3-generation story from village to city, debt to opportunity
For a history project on migration, I thought I'd research strangers. Then realized: my own family is a migration story! Dada left his village in 1960s poverty. Papa left small town for Delhi. We moved Mumbai for Papa's job. Three generations, three migrations, 60 years. But we never talked about it as family—it was just 'what happened.' These stories were disappearing.
Created 28-minute documentary interviewing 12 family members across 3 generations. Asked why they left, what they lost, what they gained. Combined audio interviews with old photos (1960s village to current Mumbai), maps showing migration paths, footage of grandparents' village today. Learned video editing, added subtitles. Posted on YouTube—18k views! Comments: 'This is MY family's story too.' Won school documentary competition. But real impact: family conversations that never happened before. Stories preserved.
my family's journey across India: found old photos in dadi's trunk. 1962 - family in Kashmir (grandfather was teacher). 1989 - fled to Delhi overnight (conflict). 2005 - moved to Bangalore (dad's IT job). THREE generations, THREE cities, THREE complete restarts. interviewed grandparents (lost everything twice), parents (language barriers, cultural shock), myself (third culture kid - don't fully belong anywhere). recorded 12 hours of interviews. created 18-minute documentary with old photos, video clips, Google Maps journey visualization. patterns emerged: each generation lost community but gained opportunity. dadi still cries for Kashmir mountains. dad still feels "outsider" in Bangalore. i have identity confusion (Kashmiri? Delhiite? Bangalorean? all? none?). showed documentary at school assembly. 47 students came up after - "THIS IS MY STORY TOO!" India's real story isn't one culture - it's millions of migrations, displacements, adaptations. your family's journey = history. 🎥📍
8 hours of recorded interviews with 12 family members
Old photos (1960s-present), village footage, migration maps
Self-taught editing, bilingual subtitles, folk music soundtrack
18k YouTube views, community discussions, classroom use
Oral history method: open-ended questions, active listening, following emotional threads. Not rigid questionnaire—let stories unfold naturally. Some interviews were 20 min, some 2 hours. Respected when people needed breaks (crying, overwhelmed). Recorded with permission, transcribed everything.
Supplemented interviews with research: 1960s UP economic conditions (why Dada left), 1990s liberalization (context for Papa's migration), current urbanization data (our story = millions of stories). Placed personal narratives in broader historical context.
Film language: old photos in black & white for past, color for present. Maps showing physical distance traveled (but also class/opportunity distance). Juxtaposition: Dada's village well (hand pump) vs our Mumbai apartment (running water). Visual metaphors for progress and loss.
Family gave permission to share publicly. Showed rough cut first—let them veto anything uncomfortable. Grandmother initially said no to village poverty details; respected that. Some stories too painful for public—kept those private. Documentary ethics: truth-telling balanced with dignity and consent.
Every great project starts with a personal problem. What's yours?
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