Bahi – Tracing My Ancestors
Director: Rachita Gorowala
Language: Hindi
Year: 2024
Duration: 10
Producer: Studio Virtual Bharat
Director Statement:
Writers: Rachita Gorowala & Soity Banerjee
Cinematographer Name: Sudeep Elamon
Editor Name: Christy Sebastian & Sayan Debnath
Producers: Studio Virtual Bharat
Key Cast:
Other Credits: Creator: Bharatbala Original Soundtrack & Vocals: Aditya Rao Creative Team: Shreeppriya Gopalakrishnan, Anagha Achrekar Mixing & Mastering Engineer: P.A. Deepak Voice Artist: Rohan S Kamath Sound Recordist: Ankit Thapa Colorist: Yash Khaire Second Unit: Vinayak Gopal Associate Cinematographer: Sreekesh Chandrabhanu Camera Crew: Prakash Bamne Local Line Production: Purshotam Sharma, Harshul Sharma Executive Producer: Lynette Dmello Credits in YouTube/Website
Screenings / Awards: Selection – Indian Panorama Non – feature films section at the 55th IFFI film festival, Goa
Synopsis
For centuries, in the inner worlds of Haridwar, there has existed a recordkeeping tradition unlike any other – thumbprints, signatures and handwritten scrolls that allow families to map their ancestral origins. With the Ganga and the rituals along her banks as the main touchpoint, these Bahis trace out births, deaths, and lineages with great efficacy.
Maintained exclusively by a generation of pandits known as Teerth Purohits, these records help individuals perform rituals in memory of their ancestors, while continuing to map their family tree for posterity.
Today, these handwritten imprints of time are at risk of withering away. The younger generations of Teerth Purohits reckon with their place in the world, in the cycle of time, and in the shadow of their Ma Ganga as they continue this ancient tradition, defying the promise – and the warning – of a digital future.