MERI PASAND – MY TRIBUTE TO 100 YEARS OF INDIAN CINEMA

I not only speak and think in many languages, but also entertain myself in several languages.

On the occasion of 100 years of Indian cinema, I take pleasure in sharing some of my favourite films. (in no particular order)

NAVRANG (1959- Hindi) – I like this film not just for the lovely songs, dance sequences of Sandhya and the artistic scenes, but for the portrayal of a complex relationship between a man and a woman, the mismatch between expectation and reality and the man’s fantasy.  The first time I saw it, I was an adolescent and did not understand much.  I saw it once again recently.

GARAM HAVA (1973 – Hindi-Urdu) I like the film as I could relate with all the characters.  It is a very sensitive film.  Two scenes from this film that continue to haunt me are 1) the protagonist’s mother’s refusal to move out of the ancestral house when they are evacuated 2) removal of dinner plates to portray the shrinking size of the family.

ZUBEIDAA (2001- Hindi) This autobiographical film written by Khalid Mohammed and directed by Shyam Benegal is one of my favourites.  The screenplay, direction, casting, costumes, music, background score are all excellent.  Though it is a sad story, nowhere the film is gloomy. 

GUNDAMMA KATHA (1962-Telugu) This is my all time favourite Telugu film.  Strangely, I know all the dialogues of this film by heart.  Everything about this film is so perfect; the screenplay, dialogues, direction, casting and performance.  A Sanskrit term that is often used in Telugu media is “Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati” which means “never in the past, never again in future” which is so apt for Gundamma Katha. I don’t get bored watching this film again and again.  Though the film was made in Tamil as Manithan Maravillai and in Hindi as Swayamvar, I doubt if they carried the same aura of Gundamma Katha.

MICHAEL MADANA KAMA RAJAN (1990 - Tamil)  A few years ago, a colleague of mine was writing a book on Tamil Cinema and sought my help to write synopses of the films he was planning to cover.  As I had seen most of the films that featured in his book, editing/writing the synopses was not very difficult.  But, I had seen Michael Madana Kama Rajan in bits and pieces on TV.  Though I enjoyed watching it every time, I could never follow the story line.  I had to edit 5000 words synopsis into a 1200 one.  It was the toughest of all the assignments as the screenplay was so complicated and more visual oriented.  Translating the scene into words was very difficult and I not only enjoyed watching the film again and again, but also writing the synopsis.

36 CHOWRINGHEE LANE (1981-English): An old English teacher on the verge of retirement lives a reclusive and uneventful life.  A chance meeting with an old student brings vibrancy to her life.  The student requests the lady to let the student’s friend, an upcoming writer, to use her apartment during the day when she is at school, for working on his project. The lady agrees and the student and the writer (also the boyfriend) use the lady’s apartment to spend time together under the pretext of writing a book. The naïve lady showers love on the young couple and keeps in touch with them even after they marry and settle down. The young couple avoids the lady, which she fails to understand and when she understands, she is shattered.  Being single, I can relate to the protagonist.

BETTADA JEEVA (2011-Kannada) The movie made based on Jnanapith Awardee K.Shivaram Karant’s novel was very refreshing.  The screenplay, direction, cinematography, the locales and the performance of all the actors added value to the story. The story set in early 1940’s is about a freedom activist escaping arrest, taking shelter in the house of an elderly couple in a remote hilly village, away from civilization.  The hosts make his stay in their house an unforgettable experience.  I am desirous of living in such a remote village after my retirement.

NOTTAM (2006-Malayalam) The film depicts Koodiyattam, an ancient Sanskrit Theatre form in Kerala.  Nedumudi Venu plays the role of a Koodiyattam artiste who dedicates his entire life to the art form.  The film shows the struggle of the artistes to sustain the art in the changing scenario.  I saw this film on Loksabha TV on a Saturday night and at the end of the film, there was a problem with the signals and I didn’t know how the film concluded.  The next morning when I went for a radio programme, I discussed the film and my disappointment with my friend and colleague, a Malayalam announcer with AIR.  She refused to discuss the end with me and suggested that I should watch the film again for that last scene and said she can arrange to get a DVD for me.  Fortunately, most of the films telecast on Loksabha TV on Saturday nights are telecast again on Sunday afternoons and so I returned home to watch the movie once again.  In the last scene, the protagonist falls down and as the co-artistes and the audience wonder if the artiste is performing or has collapsed, he opens his eyes. “Nottam” in Malayalam means “The Gaze” which has a dual meaning in this context.  Facial expressions and intense eye movements are intrinsic part of the dance form and his opening eyes brings relief to the anxious audience, colleagues and family members.

YARWNG (ROOTS) (2010-Kokborok) The first time I heard the term “Kokborok” was when I saw this film.  It is a very well taken film about an indigenous tribe getting displaced due to a hydel project.  How insensitive we are to our fellow human beings! It is the same theme, told in a different manner in Bhoomi Geetha (1997-Kannada)

I have watched and enjoyed many films in Marathi, Oriya, Bengali and Assamese.  Since I am unable to recollect the names and the characters correctly, I have not discussed them here.

YAKSHA PRASNA

Recently, a friend of mine posted the following status on facebook

“This if for an old buddy: To all my friends (including me) who are going through some issues right now--Let's start an intentional avalanche. We all need positive intentions right now. If I don't see your name, I'll understand. May I ask my friends wherever you might be, to kindly copy, paste, and share this status for one hour to give a moment of support to all those who have family problems, health struggles, job issues, worries of any kind and just need to know that someone cares. Do it for all of us, for nobody is immune. I hope to see this on the walls of all my friends just for moral support. I know some will!! I did it for a friend and you can too. If you want, you have to copy & paste this one, no share.”

Many of my friends copied and posted the same on their wall and I too did. 

As mentioned in the above message, none of us are immune to problems.  When we go through a crisis, normally we lose motivation, confidence, belief, focus, equilibrium and feel disillusioned and insecure. 

One of my greatest regrets in life is not having read the Ramayana and Mahabharata during my childhood, when I had a lot of time and energy at my disposal.  While my siblings were very thorough with every episode and character in the Epics, I had (have) very superficial knowledge of the same.  I had lot of reservations on the genres and was averse to religion.  Though I am still not open to religious activities, I have started enjoying listening to Upanyasams and Pravachanams (lecturing/story telling in an analytical manner) thanks to my parents, who now watch only Bhakti channels day and night on the television.

As I listen to these Upanyasams I don’t experience the usual feeling of Bhakti, but I try to assimilate the information, analyze and later look for solutions in real life situations. The advantage is that, I can listen to these, as I carry on with my other chores.

A couple of years ago, I had listened to a famous Pediatrician speak about an episode from the Mahabharata, on a television show.

During their exile in the forests, the Pandava princes come across a Brahmin who complains that a deer has taken away his Arani (The pair of wooden blocks to generate fire by friction) on its antlers and therefore he is not able to light the fire for the performance of Vedic rituals. The valorous Pandava princes set out to retrieve the Brahmin's Arani and follow the hoof-marks of the deer.

In the quest of the mysterious deer, Dharmaraja (Yudhishthira) becomes exhausted and thirsty. His brother Nakula ventures out to fetch water and finds a beautiful lake. The lake is devoid of any living creature except a crane (Baka). When he attempts to take water from the lake, the crane speaks, "O Nakula! The water of this lake will turn into poison if you take it without satisfactorily answering my questions." Nakula, in arrogance, does not pay heed and hurriedly takes water from the lake. Upon drinking the crystal clear water, Nakula instantly dies of poisoning. Nakula's twin Sahadeva, comes in search of brother, also finds the same lake, sees Nakula dead, and is also warned by the crane. But Sahadeva again ignores the crane and dies after drinking the water. In the same manner, both valiant Arjuna, and powerful Bheema meet the same fate.

As none of his brothers return with water, Dharmaraja embarks in search of them. Upon following the same path, Dharmaraja too comes across the lake and finds his brothers lying dead. Before searching for the killer of his brothers, Dharmaraja decides to drink some water from the lake. But when the crane warns him, the virtuous Dharmaraja proceeds to answer the questions put forth by the crane.

Before putting the questions to Dharmaraja, the crane reveals itself as a Yaksha. The Yaksha asks questions with philosophical and meta-physical ramifications. This dialogue between the Yaksha and Dharmaraja is known as the Yaksha Prasna or the Dharma-Baka Upakhyan (Legend of the Virtuous Crane).

The orator discussed three questions and I don’t remember two of them.  The one question that remained in my memory is

“What accompanies human beings till death? And the reply was “courage and confidence”.

I was so impressed with this question and answer session, I discussed it with many of my friends and also occasionally quoted and every time I felt low or lonely, I told myself that only courage and confidence are inseparable from me till death and every time I felt charged. 

When I saw the facebook status update cited above, I thought of quoting this, but decided to refer before I made a statement on a social forum as the lecture in reference was in Tamil and I did not want to mess up with the translation and so googled for the same.   

The nearest question available on the internet is “How does a man become secure? And the reply to the same is; “man becomes secure by courage.”

I am not sure if this is what the Doctor discussed.  Those who have read the Mahabharata, kindly enlighten me.

 

Another Landmark, gone!

Every locality has its landmarks. 

LIC of Kumaran Colony was a well known place for more than last three decades in our locality.   

It’s the place where every youngster of our locality learnt to type. 

The present generation of students and youngsters may not understand the pain and pleasure associated with the typewriters, as they are initiated into the process of typing on the computers at a very early age. 

From the days of the British rule to till recently, it was very common, particularly in Chennai for parents to get their wards enrolled into a typewriting institute soon after the 10th standard.  Learning typewriting and shorthand were considered passport to get a job in Government service.

LIC or “Lakshminarayana Institute of Commerce” was the only institute in our colony that catered to the needs of several adjoining areas like Saligramam, Dasarathapuram, Gandhi Nagar, Telephone Colony and some parts of Vadapalani apart from Kumaran and Dhanalakshmi colonies.

Located in a large plot in a muddy road with a very few houses, the small structure was visible from a far distance or rather heard from a long distance.  During the days when there was no traffic, people could hear the synchronized sound emanated from several students typing at the same time.  The music started very early in the day; as early as 5.00 a.m.  There was a great demand for some specific slots.  6.00 a.m. to 7.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. were the most sought after slots.  For a very long time, there was no compound wall or gate to the building.  The founder was a visionary.  He knew, that youngsters would not take effort to keep the gates closed and hence, had not spent on fixing one.  Though the tiny building was on a large plot, except for a lone Pongam tree, there were no plants or trees.  The students parked their cycles under the shade of Pongam tree. 

Everyone addressed the founder/owner/instructor of the institute as “Master” and his wife “Miss”.  While the classes were conducted in the first floor, they lived in the ground floor. There was just one large room and a verandah.  While typing was done inside the room, shorthand classes were taken in the verandah. The Master woke up early, got ready, opened the institute, cleaned the room and kept it ready for classes by 5.00 a.m. He took care till 8.30 a.m. and then left for work. He was also employed elsewhere and in his absence, his wife took care of the institute till he returned in the evening from work.

 My mother wanted me to join the 5.00 am classes, as she thought that, that would bring discipline in my life.  Those days, I was the first one to fall asleep and the last to wake up.  The road was deserted and low lying and strangely water stagnated even during peak summer in that road.  Croaking of frogs from the stagnated water in vacant plots and the garbage dumped in the pits of the road irritated me very much.  But the pleasure of typing was worth all the pain. 

              asdfgf;lkjhj; asdfgf ;lkjhj; asdfgf ;lkjhj; asdfgf ;lkjhj; asdfgf;lkjhj;
 
This is what all of us typed on the first day. All exercises were typed and pasted on a cardboard and the relevant cardboard was given to the students.  We had to keep the cardboard to our left and without looking at the keyboard of the typewriter, we had to type. We had to practice the same exercise for a week. We were taught to use specific fingers for specific keys and slowly got familiarized with the entire keyboard. Initially, the procedure appeared silly.  But I later understood that, the syllabus and methodology were perfect. Senior students assisted our Master and Miss. 

There were around twenty typewriters in the institute by various manufacturers viz., Remington, Halda, Godrej and Facit in various sizes and I was given a Facit machine, the largest in the institute. 

Every weekend, we had either a test or mechanism classes. 

Government of Tamilnadu conducted technical exams twice a year and many students from LIC attended and successfully cleared the exams year after year.  There were State toppers also from our Institute. 
For every exam, our Master carried all the typewriters to the examination venue the previous day and waited for us at the venue, which certainly was very laborious.  We paid him just Rs.20/- as monthly fee. 

Learning shorthand too was very interesting.  He taught stenography strokes to every student individually and after one had completed 144 exercises, dictation was started.  The dictation session started exactly at 6.00 a.m. or after the first student had landed.  The dictation was at three levels; 80 words per minute, 100 words per minute and 120 words per minute.  Irrespective of the level, the students reaching the venue had to start taking notes as he dictated holding a timer in one hand and a paper in another.  The students had to later transcribe the dictation into longhand and read out aloud in turns.  We enjoyed this session most, as we not only learnt newer strokes and vocabulary, but also had hearty laugh at the mistakes we made.

For our shorthand exams, we had to travel to Women’s Polytechnic College in Taramani and it was like an excursion for us.

We also celebrated Ayudha Pooja during Navaratri and anniversary of the Institute every year in a grand manner.

The crowd that assembled there was always young and the atmosphere was fully charged. Our Master and Miss were childless and they treated every student like their own child.  The institute was a hub of activity.  For no extra charge, they offered placement service, circulated information on Government job notifications, helped in filling applications, lent typewriters for Government exams etc. 

Also, many youngsters either arrived in pairs, with their respective girl/boyfriends (Jodi aga vandavargal) or met their partners at the institute (Jodi sethukondavargal).  The main purpose of their attending classes was to spend some quality time with their partners.  Though decorum was maintained, Master and Miss were not overtly against such affairs.  Whenever, someone eloped from our locality, the parents of the concerned first landed at the Institute for verification.  With some, like in my case they were also protective.  Whenever someone tried to impress me, Master would caution him “Annanunga irukkanga paa, vendam” (She has brothers, please don’t pursue).

Those who have successfully passed the exams have become clerks, typists, stenographers and secretaries and those who have failed have become Engineers, Programmers, Managers, Businessmen and Homemakers.

Our Master and Miss tried to keep up with times and also started a computer centre.  But, with the stoppage of manufacturing of typewriters, getting spare parts has become difficult and so the maintenance of a typewriting institute.  Slowly the number of students for typewriting and shorthand diminished and so the shutters are brought down and for personal reasons, they shifted to another town.

Recently, as I walked through that street, I felt very strange without any cycles and vehicles parked outside their house, without the synchronized noise of the typewriters, without the dictation of our Master, without the giggles of the youngsters. 

P.S. Photo courtesy - The Internet. 

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Not Another Partition!

Recently I asked a Hyderabadi friend how things are in Hyderabad with regard to the state-wide bandhs and what he feels about a separate statehood for Telangana   My non-Telugu speaking friend replied that things are as usual in Hyderabad and it really does not matter if the state remains united or split into two or three parts and that life would be as usual whether Hyderabad becomes a Union territory or just the capital of the proposed Telangana. Probably the opinion of the Central Government and the key political parties, who have taken a decision to bifurcate, is similar.

 

But the decision means a lot to those who want the State to remain united and those who are fighting for separate Statehood.

Separation of AP is more complicated than separation of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh from which Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh were formed. Primarily, in all the three cases, the State Capitals remained with the parent States and new Capitals developed for the new States.  Whereas in AP, the separatists are also fighting for the Capital city. Also, the smaller states were formed for administrative purposes by the Government and not yielding to the demands of the people for a separate State.

The background

During the British rule in India, parts of the present day Andhra Pradesh was under Madras Presidency, ruled by the British and part was under the control of Nizam of Hyderabad.   Post independence, Nizam territory was annexed with Indian Union  and the first linguistic State of Andhra Pradesh was formed comprising of all Telugu speaking areas and when Madras could not be made the joint capital, the State functioned with Kurnool as its capital with a High Court in Guntur for a few years, after which to facilitate greater development for all the three regions viz., Coastal AP (Circar), Rayalaseema (Ceded) and Telangana (Nizam), the centrally located Hyderabad was made the State Capital.

During the British rule and soon after the independence and at the time of formation of the State, there were no other industries and most of the people depended on agriculture.  Most of the landless, the educated and the ambitious people migrated to Madras, Bangalore, Calcutta, Delhi and Bombay.  With the formation of a new State and a new Government, people from all regions including the coastal region and the Rayalaseema, started migrating towards Hyderabad.   The educated could get into Government service and people from coastal AP, who had better education, due to British rule had an advantage over people from other regions.  It was not just the educated that migrated to Hyderabad, but the merchants and the farmers too.  The Nizam’s rule was feudalistic resulting in a lot of inequality and underdevelopment.  Land was cheap compared to the coastal region and small time farmers from coastal AP sold off their small pieces of land in their native villages and bought larger lands in Telangana region and with their expertise and hard work, acquired more land not in their native villages, but in their new found Karmabhoomi.

The Telugu film industry, the second largest in the country too, which had its epicenter in Madras, shifted its base to Hyderabad, because of the motivation and encouragement given by successive Governments.

Why all this hue and cry now?

Birds of the same feather flock together and though the Telugus who have migrated to other States and countries have managed to integrate with other societies, those who have migrated from different districts within Andhra Pradesh have failed to integrate with each other.  The main reason being many of the castes are region specific and even today incestuous marriages are very common among the Telugus, including the educated and elite.

The people of Telangana were hostile to the annexure of their territory with Andhra Pradesh and have always been agitating. Whenever a charismatic leader ruled, their agitation vanished and every time there was change in power or a vacuum, the agitation resurfaced.  This time it resurfaced with greater zeal, with the support of many political and selfish forces.  

While I empathize with the people of Telangana region for an identity, I personally don’t support the idea of bifurcation at all for several reasons.

Though I am born and brought up in Madras, my family is basically from Coastal Andhra.  Both my grandfathers inherited farmlands from their fathers.  But they were not farmers.  Both had managed their families with the meager income they got from leasing out their land to farmers.  After them, my parents and their siblings could not manage a life with that little income and were forced to migrate, looking for greener pastures as there were absolutely no employment opportunities in their native villages/towns. The case was no different for many of my parents’ cousins and other relatives or other villagers.  While a few migrated to Madras, most of them migrated to Hyderabad, Warangal, Khammam, Karimnagar and other towns in the neighbouring districts.  Except for a few, most of us don’t own any assets in Coastal Andhra. It should be the same case with respect to the other migrants also. When the Telugus migrate, they move out lock, stock and barrel.

What are the fears?

While Hyderabad is located in the proposed Telangana region, its development and fame is not only due to the focus of the Government, but also because of the hard work and investment of many people including those from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema and industrialists from other States.  Telangana leaders’ claim over Hyderabad is certainly prejudiced.  The open declaration of political leaders of Telangana to not employ/allow the existing employees of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema origin in Government services, if a new State is formed has sent shock waves among the Government servants.  The leaders’ assurance that they would not harm the poor migrants has certainly created insecurity among the industrialists and the rich migrants.

Also, the open declaration by the politicians of Telangana region about not letting water to the coastal districts has caused unrest among the farmers.

Several years ago, a farmer known to us, who owned a small piece of agricultural land in coastal AP, sold his land and migrated to the neighbouring district in Telangana region.  He bought a larger piece of arid land and started farming.   With hard work and dedication, he made good profits and over a period of time, acquired more land.  He educated his daughters and got them married and continued to live with his wife in the same village, farming.  Naxalities slowly settled in their village, like they had in many other villages of Telangana and started dictating the village administration.  In the name of equality, they destroyed the deeds of titles of the land, torched the house of this farmer and dragged the elderly couple out of the house.  They distributed two acres per male in the village and the farmer too was allocated just two acres, which was not even a 10^th of what he owned.  Disillusioned with the events, the farmer and his wife moved with their daughter and lived a reclusive life.  While such events are not reported in National Newspapers or channels, the people are certainly aware of the impending danger.

Assuming that all these fears are addressed and a mutually beneficial settlement is made, won’t the Government waste money and time in developing a new capital?  Will they be able to formulate welfare schemes?  Will industrialists be ready to invest in a State with political instability?  Because of the ongoing bandhs, Educational institutions are closed.  Process for admission to professional colleges is stalled.  What will happen to the future of all these students? What will happen to those employed in unorganized sector?

After the Partition of Bengal in 1905 and India-Pakistan partition, this would be the largest partition.

If the State is split, forget development, both Seemandhra and Telangana would be pushed to the back, alphabetically!

“Vachindanna, Vachedanna, Varala Telugu, Okatenanna!
Telugu Jaathi Manadhi, Ninduga Velugu Jaathi Manadhi” – C. Narayana Reddy, Poet