English/28mins/2003
Producer: Abhinandan Sekhri and Prashant Sareen, Small Screen
Commissioned by: Public Service Broadcasting Trust

Subject Focus: Mobilisation of rural communities to undertake water harvesting in Rajasthan.

Summary: Water scarcity has reached a crisis stage in many areas of rural Rajasthan. While government schemes and aids are dismal or non-existent, many villages and communities have resorted to tackling the issue themselves. Now this movement is spreading to the west, the most water scarce region in the country. Water harvesting structures and methods are being devised and implemented at village level with dramatic results. The film depicts how water harvesting has changed the landscape and lives of hundreds of people in Eastern Rajasthan.

Producer’s/Director’s Profile: Abhinandan Sekhri has directed and scripted Temples of Water. He was also an Assistant Director of Filhaal; he worked as a Camera Assistant in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding.

Prasahant Sareen is the co-founder and director of Small Screen. He was the Senior Executive Producer, Sony Entertainment Television. He also worked as the Producer of Newstrack, India’s premier current affairs programme.

Abhinandan and Prasahant won the Best Travel Documentary award in Spring Fest 2000, eveo.com, San Francisco and received a Special Jury Mention at the Okinawa Film Festival, Japan for their film Chadar.