By now, all of us are familiar with the migrant crisis that rattled the public consciousness during the lockdown. Images of barefoot labourers walking hundreds of kilometres with their families to get back to their villages left a stain on our democracy that still hasn't been wiped out. But the question is, did we pay enough attention to the trauma that this arduous journey must have caused to the children who were forced to be a part of it? It's one thing for adults to undertake it. But it's quite another for a kid to comprehend the gravity of the situation, and understand why they have to travel with hardly any food and water for days on end. That's why a new short film called Sitara: The Girl in the Pink Frock shifts its lens towards an 11-year-old, explaining her befuddlement at being asked to pack her bags without warning and leave the city one fine morning.

The paper-made sketch of Sitara's pink frock