Nero's Guests - P.Sainath

Get NOTES
<http://cudepteng.blogspot.in/>

Pahgummi Sainath (1957). often referred to as the Asian Nobel 2007 winner of the Ramon Magsaysay award for Journalism Literature and Creative Communication Arts. He has worked with the Hindu for more than six years and considers himself a rural reporter. Amartya has been quoted as referring to Sainath as one of the world's great experts famine and hunger. His book Eeverbody Loves a Good Drought stories from India Poorest Districts, was published in 1996 and went on to become a national bestseller.

Nero's Guests is a documentary that was released in 2009. Directed by Deepa Bhaita, the documentary explored the Indian agrarian crisis through the eyes of the Rural Affairs Editor of the Hindu Newspaper, P..Sainath. The documentary is the largest journalistic body of work on the thread by the farming communities in India. Focusing on intimate stories of family life in such harsh conditions, as well an exploration of the suicides that were taking place at the time, the documentary exposed a side of India that few had seen, and compelled the government take to action.

The full documentary:

Questions:

1. What is Sainath's motivation for making the documentary?
2. Why does Sainath refuse to be one of Nero's guests?
3. Discuss the significance of the title.
4. Identify some of the shams that Sainath and his team uncover
5. How does the documentary handle the delicate topic of suicide?
6. What techniques were used by the crew to enhance the overall viewing experience  of the documentary?
7. Did you find the documentary moving and compelling? Why? Why not?