Kamakshi

In Hindu mythology, Kamakshi is the goddess of compassion. She fulfills all wishes and embodies serenity and peace. Sita, Rama’s wife, after suffering a long journey full of deprivations and false accusations levelled against her by her beloved husband, pleads to be swallowed up by her mother, the earth.

In black-and-white and on 35mm, we follow an old woman who digs for water in a dry and barren region. She digs and digs, and the furrows in the dry soil are mirrored in the wrinkles of her spirited face. Almost disappearing in the ditch, a girl suddenly appears at its edge. They exchange looks. The old woman distributes coins from a water-filled boat. The water carriers wield torches in the night. Associative and hallucinatory imagery is interspersed by narrative moments. Towards the end, colour takes charge of the direction and the desire for water is fulfilled at a high price.