Singalila in the Himalaya

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Singalila In the Himalaya
SingalilaDVDCovcer.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed by George Thengummoottil
Written byGeorge Thengummoottil, Binoy Valson
Produced byDhanraj Gurung, George Thengummoottil
Starring
  • Surya Girish
CinematographyGeorge Thengummoottil, Sooraj Puthiyedam
Edited byGeorge Thengummoottil, Nishitha Iyanahally, Dheeraj Aithal
Music byBenjamin Tissot, Edorado Romani Capelo
Production
companies
THEINDIA.INFO,Keratoconus Foundation India, Red Panda Tours and Travels, Felis Creations
Release dates
  • 24 September 2016 (2016-09-24)(India)
,
  • 24 December 2016 (2016-12-24)(Nepal)
Running time
17 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish
Budget5000 USD

Singalila in the Himalaya is a 2016 film directed by George Thengummoottil. It tells the story of a young Keratoconus patient finding his way in life to trek through the Himalayas. [1] The film covers a 14-day-long trek along the border of India and Nepal, known as the Singalila Ridge.

Contents

Production

Most of the film was shot in the remote mountains of Sikkim and Nepal Himalayas within three national parks Khangchendzonga National Park, Singalila National Park and Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary. More than 15 porters were hired to carry the equipment and food during the expedition. [1]

The film was shot on cameras powered by solar panels, carried by the team during the trek. They used a homemade solar charger by modifying the car battery charger. [2] [3]

Synopsis

The team follow the path of three Himalayan explorers. A major part of the trek follows the trail used by Douglas William Freshfield, the British mountaineer who encircled Mount Kangchenjunga in 1903. On day seven, the team reach Khangla Pass at the border of India and Nepal from where the team head south along the Singalila Ridge, the border between India and Nepal following the path of Joseph Dalton Hooker, to reach West Bengal.

Music

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Singali la in the Himalaya"Aman JohnAdithi Sivaraman1:05
2."Himalaya" Jo Kelly Jo Kelly 10:27

Awards and nominations

George Thengummoottil Receiving award from Mr Harkirat Singh, Managing Director, Woodland India and Mr Deepak Misra Manager of ONGC, at the IMF Mountain Film Festival. IMF Mountain Festival (33023763096).jpg
George Thengummoottil Receiving award from Mr Harkirat Singh, Managing Director, Woodland India and Mr Deepak Misra Manager of ONGC, at the IMF Mountain Film Festival.
YearFilm FestivalCountryCategoryAwardResult
20162nd Pokhara International Mountain Film Festival [4] Pokhara, Nepal DocumentaryMountain DocumentaryNominated
2017 Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) Mountain Film Festival [5] [6] New Delhi, India Mountain Documentary Special Recognition Award Won
201710th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala [7] Trivandrum, Kerala Short Documentary CompetitionNominated
201716th Girimitra Sammelan, Audio Visual CompetitionMumbai, IndiaDocumentary3rdWon
2018TOURFILM RIGA Riga, Latvia AdventureNominated
2018Kadakam Forest and Environmental; Film Festival, Silent Valley National Park, Palakkad, Kerala IndiaForests and Environment
2019CMS Vatavaran Film Festival [8] IndiaCelebrating HimalayasNominated

Festival screenings

Further reading

  1. Round Kangchenjunga - A Narrative of Mountain Travel and Exploration(1903) Douglas William Freshfield
  2. Himalayan Journals - Notes of a Naturalist(1855) Joseph Dalton Hooker

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kangchenjunga</span> Third-highest mountain in the world

Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā and Khangchendzonga, is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at 8,586 m (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas, the Kangchenjunga Himal, which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. It lies in the border region between Nepal and Mangan district, Sikkim state of India, with three of the five peaks, namely Main, Central and South, directly on the border, and the peaks West and Kangbachen in Nepal's Taplejung District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Himalayas</span> Mountain range in Asia

The Himalayas, or Himalaya, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 peaks exceeding 7,200 m (23,600 ft) in elevation lie in the Himalayas. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia is 6,961 m (22,838 ft) tall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanda Devi</span> Second-highest mountain in India

Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India, after Kangchenjunga, and the highest located entirely within the country. It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singalila National Park</span> National park of India on the Singalila Ridge in Darjeeling district, West Bengal

Singalila National Park is a National park of India located on the Singalila Ridge at an elevation of more than 2300 metres above sea level, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. It is well known for the trekking route to Sandakphu that runs through it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khangchendzonga National Park</span> Protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sikkim, India

Khangchendzonga National Park, also Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve, is a national park and a biosphere reserve located in Sikkim, India. It was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in July 2016, becoming the first "Mixed Heritage" site of India. It was included in the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. The park is named after the mountain Kangchenjunga, which is the third-highest peak in the world at 8,586 metres (28,169 ft) tall. The total area of the park is 849.5 km2 (328.0 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goecha La</span>

Goecha La is a high mountain pass in Gyalshing district, Sikkim, India in the Himalaya range. The southeast face of Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest mountain, can be viewed from the pass, which is also a base camp for those aspiring to scale the mountain. They say that when the government authorities first saw the view from Goecha La, they were so moved by the view that they decided to feature it on the Rs.100 note.

Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, also known as the Darjeeling Hills or Darjeeling Himalaya, is a mountainous area on the north-western side of the state of West Bengal in India. This region belongs to the Eastern Himalaya range. The Darjeeling district except the Siliguri subdivision and the entire Kalimpong district constitute this region. It arises abruptly from the Terai region. The region slopes from a south to north direction. The river Teesta divides the region in two parts — the region to the east of Teesta and the region to the west of Teesta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dongkha La</span> Mountain pass in the Himalaya

The Dongkha la or Donkia Pass(Chinese: 东卡拉山口) is a high mountain pass in the Himalaya connecting Sikkim in India with Tibet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandakphu</span> Mountain and highest point in West Bengal

Sandakphu or Sandakpur is a mountain peak in the Singalila Ridge on the border between India and Nepal. It is the highest point of the ridge and of the state of West Bengal, India. The peak is located at the edge of the Singalila National Park and has a small village on the summit with a few hotels. Four of the five highest peaks in the world, Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu can be seen from its summit. It also affords a pristine view of the entire Kangchenjunga Range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tonglu, West Bengal</span> Village in West Bengal, India

Tonglu is the one of the higher peaks of the Singalila Ridge and a small settlement inside the Singalila National Park in the Darjeeling subdivision, Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal in India near the India - Nepal border. It is a roadside halt along the trekking route from Manebhanjan to Sandakphu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manebhanjyang, Darjeeling</span> Transit-town in West Bengal, India

Maney Bhanjyang is a small transit-town in the Darjeeling Sadar subdivision, Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal in India. It is located at the gateway of the Singalila National Park, 28 km away from Darjeeling town. The income of the local residents is geared towards tourism, especially foreign trekkers. Maney Bhanjyang is the start of the trailhead for the trek to Sandakphu on the Singalila Ridge, the highest point in West Bengal. Conveyance for Sandakphu is also available mainly from Maney Bhanjyang in the form of Land Rovers of 1960 model. The 4-hour ride can be quite 'jumpy' as drivers maneuver their prized possessions along snaky curves and uphill roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singalila Ridge</span>

The Singalila Ridge is a north–south mountain ridge running from northwestern West Bengal through Sikkim in the Indian part of the Himalayas. The district of Ilam in Nepal falls on the western part of this ridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tso Lhamo Lake</span> Body of water

Tso Lhamo lake is one of the highest lakes in the world, located at an altitude of 6,200 m (20,300 ft). It is situated in Mangan district, Sikkim, India, about 4 km (2.5 mi) southwest of the international border with China. It is fed by waters from Zemu glacier, Kangtse glacier or Pauhunri glacier, and is the source of the Teesta river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Himalaya Trail</span> Long-distance hiking trail

The Great Himalaya Trail is a route across the Himalayas from east to west. The original concept was to establish a single long distance trekking trail from the east end to the west end of Nepal that includes a total of roughly 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi) of path. There is a proposed trail of more than 4,500 kilometres (2,800 mi) stretching the length of the Greater Himalaya range from Nanga Parbat in Pakistan to Namche Barwa in Tibet thus passing through, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Although an actual continuous route is currently only a concept, if completed it would be the longest and highest alpine hiking track in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Himalayan Landscape</span>

The Sacred Himalayan Landscape is a 39,021 km2 (15,066 sq mi) large trans-boundary landscape in the eastern Himalayas encompassing temperate broadleaf and conifer forests, alpine meadows and grasslands, which harbour more than 80 mammal and more than 440 bird species. It extends from Nepal's Langtang National Park through Sikkim and Darjeeling in India to western Bhutan's Torsa Strict Nature Reserve. More than 73% of this landscape is located in Nepal, including Sagarmatha National Park, Makalu Barun National Park, and Kanchenjunga Conservation Area. About 24% is located in India, encompassing Khangchendzonga, Singalila and Neora Valley National Parks as well as Fambong Lho, Maenam, Senchal, Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuaries, Shingba and Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuaries and Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Thengummoottil</span> Indian filmmaker

George Thengummoottil is an Indian filmmaker and editor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Northeast India</span>

Northeast India consists of the eight states Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Tourism in this area is based around the unique Himalayan landscape and culture distinct from the rest of India.

Cho La or Cho-la is a mountain pass in the Chola range of the Himalayas. It connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region. It is situated around four miles to the north-west of Nathu La.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Mountaineering Foundation</span>

Indian Mountaineering Foundation is an apex national body which organize and support, mountaineering and rock climbing expeditions at high altitudes in the Himalayas. The organization also promotes and encourages schemes for related adventure activities and environment-protection work in the Indian Himalayas. IMF has organized many expeditions to the high peaks in the Himalayas including Mount Everest.

Lodhoma is a village and gram panchayat in the Darjeeling Pulbazar CD block in the Darjeeling Sadar subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India.

References

  1. 1 2 "This filmmaker designed a solar charger to shoot in the Himalayas". Factordaily.com. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. "Video Production Gear List: Singalila in the Himalaya Documentary". Desktop-documentaries.com. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  3. "This Filmmaker Shot 14 Days Without Power in the Himalayas—Here's How". Nofilmschool.com. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  4. "SCREENING SCHEDULE : 2nd Int. Mountain Film Festival 2016" (PDF). Pokharaimff.org. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  5. "IMF Mountain Movie Festival". Mountainfilmfest.indianmountaineeringfoundation.com. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  6. "Mountain Film Festival: IMF screens 33 short adventure sports movies". Dailypioneer.com. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  7. http://idsffk.in/idsffk_2017.php%5B%5D
  8. "Nominations | CMS VATAVARAN". cmsvatavaran.org. Retrieved 12 August 2019.