A neighbourhood tamarind tree has found its way to the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) next month, with a documentary made on it selected for a world premiere in the National Competition on Documentary category.
The massive tree, which provides green cover to its surroundings, carries historical significance as it is said to have been planted about 70 years ago by freedom fighter Parul Mukherjee when she settled in a refugee colony, now known as Vidyasagar Colony, in south Kolkata after Partition. Ms. Mukherjee, a revolutionary, was convicted in the Titagarh conspiracy case in 1935 at the age of 20 and spent four years in prison.
The tree was under threat when builders recently took over the old building where Ms. Mukherjee had lived before her death in 1990. It was saved after a cultural movement was launched in July last year by the film’s director, Debalina Majumder, who is also a neighbour. Following the campaign, the boundary wall of the property was restructured to leave the tree standing on land belonging to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
“The tree has been a shelter to animals and birds for decades. I have been shooting those birds and animals for more than 12 years. This film documents the vulnerability of urban fauna in the face of urban redevelopment projects. Recently in Delhi, we saw mass mobilisation around street dogs. Hope we will find similar mobilisation against cutting trees and making urban fauna lose their homes,” Ms. Majumder said about her 30-minute documentary, titled Friends of Jilipibala, which conveys its message through a toddler’s reactions to various lives on the tree.
