more-in Sriram Dalton wants to understand first-hand India’s many land-related problems. So, following Mahatma Gandhi’s example, he is on a padayatra. He started in Mumbai in mid-May, and will walk 5,000 km over three to four months through eight States — Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand — ending in Boodha Pahad, which is a Naxal zone. The Mumbai-based writer, cinematographer and filmmaker’s forte is a participative, immersive approach. In 2016, he ran a 10-day national workshop in Netarhat, in his home State, Jharkhand, with 200 participants, focusing on water scarcity; 13 original films resulted. In 2017, he went back to Netarhat, this time zooming in on forests, and seven films came out. This year, the padayatra extends his ‘open-air, travel-oriented, film classroom without boundaries’; he is inviting people keen on filmmaking to join him. He hopes to sensitise artistes and filmmakers to ecological and environmental issues so that they can deal with them creatively. Bootstrap effort Seven people from various parts of the country have joined him so far. Like him, they sleep wherever they find space, and eat whatever they get. The mission is self-funded, with some money pitched in by friends. Walking 35–40 km a day, Mr. Dalton talks to people, involves communities on ecological issues, and screens his package of 22- odd short films. He will make a film (already titled Megalith) from footage he has been shooting. On his walk so far, all he could see was hills without trees.

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