Private Project

Ashram Days

Uttam Das, a folk singer and a practitioner of Baul culture, lived in Kolkata city for 25 years and returned to his village to build an Ashram. In the mid of nature, on the bank of the river Ajay, he has built this Ashram, very far from city life, for all the artists and music lovers to gather and be with music uninterruptedly. In the Ashram, rain arrives after summer and the stillness a human soul searches for persists. People gather, celebrate music, celebrate dark and sunlight. With the artists or without them, the spirit of the Ashram remains the same. Though man's greed tries to destroy the river and the surroundings, Ashram’s determination continues. The film is an experience of the director, who captures the moments and the days she spent in the Ashram in different phases, experiencing deep peace and intimacy with music and nature.

  • Debjani Banerjee
    Director
  • Debjani Banerjee
    Producer
  • Subal K R
    Producer
  • Subal K R
    Cinematographer
  • Debjani Banerjee
    Edit
  • Subal K R
    Edit
  • Dibakar Saha
    Sound Design
  • Archisman Mukherjee
    Sound Design
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    59 minutes 27 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Bengali
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Debjani Banerjee

Debjani Banerjee has been making films since 2015. After practising Indian music and publishing her first poetry book in Bengali, she joined Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata, (SRFTI) in 2012 and started making films. Her short films are Terra, Scattered Clouds and Ratchora which were selected for different, international film festivals. In 2020 along with Subal Kr, Debjani formed her company Lotus Sutra. In 2023 They produced the Documentary, Ashram Days, which she directed also. Presently she is working on the pre-production of her first independent narrative feature film, and preparing for her second poetry book. She also taught as a visiting faculty in different film Institutes after graduating from SRFTI.

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Director Statement

In today’s world, artist mostly lacks a space to create their art and to practice music. It is lacking because today’s artistic world is more money-oriented. To listen and be with an art form uninterruptedly, forgetting worldly affairs, is difficult. And there comes the film Ashram Days.
Being a singer and a music enthusiast, I met Uttam Das in 2007, when I decided to learn Baul Music. I was his student for 4 years, and after that, I joined film school. This is the time, I had a long discussion with Uttam Das on art, how Kolkata city lacked space for art practices and how one could enjoy an uninterrupted gathering to devote oneself to music. Uttam Das is a wonderful singer whose father was also a musician in a small village in Bengal. So, he was born and brought up with music. This is the time when Uttam Das sold all his property went back to his village and started building this Ashram. My journey to this Ashram began there. I saw a barren land become a place transformed into a devoted music Ashram, where all are welcome. I stayed there for months just to be with the music. As a student, I never had to worry about money there. In this ashram, I met wonderful musicians and music lovers, who came to be with music. It was their hidden free space, away from the so-called world. And Uttam Das welcomed everyone. The dedication and involvement with the Music of Uttam Das and his wife Taniya moved my heart, and I felt obliged to make a documentary on that serene place, which has given me deep peace and love for art, in the times I may have lost faith.