Charu Nivedita Returns to Nagore for Documentary, Confronts Environmental and Cultural Loss

Writer Charu Nivedita returned to his hometown Nagore in Tamil Nadu after 45 years for a documentary film about his life. The visit revealed dramatic environmental degradation: ponds like Eechankulam that were once clear and filled with lotuses now resemble sewage works choked with plastic waste. The tamarind grove behind Perumal temple, where his grandmother settled after fleeing Burma during World War II, has been replaced by houses. Nivedita's childhood library stands abandoned, reflecting a community where reading has disappeared. During filming, the director needed a ten-year-old boy resembling Nivedita for the biopic; they found one visiting Nagore Dargah with his grandmother and sister, who entrusted the boy to them for a day without hesitation—a level of trust Nivedita notes would be impossible in cities. He recalled his impoverished childhood in a slum where the graveyard behind his house served as both toilet facility and private space for adolescent masturbation, with the adjacent Vettaru river posing dangers from snake bites. The documentary is being translated from Tamil by Vidhya Subash.