Bijashpur Forest Department Map
Fictional map made for the film Sherni (2021)
Director: Amit Masurkar
Production Designer: Devika Dave
Assistant to Production Designer/Graphic Designer: Vani Kaul
Set Decorator: Vanya Vaishnavi
Set Dresser: Shreya Katyayini
Conservation Through Cartography
Conservation requires respect towards all life, and its diverse needs for survival, even if it means that certain species living deep in forests, inside thick and tall undergrowth, have the choice to not show themselves to us, even if we want to adore them. Not everything lives to be scanned by our eyes.
This map, with forests severed by highways, a mine, and human habitation, is a visual representation of our presence in nature. We chose to expose ourselves. We cleared the growth to become visible. Visibility and expansion has been a human desire since we as a species started to think, build, travel, and conquer. This desire is probably woven into our DNA as a survival technique, but we forgot to include others in the plan. We forgot that maybe not everyone wants visibility. Some survive only among dense foliage, and we survive only when they do. In fact, I can't say for everyone, but I too would be happier in that foliage, rather than in blocks of concrete.
There is no quick solution to the imbalance created between nature and infrastructure, but even if for selfish reasons, we've started to realise that our initial plan to dig up another's path to build a highway for us might not have been our best survival strategy. So I hope with this film, and due to conservation efforts by individuals already doing the work on ground, including our own selves constantly evolving towards a better understanding of this planet and its precious diversity, a consequential difference can still be made to create a better quality of life for everyone on this planet.
This map, with forests severed by highways, a mine, and human habitation, is a visual representation of our presence in nature. We chose to expose ourselves. We cleared the growth to become visible. Visibility and expansion has been a human desire since we as a species started to think, build, travel, and conquer. This desire is probably woven into our DNA as a survival technique, but we forgot to include others in the plan. We forgot that maybe not everyone wants visibility. Some survive only among dense foliage, and we survive only when they do. In fact, I can't say for everyone, but I too would be happier in that foliage, rather than in blocks of concrete.
There is no quick solution to the imbalance created between nature and infrastructure, but even if for selfish reasons, we've started to realise that our initial plan to dig up another's path to build a highway for us might not have been our best survival strategy. So I hope with this film, and due to conservation efforts by individuals already doing the work on ground, including our own selves constantly evolving towards a better understanding of this planet and its precious diversity, a consequential difference can still be made to create a better quality of life for everyone on this planet.
