The Route
Three visits, three purposes
Family Home, Indore
- The couple — joint session & individual solos
- All five sons — individual sessions
- Family archive & photographs
Community Sites, Indore
- Rambagh Dadawadi
- Jain Bhavan, Navlakha — the seva
- Janki Nagar health centre
- Community witnesses from the Sangh
Chennai
- Southern branch elders & cousins
- Older memories of Kadlu & the migration
- Southern household archive
The Scope
What we capture
On-camera voices
- The couple — joint session & individual solos
- All five sons — individual sessions
- Community witnesses from Janki Nagar Sangh
- Southern branch elders & cousins (Chennai)
- Seva coordinator, Jain Bhavan Navlakha
- Doctor or beneficiary, Janki Nagar health centre
Places & B-roll
- The family home — interiors & verandah
- The old shop & neighbourhood
- Rambagh Dadawadi — facade, marble, light
- Jain Bhavan, Navlakha — the breakfast seva
- Janki Nagar health centre & Jain hostel
- Southern household (Chennai)
Digitisation
- Wedding photographs & early Indore years
- Shop photographs & trade documents
- Sons' childhood photographs
- Rambagh Dadawadi reconstruction records
- Letters between Indore & Chennai
- Framed heirlooms & artefacts
The Cast
Who we record
- Shri Mukanchandji MehtaJoint session + solo · Essential
- Shrimati Amrav Kanwar MehtaJoint session + solo · Essential
- Kamleshji MehtaSon (eldest) · Individual
- Sunilji MehtaSon · Individual
- Anilji MehtaSon · Individual
- Rakeshji MehtaSon · Individual
- Sushilji MehtaSon (youngest) · Individual
- Janki Nagar Sangh elders (x2)Community witnesses · Presidency & land donation
- Seva coordinator, Navlakha25-year breakfast & meals programme
- Health centre doctor or beneficiaryJanki Nagar centre
- Senior relatives, Chennai (x3+)Kadlu memories, migration, diaspora
- Second-generation cousinsSouthern branch perspective — if time
The Field Question Bank
What we ask, and of whom
Printed as pocket cards for the interviewer — phrased for speaking, not reading. Answers welcome in any language the subject prefers.
The Trade
- What exactly did you deal in — and where was the first shop?
- Tell us about one lean year, and the decision that saved it.
- What did an honest day's work look like in this house?
Her Story
- Walk us through your day when the sons were young.
- What do you remember of your own wedding journey, 1952?
- What did you cook when saints visited the home?
Roots & Kadlu
- What was village life in Kadlu like in your childhood?
- Names and memories of grandparents — anyone who knew them?
- Why Indore? Who came first, and who followed?
Hardships
- The hardest thing this household endured — and how it passed.
- A loss the family still speaks of quietly.
- What kept the two of you steady through it?
Faith in Practice
- A day's ritual, from morning to night.
- Which vow or observance has never been broken?
- A memory of serving saints and sadhvis at close hand.
The Seva
- The day you decided to give the land — what was said at home?
- Twenty-five years of feeding people — who kept it running daily?
- What did the family give up, quietly, so others could eat?
The Sons
- One childhood memory of each parent — a scene, not a summary.
- Father's one rule that was never negotiable.
- Something of theirs you carry without realising it.
Sayings & Songs
- A phrase the family repeats — in dialect, exactly as said.
- A song or hymn this house is known for.
- A nickname, and how it began.
Recording Protocol
How we record — non-negotiables
Camera locked on tripod, lavalier on subject
Main camera on tripod; compact second camera locked off at an angle as backup. Lavalier on subject plus shotgun overhead. Room tone 30 seconds at every new location.
Elders first, energy first
Sessions with the couple and senior elders are always morning slots, always splittable. We shorten or stop at the first sign of fatigue — the relationship outlives the film.
Archive digitisation on site
Flatbed scans at 600 dpi for prints and documents; photographic capture with raking light for framed objects. Every item logged: owner, approximate year, persons, permissions.
Field log maintained daily
Per session: card IDs, interviewee, location, timestamped topic markers, and the three best quotes of the day — written same-day while memory is fresh. These logs drive the edit.
Multiple copies made daily
All footage backed up to at least two drives at the end of each day. One copy kept separately from the main kit at all times.
Gear & Crew
The kit
- Camera + tripod
- iPhone — backup angle & location shots
- Lavalier mic
- Portable drives for daily backups
- Question cards
The Field Operator
- Sole crew member — handles camera, audio, lighting, and interviewsCamera on tripod during sessions; locked-off second angle for backup
- Runs all conversations in Hindi; keeps the daily field logStops sessions at first sign of elder fatigue — relationship outlives the film
- Manages archive scanning station and the 3-2-1 backup ritualNo card reformatted in the field; cloud upload where bandwidth permits
Logistics
Proposed window
Proposed window: mid-October 2026 — post-monsoon, Indore at its gentlest, ahead of November–December wedding-season spikes in availability. Three visits scheduled across Indore (×2) and Chennai (×1). Final dates confirmed by the family around the couple's routine and any observance dates to avoid.
After the Field