Approaches to Culture and Communication (PC-721)

r.o sL r.xt
(THE LOVE FOR TEA)
Vrushin Goswami 201214005
11/29/2012
A report on the awareness video for North-Eastern states of India.
Introduction:
Among many Indians who are ignorant about the problems faced or the progress
made by the North-East Indians, I was one of them. Through this project, I have a little clarity about
their issues. The project started off when we saw a TATA Salt
[1]
commercial and tried to understand
the signified, signifier and sign from it. Moving forward with those concepts we were asked to design
an advertisement as how and what a person from the North-East India would have to say and show to
the people of rest of India. What signifier would the person use to signify his/her idea?

Understanding:
While doing our brainstorming and research, we found out that people are unaware
about a lot of things when North-Eastern states are concerned. From one of the many examples, most
common stereotype for them is being Chinese or Nepali. Ignorance towards such issues was our
major target, and our intent was to create a kind of communication which spreads awareness among
such masses while maintaining their interest in it.
The designed communication in the movie is about the entire tea making process.
Idea was to shoot footages in a tight frame, so that the entire emphasis remains on the tea. We chose
to work on Tea as Assam is the largest producer of tea in India.
[2]
In the entire tea making process,
various events were used as signifiers. When we have the first sip of the morning tea, it refreshes us,
but we are unaware of what the tea has to go through to get to our doorstep. The entire product makes
us aware of the few issues that the North-Eastern states face. The first step in the advertisement,
which is the lighting of the stove, signifies the independence of India. Sequentially the vessel on the
stove signifies the complete area of North-Eastern states. Adding of milk signifies the mixing and
peaceful co-existence of people of different tribes. The pounding of the ginger pieces in the grinding
pot signifies the forceful entry of insurgents from the neighbouring countries.
The product is meant for public awareness. Primarily, it is designed for every citizen
of India who may or may not be aware of the issues going on in the North-Eastern states. Secondarily,
it isnt just restricted to Indian citizens, but for the whole world to see.
Nearly 90% of Indian households are tea drinkers.
[3]
And most of the people do know
how to make tea. Hence, using tea as an idea becomes useful in putting across our points. We have
put respective events at every stage of making tea to which people can relate and better understand,
what we are trying to communicate. The lyrics from the song by Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, Ganga behti
ho kyun (O Ganges why do you still flow) make you wonder while strongly suggesting that Morality
is destroyed and Humanity has gone corrupt, yet the pure river Ganga keeps flowing boldly. These
lyrics in themself are powerful and make a sarcastic protest. These lyrics add to the message we are
trying to convey in the video.
Vistar hain hazar, praja dono paar
Oh Ganga tum, oh Ganga behti ho kyun?
Naitikta nasht hui, Manavta bhrasht hui,
Nirlaj bhav se behti ho kyu?
I think Ignorance is a very big menace. It need not be deliberate but maybe just the
lack of knowledge among people. It could be confusion about some facts too. But, at the bottom,
Ignorance plays a leading part for people to be insensitive towards certain issues. For this particular
area of concern a lot of incidents have been recorded where, people think that the residents of the
North-eastern states require a passport to enter in to other Indian states or cities. There have been
some cases of mental harassment towards the students leading to their unfortunate demise.
[4]
People
are unaware of the fact that there is illegal immigration, and the immigrants are taking up the land, job
opportunities etc. by showing themselves as Indian citizens. There is a lot of struggle and a lot of
protests going on which have failed to receive momentum because of lack of awareness.
Assam being the largest producer of tea in India is a fact to be proud of, but there are
a lot of issues behind the tea production which remain unseen by the masses, in spite of them drinking
tea, every day. Starting the day with a cup of tea, and having tea in the evening with snacks is an
integral part of our culture. Even when a person suffers from a headache a herbal remedy of tea with
ginger is recommended
[5]
. Through the entire process we have also concentrated on the aspect of
insurgency which is happening and goes un-noticed. This leads to lack of land space for the locals,
lesser job opportunities, and Identity theft. We selected to work on these aspects as these were the one
of the most basic ideas which everyone should know about as an Indian citizen. Learning about these
would make them aware and they can show their support in the cause.
The main Idea is to keep the product simple and establish a relation with a routine
day to day activity, such that people can easily understand the video and the intent behind it. On the
images in the video we have put a one line or two line statements which convey the facts related to the
image in particular and to the theme of the project. When the viewers watch the video the issues we
are talking about become clear to them. As the advertisement is just video and text along with it, the
communication remains simple and easy to understand for the viewer. And when the viewer
understands the message conveyed, the communication succeeds in its purpose. Also, the text appears
at a striking scene, which makes an impact in the minds of the viewer, and the facts would manage to
stay in their mind. We have used sounds from the speech tryst with destiny when we show the
independence of India and Dr. Bhupen Hazarikas song Ganga behti ho kyon as a song of protest.
One thing that I would like to change is the shooting of the footage, it should have
been more still and in the tight shots, when the person is putting tea in the mix, the camera angle
should be parallel to the container and the focus should remain on the container, vessel and tea.
Instead of the person putting tea with a teaspoon, I would want him to pour the tea from the container
in a free flow. Unlike him putting tea with the spoon, the impact this would create in the scene with
the appearing text, would be when the tea is freely flowing it signifies that an abundant amount of tea
is produced in India, and that North-East states are the largest producers of tea in India. If provided
with more time, I would take various different shots from different angles which would have more
impact than the already existing shots. For example, the tea pouring shot, the ginger grinding shot (the
movement of the camera is jerky), and the camera following person shot.







Bibliography:
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCQRQVEH6A8 28.11.12 01:56 a.m.
[2] http://assam.gov.in/business/business_entrprise.asp 27.11.12 02:59 p.m.
[3] http://www.waghbakritea.com/cover-story-tea-time.pdf 28.11.12 04:50 p.m.
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4xsA1aR0Wo 28.11.12 05:20 p.m.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ yrqDEhfow&feature=relmfu 28.11.12 05:20 p.m.
[5] http://www.medindia.net/homeremedies/headache.asp 28.11.12 02:21 a.m.