Renting a house is no mean task for an unwed couple in the city, and theatre artiste Iswar Srikumar and filmmaker Anushka Meenakshi decided not to fret over it. Instead, the couple embarked on a journey in March 2011 across the country, using their savings. “The only travelling I had ever done were those for religious functions, and this plan sounded like a lot of fun!,” says Iswar. Six months was what the duo had in mind, before they returned home. During that period, all their belongings were stashed with various friends for months at a time. That’s when Anushka suggested that they could make a few videos while they were at it. And so began their filmy journey – spanning Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarkhand and later, all over the North East. In those places that tourists would pack up in a couple of days, Iswar and Anushka would stay on for over 10 days. “Sometimes, we would camp there for a whole month and experience little bits of their different cultures,” Iswar explains. Having glimpsed India in a way that is foreign to most, this couple decided that their documentation had to be taken more seriously. And the result? A decision to put together a full length feature film - no narratives or interviews – just a free-flowing visual journey and musical discovery. Anushka explains, that after travelling a distance, it became natural for them to ask for local performers and musicians at every stop. She clarifies, “But most of the musical encounters that made it into the film were not staged performances but those built from everyday moments that we came across.” The most memorable was when they met and stayed with the ‘Tetseo sisters’ who sang in a local folk form called ‘li’. That’s part of the origin of the film’s name, Anushka smiles, “U-ra-mi-li’ which in Thokri, a Naga dialect, means ‘the song of our people’.The project is largely crowd-funded. He says, “Initially when we posted about travelling the country, we got contributions ranging from `50 to `1000 from friends. “However at present, more people are taking interest and either sending funds or commissions to purchase items along the way. Anushka explains, “A designer friend requested material samples and the owner of Blaft (publishing house) asked us to take photographs of hand-lettered signboards that were published in Delhi recently, for their book The Obliterary Journal.”With close to one year of travel done, Iswar reveals, “We still have two years to go to really cover all of India.” And as it turns out, they did find their dream house - a rustic brick home in the Cholamandal Art village. “I don’t think we ever would have taken the trip had we found a house last year, “ Iswar says in hindsight. Presently, they’re staying put at home — editing footage and putting the word out to potential film distributors. But they do promise to pack their bags again in a few months and take off for their next adventure.
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