A FABRIC OF LOSS

NARROW lanes lead to jute mills in Bengal. The roads are dimly lit. Children play in labour lines. Men listen to the radio as they rest after their shift. These are some of the recurring visuals in the documentary, The Golden Thread, made by Nishtha Jain, a passout of FTTI's film school.

- PANKIL JHAJHRIA

She also studied in Jamia Millia's Mass Communication Centre.

More than 30 jute mills have shut down in Bengal in a course of five years, from 2017 to 2022. This also includes the old Wellington Mill, which was established in Rishra in 1857, one of the sites where the film—made after eight years of research—was shot. The camera wanders around close-packed streets, recording sweat-trickling foreheads, dispirited eyes, and weary faces.

This story, however, began years ago, and can be traced to Partition. After Partition, the jute industry of divided Bengal faced an existential crisis. While East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) had the finest stock of jute fibre and the best jute growing areas, the jute mills were in India.

Outdated machinery, emergence of synthetic substitutes, and competition from Bangladesh and Brazil added to the problems.