Will you share a meal?

Will you share a meal?

Translated from tamil by Lakshmanan

Like every coin has two sides, some question(s) have two faces. One is direct impact of question asked, whereas other is sadness behind the person who asks this question.

If you consider above question as a just person asking for his meal to other, it indirectly shows caring attitude of one over other. If you open this question, there are two answers. One – Difficulty in sharing food and second - caring towards to next person (neighbor or society) is reduced. The question lies in-between these two answers. Sharing of one meal is difficult in present day situation.

Before inviting known or unknown person to home for lunch or dinner, lot of question and apprehensions arises in mind. Because of my friend compulsion I dropped to his home for lunch. ‘Why did you invite your friend to our home for lunch’ his wife asked my friend and this become reason for their fight on that night.

If the person is friend we can share a coffee, if he is unknown just discussion is alone possible. If the person is well unknown and surprisingly came to our home during lunch session, we can cleverly take him to nearest hotel and fed him is the only solution. This is the present day situation. Family becomes cotton soaked in the water. The humanity (cotton) is reduced its volume. Why is this so?

For sharing a food we not only require an adequate food but also mind. Like the cotton our mind is also contracted. Have anyone shared your food with unknown person on any account? Have we ever thought of a hungry of a beggar or orphans in platforms and temple?.

The baby cries for the food by weeping. We respect these and provide a food to appease the hungry. But age-old people will not express their hungry through words. No language to express. The greatest crime in this world is neglecting one’s hungry.

The happiness or sadness of any family invariably starts at food. We can call Sunday as day for food. After busy schedules on weekdays - Sunday is marked for having good food with satisfaction. If food is not satisfactory on that day temper and restlessness will not stop with that day, it spills over a week.

Famous poet writes ‘One can conquer hungry by food or conquer food by hungry’. This poem is a true paradox. The list of people got insulted on having food always contains our name.

The college days were difficult days in my life. I was put up in my relative house. I traveled to college from their house. They never bothered about my hungry. Always my portion of food was kept in corner of kitchen. I never got full meal in a day. Even if I ask for more, no one responded me. When I opened books for studies hungry burns as fire. Depending on others for food is worst thing in this world. Fortunately if they were relatives we cannot able to say outside also. Even now it pains me. Like the mole in the body it never disappears.

One side people insult by providing food; other community says ‘I can’t provide you food, if you want I will give you money, go and eat in hotel’ said to parents. The younger generations not interested/willing to taking care of their parents at the old age. Their life becomes miserable at old age for handful of food.

Once upon a time there was Chinese ruler, he won the battle and gets crown on the auspicious day. The entire palace was festooned with decorations and people were celebrated with joy and happiness. The walls were painted and decorated. A lizard lives behind the art, doesn’t know where to relocate and finally it moves to the underneath of the huge cot kept in the room. The carpenter who came to decorate the cot unknowingly plugged the nail on cot leg along with the lizards tail. The lizard cannot move because of peg on its nail. It suffered with pain and hungry.

After few months, when the King commanded to change the bedspread of cot, unfortunately the Queen noticed the lean lizard surviving with nail pitched in its body. She was surprised on seeing this and brought notice of King. King dismayed on the sight. When he tried to find the reason of lizard survival, he noticed that another lizard from wall carries the prey (food) for this lizard. He realized that caring ness and affection of the creature.

From this story, even the creature like lizard trying to save life of other by providing food is natural deed. But human beings never cared about others hungry or feelings, always trying to dominate others and running behind physical pleasures.

On life’s battle every one directly or indirectly dependent on other and living by helping others is law of nature. This caring ness and affection to the fellow beings are basic characters of human being. But today we are not only neglecting others hungry but also caring on fellow human being.

Question?

Question?

Translated from tamil by Lakshmanan

Everyday, every one of us asking this question to thyself “why people are not realizing deceiving or cheating is a sin?” Every time, when this question arises in mind only location differs. Either it may be a shop, theatre, hotel or house but question remains unanswered.

Sometime, this question itself transform into a virus in mind and brings pain. Today, embezzling a millions of rupees viewed as act of intelligence in a society than as a fraud.

Deception has a long history. From great empire to common man, everyone has their own share. The speech is the major weapon used in deception. Always deceivers are glib-tongued. A victim falls as a prey by the believing/accepting their words as true. They mastered the art of using words very effectively.

An ordinary man doesn’t bother, when politician or others misappropriate huge amount of money. He is much concerned with his individual loss than for a social cause. Why this attitude? How did this cultivated? is another sub question? Every individual has diary inside his mind, which secretly records microscopic details of incident happened to him in the past. Whenever he goes to public place or tourist spot, he automatically reads the dairy several times. He keeps cross checking the people and situation against past happenings.

When I was small boy, mother said “Shopkeeper deceived me because am a small kid”. This phrase was uttered by the father, when mother comes from shopping. The grandfather has used the same sentence when my father returns from the market. Only time frame is changed, but scene remains constant. Now my child will be in the place of mine.

During childhood days, I believed there were two types of people, one who is deceiving and other who deceived. But now, both the images dissolved into one, only the circumstance decides who is the former and who is the later.

A small story goes like this “There was son and father lived in a small town. Father was honest and upright. Son leads his life through cheating and deceiving ways. His father tried his best ways to correct his son. But he failed. One fine day, father said his son ‘Dear son, whenever you deceive a person, I will fix one nail in the door. At least on seeing this you have to change.’ But his son, never cared for anything. He went on his own ways. Several years passed.

One day, his son noticed thousands of nails in his door. He started worrying about himself and realized all his sins. He came to his father and confessed that he won’t indulge in bad activities hereafter. Father replied ‘ Son! am happy that you have realized your mistake. You should not merely stop your activity; in turn start doing good things to people around you. On doing every good thing, I will unplug one nail from the door.

His son started doing good things to community. Some months passed, but nails have not been reduced. He couldn’t do good things as fast as bad things. At end of every day he counts the nails in the door. He feels pain in his heart. Years passed like this. Son and father grew old. One fine day, father hears about his son good deeds to the community and at last he removes the final nail from the door. Son came to his father and asks ‘Dad, now I become good person, right?” Father commands his son to go and look at the door carefully. He informs that all the nails have been removed.

Father replies ‘ Son, door was good at the beginning, but I nailed whenever you did a mistake, but later it was removed one by one because of your good doings. But pores due to nail were remains. Like this, your sins have been forgiven. But the effects due to sins committed remains, as these pores in the door’.

Now that door resembles as his conscience to the son. Like this story, whenever we deceive or cheat other, nail was secretly plugged in our door. But it is not visible to our naked eye. The question is like a sword hanging on the rope whether our head will be spared or not, is depends upon the answer to this question.

Pather Panchali – Pictures of Reality

Pather Panchali – Nidarshanathin Pathivugal (Tamil)
By S Ramakrishnan
Uyirmmai Books - Synopsized in English by Shaji

PREFACE

Some film or other becomes an unforgettable part of one’s thoughts and dreams and grows with that person. S Ramakrishnan says that his efforts as a humble fan of Cinema to understand finer points of the entire spectrum of Cinematic art has made him an avid filmgoer and has watched at least one film a day in the last five years.

According to the author, in Tamil there is very little, by way of books or literature on Cinema, to understand the creations of this art and its effects. He says his book on Pather Panchali is the first step in his mission to write on the entire canvas of films so richly endowed by Kurosawa, Fellini, Goddard, Truffaut and others.
This book, Pather Panchali – Pictures of Reality is about Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali the film, its influence on the author, the continuing growth in his appreciation of the film as he read about Ray’s opinions, inputs on how the film was made and so on.

Author dedicates the book as a small tribute to Satyajit Ray, the maestro on the occasion of commemoration of completion of 50 years since making of Pather Panchali.


CHAPTER 1. SCENES THAT MOVE MEMORY

Author describes in the first chapter, where he first watched the film Pather Panchali by sheer chance and then goes on to describe how he was mesmerized by Ray’s characters, Durga in particular. He tells us, how after watching the movie countless times his understanding of his childhood increased with every viewing of the film. Author pronounces Ray as an empathic poet and Pather Panchali, an impeccable first song. He says that Ray’s trilogy on Apu’s life comprising Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar had beaten the path that led Indian Cinema to International Cross Roads.

CHAPTER 2. SEEING AND LEARNING

Author says in this chapter that a good poem or a good novel increases our appreciation with every reading but that our filmgoers rarely get to see good films and repeated seeing of the same film is out of question. Author emphasizes the need for training to appreciate the many facets of Cinema, before good cinema can be appreciated.

Author avers that in India, a person grows up with some cultural experience and understanding of its various arts while cinema is not considered as an art but an entertainment. Therefore, the cultural understanding that a person brings to bear on the appreciation of other arts and literature is absent in the case of Cinema. Author describes cinema as an art form that brings together Drama, Music, Painting, Story and Technology. He also says that cinema can be analyzed on the basis of the Director’s Philosophy, Cultural Background, Logic and Organisation as well as on the basis of ideologies like Post Modernity, Third World Approach, Cinema of the Oppressed, Protests, etc. According to the author, all these factors call for training for a sound approach, understanding and appreciation.

Author also records as a sad fact that even after 50 years of Pather Panchali, many technicians in the film industry has not seen this film yet.


CHAPTER 3. PATHER PANCHALI – A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

Author records the fact that Pather Panchali, the song of the road, filmed on characters in Bibhuti Bhushan’s novel Pather Panchali, was Satyajit Ray’s first film and was released on 26th August in 1955.

Author then goes on to give a brief biographical account of Satyajit Ray and how he developed interests in films, how he developed the contacts that enabled him to assemble the team that worked with him in the making of Pather Panchali. He tells us about the many troubles and impediments Ray faced in making the film started on a shoe-string budget of Rs. 15,000/-. He tells us how the funds sanctioned by Dr. B.C. Roy came in dribbles thanks to Bureaucracy, how Ray worked amidst fears that the voice of the boy doing Apu’s role may break or that the child doing young Durga’s role will grow up or the eighty plus years old Chunibala, doing grandmother’s role will die on their hands.

Author narrates the story of Pather Panchali. In brief we have Harihar Ray, impoverished and improvident, Sarvajaya, his wife, subjected to humiliations of poverty and visiting her anger on Harihar Ray and Durga, Durga, his daughter and Indra, the grand mother. Story starts with Apu’s birth, goes on to narrate closeness of Apu and Durga and the closeness of Durga and Indra. Indra, the grand mother and only friend and shield of Durga dies. Marriage of a friend and her own prospects doubtful, Durga resigns to her fate. Rain acts as a cathartic force. A fully drenched Durga dies of fever. Harihar Ray returns to learn of Durga’s death from Sarvajaya’s outpouring of grief. Harihar Ray breaks down. He leaves with family for Kasi.

Author says, the film portrayed a real village, real people and children who were children. Ray had found strength from small joys of life and pains of deprivation that every human can relate to. Author tells of the picture winning an award at Cannes Film Festival for the best Human Document.


CHAPTER 4. THE LAST PAGE OF CHILDHOOD

In this chapter, author tells us that unlike literature, Cinema in India has not shown much enthusiasm in portraying childhood. He contrasts the sensitive portrayals of children in Truffaut’s “400 Blows” Akira Kurosawa’s “Red Beard” and “Dreams” and insensitive and absurdly precocious portrayals of children in Indian films or total avoidance of portrayal of children even when it is warranted. Author says that coming from such an Indian background, Pather Panchali’s documentation of childhood is the best ever in the annals of the world film industry. Author narrates how the character of Durga is etched by Ray portraying a childhood clutching at straws to stay a child and be happy. Durga’s loneliness and her sad denouement has been picturised matter of factly and nevertheless, according to the author, heart-wrenchingly central to the film. Author also notes that Apu, while not moving the audience quite like Durga, is portrayed with much realism and empathy. Apu’s relations with Durga, Apu in the school conducted in the village stores premises, his playing the foil to Durga’s adventures are all a sensitive narration of childhood. Apu trying to portray himself as a warrior after watching the drama performed by a visiting troupe is, according to the author, a revealing insight of childhood all over the world. Film, according to the author makes a distinction between other children of the village who are noisy and ever ready to play and Durga and Apu, the outsiders, who are sad eyed with Durga working all the time and Apu interested in studies. Even the train scene shows Durga and Apu setting out purposefully. The wonder of children seeing anything for the first time, is universal and according to the author Train scene establishes that. Children drenching in the rain, too, shows universal reaction of children to the rain. Pather Panchali, as author avers, is truly a last page on childhood.


CHAPTER 5. A SONG ON THE DECLINE AND FALL

Author postulates that Modern literature is mostly about decline either of an individual or a family and that our inability to estimate the pace or the extent of the decline makes it the centre of our attention.

Author tells us that Bibhuti Bhushan tells us of the decline and fall of the village, the film concentrates on the decline and fall of Harihar Ray’s family. We are also told about how Indian cinema uses a lot of song and melodrama to tell us about poverty and how Ray concentrates on the effect it has on people. Therefore, Ray never felt constrained to answer carping critics who accused him of selling Indian poverty through his cinema. The author also tells us how while novel has emphasis on the death of Durga, Satyajit Ray shifts the emphasis to the next scene where Harihar Ray learns if Durga’s death from a grief-stricken Sarvajaya. This has the effect of using Durga’s death to document the fall of Harihar Ray family and, according to the author, convey an account of how villages were slipping into decline as people left them to populate the cities.


CHAPTER 6. PAWNS OF FATE

In this chapter, author suggests that Durga and Indra are the two central characters of the film on whom the story pivots. Both are women, both are lonely and both have unfulfilled desires. And both according to the author are the pawns of Fate. Author goes on to tell us that Ray’s Pather Panchali is about these two women and their close relationship.

Author speculates on the course of events that would have followed had Durga lived. Author also relates Durga to the real life character in his village and suggests that all migrations from villages may have untimely deaths behind them.

Author suggests that while Durga prances around like a child and has all the aspirations and desires of a child, he sees her accepting her fate assuming a more mature attitude as suggested by her sending away the sweet seller, even before Apu could come and tell her that Mother had refused. Her assuming a mother-like tone with Apu, is a sign of maturity and also suggestive, according to the author, of her confusion about future.

Grandmother, Indra, for all her age is still active, has a big appetite for food and will to satisfy it somehow, even stealing from an already poor Sarvajaya. According to the author, with all her gumption, she still has to leave without any place to go and die on the path.

Death is what shows Durga and Indra, as the author says, the pawns of fate.

CHAPTER 7. NOVEL AND CINEMA

Author describes the difficulties of translating a novel into a Cinema. It took a virtuoso Director like David Lean to make Boris Pasternak’s Dr. Zhivago into a successful Cinema.

The manner in which a novel is read and cinema is seen is different. A two line sentence in a novel needs a lot of thought and footage to establish the salient points in Cinema. A famous novel is widely read and establishes in readers certain ideas about the storyline. According to the author, under the circumstances, it is difficult to live upto the established fantasies and understanding of the storyline in the novel. Author cites the failure of Herman Hesse’s novel Siddharta made into a film.

On the other hand a less well-known novel “God Father” by Mario Puzo, skillfully made into a film by Francis Ford Cappola was not only successful but made the novel more famous and widely read.

Author cites success of Kurosawa in making films from Shakesperian themes. Author says Satyajit Ray’s success in making Pather Panchali by adapting Bibhuti Bhushan’s novel to a form that can be expressed cinematically made Bibhuti Bhushan’s novel world-famous. Author describes ten important points to be kept in mind while making a novel into a film and goes on to discuss how various parts of Pather Panchali, the novel, has been adapted by Ray for better cinematic expression.


CHAPTER 8. FROM THE SHORES OF SCENES

The author explains the fact of symbolism as a narrative tool. He describes how Kurosawa, Tharkovsky and Hitchcock had used symbolism to carry the narration forward. Author recounts Durga, Apu and the Dog following the Sweetseller, Apu throwing the necklace stolen by Durga into the pond after her death, the Train scene and snake entering the abandoned house of Harihar Ray as symbolisms that effectively carries forward narration at every stage. Train is a symbolism that Ray has used in the entire trilogy as props of narration at every turning point in Apu’s life, author tells us. In Pather Panchali, according to the author Ray has laid proper foundation before a symbolism is used. For example, the drama troupe that comes to the village, stages a play that shows the snake in a negative light. It, according to the author, naturally follows that snake entering the house is a sign of the fall of the house and the family.

Author tells us of Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali winning the award for best Human Document in August company from a Jury that was highly respected. Author lists 12 awards won by Pather Panchali. Author gives nuggets of incidents and informations around Ray. Author also gives us brief biographical accounts of his Cinematographer - Mr. Subroto Mitra, Pt. Ravi Shankar, who scored the music for the film, Art Director - Mr. Bansi Chandragupta, Editor – Mr. Dulal Dutta, Artiste – Chunibala Devi, Artiste – Mr. Subir Banerjee, Artiste – Uma Dasgupta, Artiste – Kanu Banerjee and Artiste – Karuna Banerjee.

In the end, the author has appended an interview with Satyajit Ray.

The Author has also provided a list of References. Thoughtfully, a detailed Satyajit Ray filmography in English has been provided in the end.

Book Reviews

Desandhri Review - My Musings – Blog by SA Narayanan

First, for those who are not very familiar with Tamil writers, or those who have lost touch recently, let me say that there is a Tamil writer, S. RAMAKRISHNAN, who writes on many topics. Did I say "write"? I can't find suitable words to adequately describe his writing.. You have to read him to personally understand and feel it.

An hour ago I finished reading his book "DESANDHRI". Ramakrishnan has expressed his feelings about the various places that he has visited. Not just about the place, but the People, the Nature, Historical importance, Our Heritage, Parampariyam and Culture, and on many other aspects. Total 41 experiences, each a gem. What a writing! What a description!

Starts with Suriyan (Sun, Veyil) in his home village house. From there to Saranath Sthupi and about Bihar and its People. Then to Arjunapuram where the Nalla Thangal story happened. Nalla thangal, a poor woman unable to bear the hunger of her 7 children commits suicide throwing herself and the 7 children into a well - this is a folklore. Ramakrishnan goes to visit this well. A very touching writeup.

Many of us would have gone to Lonavala, but view the place thru Ramakrishnan's eyes about the Mazhai there. You will want to visit again there. then about Maniyachi Vanchinathan. Do you know that the Great Indian Survey, the Geological Survey of India's original version,

commenced from St Thomas Mount, near Chennai? The breadth and width of India was surveyed painstakingly by Britishers. No wonder, Mt Everest was named after Mr EVEREST, a British Survey Engineer.

Then he goes in search of rare flowers, then goes to another part of India to see rare birds, then to Thanjavur Sarasvati mahal, the large Tamil library. He wonders how people those days "wrote" on Palm leaves (Panai Olai) and, in absence of Xerox machines how they took copies ! Those who re-wrote the original Olai "writings" on another Olai were called Ezuththarkal and they lived in a separate street called Ezuththarkal Theru which still exists in Thanjavur today. Biramippu. then onto Kuttalam Aruvi.

Comes next (11th topic) is his experience at Satna (Madhya Pradesh) on one night. One of the three MOST BEST (pardon my grammar) write ups - my eyes were moist after reading this. When Ramakrishnan, on his way to Kaju Raho, got down at Satna to change trains, got "frozen" in the severe winter and was afflicted with cold fever etc. How the poor, simple, but GREAT hearted old people - unknown to him, of a different environment, different language - of Satna took the unconscious Ramakrishnan to their house and nourished him for three days, expecting NOTHING in return - if the narration of those simple but wonderful people of Satna does not make your eyes moist, well, it won't happen - you are bound to "cry". Excellent writing.
When you recover from Satna, you are taken to Sabarmati, and about Uppu (salt). Then to Kodaikanal, and then to Cholamandal Village (near Chennai). Then about open places. Onto another village where the villagers "invite" rain god. Compare your experience if you have to Banaras (Kasi) with that of Ramakrishnan in topic 17. Koovagam follows, then about Delhi. Adivasikal in Kanniyakumari Dist forms the 20th topic. Then Korkai beach, and how a great tamil Dynasty's Capital city was destroyed by nature.

After narrating about Mountains, he goes to Kayaththaru, the village where Kattabomman was hanged by the Britishers. And how today's Tamilnadu has totally neglected this place. A very good piece of writing. Then about Rivers, and then about Pazhani. A vivid description from his view of this temple town. Do you know that Pazhani is the only place today where you can find Kuthirai Vandi?

Then about Jain Priests in Karnataka. Comes next Gangai Konda Sozhapuram, the wonderful Temple City (now ruined) EXCELLENT writeup. Why do we neglect such treasures? It is said that there is a 2-year waiting list to see Da Vinci's art at Paris but our GKS is totally neglected - why?

Then two ordinary write ups later, Ramakrishnan turns into his best yet again writing about vast SANDS. Read this to understand the Manal (sand) EXCELLENT.

31st topic is Armenian Church in Chennai and its bells. Then comes another EXCELLENT, MOST BEST writeup; he visits Chikmagalur with his friend. What happens there - I will not write, I CAN NOT write. I have read it two hours ago, but my heart and mind are so heavy, my eyes are still MOIST. You read it yourself.

Another ordinary topic later, he then views Old Delhi thru his eyes. Good one. 35th topic is another masterpiece, about Ramanujam, the Mathematical Genius. How his house and the street are neglected by Tamilnadu and Tamilians. A masterpiece.

Then about Dhanushkodi beach (how many of you have seen this seashore?), then about Adyar Aala Maram. Kaalaththin Vergal is an apt title for this topic. Then Moonaru. 39th topic is Niram Azhintha Pookkal - another wonderful but now neglected Temple and its finest Oviyangal at Tiruvalanchuzhi, near Kumbakonam. Nalanda is the 40th;

The book ends with the Great Himalayan Mountain Range.
A must read book.
**
Uba Pandavam (Th) - S. Ramakrishnan:

This one is a collage of sorts of the Mahabharatha epic. S.R is a neat writer - he writes without fusses and frills, and pretty much comes to the point. He has rather let go in the book though (does a writer adopt different styles for books and series??)- this one's actually a collection of impressions of tales from the Mahabharatha - as seen thru the writer's eyes, on his travels all over India. I started out skeptically - but I was drawn in soon enough. Some people have weird reactions to epic tales. There's one incident, where, during a play in some rural area, one actor playing Duryodhana uses harsh words against the Pandavas, and one spectator was roused to action by this injustice (she yelled the place down, shouting abuse at the character the actor was portraying). Wow. I mean, WOW. - Odyssey of a Princess by Pavithra Sri



**
S.Ramakrishnan is one of the most famous authors of the Modern Tamil Literature. A fiction writer, an essayist, a playwright, a movie critic and a world cinema expert. He wrote four novels, five short story collections, nine collections of essays and three books on films. Ramakrishnan was born in the year of 1966 in Mallankinar, a small village zone of Virudhunagar district in Tamilnadu. He took his Masters in Literature from the Madurai Kamaraj University . Some of his plays were selected for the national theatre festivals. His most famous novel Upa Paandavam was based on the Mahabharatham epic. Nedumkuruthi, his second novel was selected as the best Tamil novel of the year 2003. His Thunai ezhuthu is a notable collection of Tamil essays. Work of S.Ramakrishnan is in various dimensions. He wrote the dialogues for many films, he translated several works from English and Malayalam to Tamil and many of his works got translated in to English, Malayalam, Kannda, Telegu, Bengali and French. His latest novel Yaamam is well received by the modern circles of Tamil literature. Traveling is not simply a pastime but a passion for him. He is 42 years now and lives in Chennai with his wife Chandrapraba and two sons.
Awards
1) Best Tamil book - Tamil Nadu State Govt. award
2) Best Novel in Tamil - Ganavani award
3) Best Short story collection - Ilakkiya Sindhanai award
4) Best Short story collection - Lilly Devasigamani award
5) Best Novel - Tamil Nadu progressive writers Association
6) Regional award for best play - Sankeeth Natak Academy