Saved By A Curse: This Documentary Shows Us Why The Chambal River Remains Pristine
What if the only thing that saved paradise was the fear of going there? In a country where rivers are worshipped into extinction, the Chambal remains an anomaly untouched, unclaimed, and oddly unholy. While the Ganges bears the weight of millions of rituals and industrial drains alike, the Chambal has flowed quietly through the ravines of central India, protected not by policy or planning, but by fear, folklore, and the shadow of outlaws.
Roundglass Sustain' documentary, 'The Boon of the Curse' directed by Shivang Mehta takes us into this paradox. It tells the story of a river that has survived precisely because it was forsaken. Legend has it that the Chambal was cursed — born from a blood ritual gone wrong, which rendered it spiritually tainted in the eyes of many. Add to that the decades-long reputation of the area as a haven for dacoits, and you have the perfect cocktail of human aversion.
This lack of contact from the outside world has led Chambal to become one of India’s cleanest, most ecologically diverse rivers, home to endangered gharials, Gangetic dolphins, and thriving vulture colonies. Shivang lets the landscape speak for itself in the film with its surreal sandstone gullies, its labyrinthine floodplains, and its ancient, tectonically stable rock formations.
Roundglass Sustain was founded in 2019 by Seattle-based entrepreneur and philanthropist Gurpreet "Sunny" Singh. It is a partner organisation of Roundglass Living, a global promoter of individual wellbeing. The organization enables storytelling on India's natural wildlife. Additionally, it also provides a platform to female storytellers. Over the last six years, it has produced over 600 pieces of video content, out of which more than 200 have been spearheaded by women.
Shivang Mehta began his career as a journalist and corporate communications professional before his passion for wildlife led him to photography full-time. Alongside photography, Shivang continues to write about conservation and travel, contributing to various national and international publications.
In this documentary, produced by Roundglass Sustain, the photographer brings out a gentle indictment of 'progress'. In Chambal, nature has outlived the grasp of industry simply because it wasn’t considered worthy of possession. Yet, today, that same lack of development has turned it into a rare sanctuary. And now, ironically, it's being eyed for the very growth that once overlooked it.
'The Boon of the Curse' is a meditation on unintended conservation, on how indigenous ecosystems can self-regulate when left alone, and on how human superstition, however grim, can sometimes do what environmental legislation fails to.
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