly developing india of today [Music] you

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