Two flowers of Dhorpatan

With the onset of winter, villagers vacate Dhorpatan and descend to Burtibang. These two old women keep trying to find a reason to live with the harsh winter. They heat the cold life by gathering firewood, they gather the green grass hidden in the soil. And, burtibang jharre village guards house. Apart from Dhorpatan, these two have nowhere to go. Ratima has a nephew in Kathmandu, she doesn't want to go there. Kalima has a daughter, she has also entered India. These two do not have an excuse or a holiday for wintering in old age!

These two are forced to bond in a strained relationship. Ratima and Kalima are two wives of the same husband. The relationship between these two is neither hot nor cold. Living in a warm relationship. These two can neither meet nor separate. Circumstances bind both of them together. They cannot live together, but it is their destiny to meet in the solitude of Dhorpatan. The 79-minute long documentary has an amazing reflection on the relationship between the two, where the two sides continue to fight each other. The two Patis are tied to the same rope, just like Ratima and Kalima are tied to the rope of the husband's relationship. These two sides are fighting back and forth. Sometimes Kalima's cow hurts Ratima, sometimes Kalima gets angry with Ratima for not picking up the snow-dried clothes. They are living with such tricks, in winter. When Ratima falls ill, Kalima comes to help. In the village of Chakmanna, these two are very close to each other. Standing with each other even though they are clashing horns is the destiny of the two, the daily life and the way of living. This image used by directors Rajan Kathet and Sunir Pandey to present the complex relationship between Ratima and Kalima shows the strong side of the visual language of 'Dhorpatan'.

'Dhorpatan' not only shows the complex relationship of these two, but also their old age and loneliness. A chicken is Ratima's friend in a lonely house. She spins yarn in her spare time, keeps humming her husband's memory in her mind. Ratima, who lives in a lonely house with mountains as a background, runs after cows every day. Kalima has a cow and a dog that talk to her. When she gets free time, she calls her daughter in India. Filming the life of Ratima-Kalima, the directors have shown an interesting world of loneliness, old age and janitor-in 'Dhorpatan'. It seems, they are two flowers that bloomed in adversity. And Dhorpatan is decorated with its fragrance.

construction story

Five years ago, Sunir met Kalima and Ratima in 'Chowkini Katha' on the YouTube channel of 'Herne Katha'. Sanir felt that a documentary could be made on that story. After discussing with his friend Rajan, he decided to make a documentary on the same story. For the first time, two directors and cinematographer Bobin Dulal went to Dhorpatan to shoot the trailer.

Kathmandu to Baglung, Baglung to Burtibang, Burtibang to Pakhathar - The team reached Dhorpatan in 3 days. On reaching Burtibang, the team realized that the road to Dhorpatan is covered with snow. They reached their destination by following the footsteps of the army making the road. The snow was waist-deep. Ratima was found in the yard in Dhorpatan. She was shocked to see the young man. Kalima also reached there. After shooting the video in 8-10 days, the team said, 'Next winter, we will come back to spend with you.' The story won two awards, including Best Pitch and an opportunity to travel to Israel's Documentary Festival. Mentor Gary joined as producer from Calcutta. Then in May the team again reached Dhorpatan. "They believed us after going repeatedly and thrice. We became like relatives,' Sunir remembers the relationship between his mother. At the end of December, the team reached Bheri Dhorpatan. That winter they spent 70 days with their mothers. What story to show in a

documentary? After the shooting of Ratima and Kalima started, the production team was initially overwhelmed. There was nothing to draw but the winter and the two stepsons, the deserted Dhorpatan. At the beginning of filming the life of the two, Ratima disappeared. The team was developing a documentary based on his story. He was sick and went to his relatives for treatment. Tensions rose after he left, then returned. We reached halfway to pick him up,” says Rajan. But how to tell the story even after returning? Tim was tormented by this question.

The director looks at a recurring theme in that mother's life. At night, always remembering her husband who has left the world, talking about her dreams. Kalima kept talking about her daughter, running behind the cow. Then they made a documentary about this element.

Although there are two parts to the story, we were convinced that the story of this documentary cannot be about parts. There was a focus on touching their old age and loneliness," says Rajan. Sunir says, "We tried to dig into their situation and life - we filmed the life of winter, janitor and stepmother."

The team spent a long time with that mother. "The main reason for meeting them like this for 3 seasons was our plan to make them camera friendly," says Rajan. So we have captured many interesting moments in the documentary.' In a scene from the

documentary, Kalima is angrily abusing Ratima from outside, throwing stones at Ratima's roof. At the same time Ratima's reaction and Kalima's anger are captured on camera at the same time.

While shooting 'Dhorpatan', the weather was also a challenge. They stayed at a local hotel during the winter. The team spent 70 days there.

But, less than a week later, the local hydro broke down. There was no electricity to charge the camera, it was arranged after giving up. The team spent about 100 days there.

After 70 days, there was a rumor that the lockdown would start, the team returned to Kathmandu. After that, editing took about a year. Initially, Rajan-Sunir edited the story of Ratima and Kalima together. However, there was a feeling that the story could not be told well. Then he gave the responsibility of editing to Kiran Shrestha.

is supported by the mentorship of Locarno's Editing Lab. "Especially, we thought to show only winter. However, the documentary would be incomplete without the scenes of the villagers returning to the village, so we added it at the end," said Rajan. The

documentary reached many prestigious festivals around the world, won several awards and ran continuously for a month.

The director wanted to show the documentary to the two mothers on reaching Dhorpatan, but in August 2022, Ratima passed away. They are trying to show Kalima a documentary with the villagers.