Synopsis for the Film

A rich women with no heir to carry forward her legacy donates a pond to the community she lived in. Now, her name lives on, in so many fond remembrances interspersed among so many memories of so many people. And the pond, it is remarked, served her legacy as well as any heir would. Yask Desai and Shweta Kishore’s eloquent documentary ‘The Rising Wave’ is just as much about everyday intimacies as it is about the larger scheme of culture, civilization and critique. Beautifully shot across three states, the film unspools like a nostalgic conversation- remembering childhoods, legends, grandmother’s songs, long walks, evenings past and trysts with nature. It shows that not only are we deeply connected to water via our culture and history but that a glimpse into the past will reveal about how the relationship around water was one of goodwill and sharing. It traces how so many ancient lands with their age old connections with the water around them have now been destroyed, literally washed away by the water they once revered, just so the industries could flourish. People themselves, their identities, professions and practices now seem outdated as the country lurches into a synthetic future of the modern. Their own water is now out-of-bounds for them and can now only be purchased, wrapped and contained in plastic, from across a store-counter.

More Details