VANDE VANAM
produced by Trilok Sharma
directed by Devendra Shastri

Vande Vanam is a video about a rare initiative of the government in the field of forest management. It profiles the regeneration of the degraded Pratapgarh region in south Rajasthan under the state's joint forest management programme.

The film begins by outlining the traditional link between Indian culture and the environment. This is followed by a break in this relationship and the subsequent ecological carnage that ensues (destruction of the dense sal forests in the case of Pratapgarh).

The camera pans across the degraded landscape which suddenly becomes lush green, bringing to light the past and the present of Pratapgarh.

The local people talk about the benefits of forest regeneration. This reinforces the fact that if they are involved in the management of natural resources, socio-economic prosperity for the society as a whole is guaranteed.

However, the film falls flat on one account -- it's inability to depict the formative period of the movement, when the forest department officials changed their attitude towards the local people. This aspect is very important in Pratapgarh's context for herein lies the crux of the programme's success which the country cannot ignore.