Early July 2015, a bunch of us from CAFF gathered to discuss and reboot ‘Nirmukta Videos‘ project. It was also to deliberate on the idea of making the most out of our in-house paleontologist’s visit to TN. Nirmal Rajah, has hosted a talk about fossils and paleontology, and it was a runaway hit – so the decision to make this documentary film about fossils in Ariyalur, coinciding with his visit, was rather easy!
Around August, after days of shooting and weeks of toiling to put the final product together, the film premiered on 26th of January in Chennai and is now open for public consumption. Highly indebted to the generosity of funders, both financial and otherwise (no documentary team would have the luxury of working in the beautiful post production suite in Make Real Media, generously offered by Bala Bhaskar).
The documentary is about 26 minutes long and it gives a glimpse of various fossils available in Ariyalur. Although we have tried to cover a lot of information via this film, it is important to note that, it is not exhaustive. We have tried our best to fit in key points, that could be explained using visual medium – with its limitations. With other concerns such as permissions, funds, time, and various other variables, it is possible that a scientific concept can’t be explained entirely. A lot of further study and research is highly recommended for those who wish to delve deep into the subject. To aid the same, we would like to point you towards a lot of useful resources and links, in this page.
Synopsis:
How would one travel time, traverse a chasm spanning millions of years to stare into the past? In the little town of Ariyalur, you can do the impossible. Standing in the midst of a mass grave of prehistoric ocean life, one gets a glimpse of mother earth in her Cretaceous prime and comes face to face with a physical incarnation of time and life of the planet.
Note: This is an absolutely non-commercial project, so if you wish to screen it anywhere, please let us know, we will be happy to help. A couple of quick list of crew members & funders first:
Crew:
Director & VOA: Vaishnavi Sundar | Cinematographer: Pradeep Padma Kumar | Sync Sound: Dhanush Nayanar | Editor: Alisha Gopiraj and Keerthana Murali | Sound Mixing: Keerthana Murali | VFX: Make Real Media | Colorist: Raja Rajan | Music: Deva McEnrow | Asst. Director: Soorya Sriram | 2nd Camera: Vishwajeet Chandrashekar | Production: Lime Soda Films
Creative Content:
Bala Bhaskar, Balasubramaniam, Geetha TG, Nirmal Rajah, Soorya Sriram, Vaishnavi Sundar
Paleontologists:
Nirmal Rajah, Anurag Amin
Funders:
Arun, Beena, Balu, Vijay Krishna, Senthamizh Selvan, Geetha, Balaji, Ganesh, Prema, Madhavan, Rajavel, Anitha J, Cheziyan, Saranya Senguttuvan, Ankit, Kanad Kanhare, Neethi, Thara, and a bunch of anonymous funders. Thulir Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd, RJP Infotek Pvt. Ltd., Alfa Weighing Systems Pvt. Ltd., Concolor Works and Designs.
Here’s the documentary:
Further Reading:
- Evolution – http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/home.php
- Ariyalur – http://www.ariyalur.tn.nic.in
- Fossils: an overview – http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/fossils | http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/whatisafossil.htm | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil
- Chicxulub crater in gulf of mexico: history – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_crater
- Similar worldwide events – http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130214-biggest-asteroid-impacts-meteorites-space-2012da14/
- Fossil sites – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fossil_sites
- Stratification – http://www.prehistoricplanet.com/news/index.php?id=48 | http://www.stratigraphy.org/index.php/ics-chart-timescale | http://www.stratigraphy.net
- Why Ariyalur: news items about why Ariyalur is a fossil haven and things that were found there –
- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/ariyalurs-tryst-with-the-ocean-has-left-behind-fossil-treasures/article3715254.ece
- http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/marine-fossil-site-in-ariyalur-to-be-declared-national-geological-monument-633075.html
- http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article136451.ece
- http://www.tubetamil.com/watch-daily-tamil-news-online/tamil-nadu-dinosaur-more-dinosaur-fossils-are-continuously-discovered-in-ariyalur.html
- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indias-Jurassic-nest-dug-up-in-Tamil-Nadu/articleshow/5073985.cms
- http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/ariyalur-steps-up-efforts-to-preserve-geological-history/article3630594.ece
- http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/Features/Top-Mining-Dinosaurs
- http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/sea-shells-on-the-sea-shore/article6193180.ece
- http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/archaeological-exhibition-in-tiruchi-offers-a-peek-into-the-past/article5379006.ece
- http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/a-step-back-in-time/article4931941.ece
- http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/making-a-difference-the-fossil-hunter/article3653019.ece
- Limestone fossils – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossiliferous_limestone
- Paleontology – https://books.google.com/?id=kyLRtsvLS2AC&pg=PA55 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleontology
- Radiometric studies – http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/benton.html | http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dating.html | http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/fosrec/McKinney.html
- Marine transgression and regression – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luY5ozlbURA | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_transgression | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_regression
- Difference between fossils and dead remains. How rare it is for an object to get fossilized: http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilrecord/fossilization/fossilization.htm
- Possibility of deducing what species and their behavior using such research. http://news.discovery.com/animals/pregnant-mare-fossil-sheds-light-on-ancient-horses-141110.htm
- Loss of evidences of animals and therefore the research about them – http://paleoking.blogspot.in/2012/01/giant-that-never-was-all-your.html
- Classification of animals – http://a-z-animals.com/reference/animal-classification/
- Human evolution – http://humanorigins.si.edu/education/intro-human-evolution | http://humanorigins.si.edu
- A case that was filed on behalf of a class 10 student against mining – http://indiankanoon.org/doc/90987038/?type=print
- Books:
- Wonderful life – Stephen Jay Gould
- Evolution – what the fossil record say and why it matters by Donald Ross Prothero
- Life an unauthorized biography by Richard Fortey
- Gorgon – obsession paleontology and the greatest catastrophe of earth history by Peter ward
- Also by Peter ward Out in thin air ( the best one about extinction events)
- Principles of paleontology by David Raup (text book, highly technical)
- Extinctions in the history life edited by Paul D Taylor (technical, about extinction events and their nature)
For screening it in your school, academic institution, documentary club or just a gathering of people interested in science, please get in touch with us us at limesodafilms@gmail.com
Very informative video which shown lot of struggles and studies that team took to provide such a wonderful information about a village in our own Tamil Nadu. Thanks to the Team!!
Thanks guys.
Thanks a lot for this wonderful video. I have also shared it and posted in my blog: http://balaslearnings.blogspot.in/2016/04/ariyalur-fossil-town.html
I am the great grandson of Horace Archibald Gass, the founder of the Gass Forest Museum in Coimbatore.
Your video was very interesting for its content and design.
Is it possible for a group of us to get together to set up a team of fossil hunters specifically to search and find hominid fossils within Southern India( if possible)? The entire project will be funded by the ancestors of HA Gass now spread worldwide.
If interested please email me on gassmarshall184@gmail.com in the first instance. . Thanks
informative post thank you
That’s really a knowledge based video. Searching the treasures buried deep in the earth for finding the origins. These types of treasures play huge role in Classification of Animals.
Keep up the good work
good