Synopsis for the Film

From the tops of the mega-dams dams and through the prism of a 500ml plastic bottle, the river may remind you of the modern paradigms of progress, development, energy and economy- a mere resource waiting to be exploited but up close, it is far more eloquent. Up close, it is an ancient entity that carries with it not just life and its essence but also many histories, memories, beliefs and the flavor of the region. In R.R. Srinivasan’s eloquent documentary My Name is Palaru it is this ancient voice that narrates its legends and stories and testaments through the passage of time and space. Springing forth from its origins in the Nandi Hills, Karnataka (just along the outskirts of Bangalore), the river flows towards Andhra Pradesh and later into Tamil Nadu where it journeys across the state until it’s confluence with the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur. Legend speaks of the river as the old Cauvery and true to the story of the Cauvery, the mighty Palaru itself suffers the consequences of squabbling states who each seek to claim and hoard the river water as their own. 24 dams have been erected along the river’s course and the once perennial gush has been choked into arid plains of dust and nothing. The tanning industry that flourishes on its bank has reduced the water into nothing more than a sewer of decay thus destroying all agriculture along its banks and also affecting the health of the inhabitants. In the historic Buddhist capital of Kancheepuram, the river is stricken with yet another foreboding malaise- sand mining. Officials and private bodies greedily eat into the river’s body at a massive industrial scale that is alarming and all who dare to oppose have to face the wrath of the all-powerful mafia. The old river suffers silently but it knows it will not perish alone. In some way or the other, each one of us stands to lose. And the world moves ahead, handicapped without its rivers, towards its own inevitable end.

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