Départ

Synopsis

Mahé, a former French occupied colony for nearly two and a half centuries in India is discovered and told by a French voyageur on his visit to India. The land lies sandwiched between the south western state of Kerala which rigorously practices, follows and keeps its traditional culture alive. It looks exactly like any other village in Kerala but has a number of features that make it unique and different from the rest of the country. The film takes you back into a colonial time where this charming fishing port was once a major trading counter established by the Compagnie des lndes for the purpose of pepper trade at the coast of Malabar. The ancient port also buries the glimpses of the Kingdom of France found in the cemetery of Mahé. The Column of Liberty crowned by a bust of Marianne, the supreme symbol of the French Revolution of 1789 where the French nationals celebrate Bastille Day an additional Independence Day apart from the Indian day of Independence paying homage to the involvement of Indian troops from Mahé, who sacrificed their life in the second world war served alongside the French. The sacrifice recounts to us of an unheard history for most of the Indians and to the world. Départ recounts the absolute ruined forts and scattered bits of the French culture preserved by some old hands here now. It now stands as a lost glory of a prosperous past. Will Mahé be erased from its past? The answer lies in history.