Waging War With Water

Just saw Deepa Mehta's Water. First, a view of the film. Although her previous films from 'elements trilogy' could be classified as one of those films that use controversy as a tool to generate hype and hence more revenues, this one is more pure. Everything about the film - the casting, cinematography, soundtrack, screenplay, acting and direction - oozes a brilliance that puts a halo on the film's original plot, which highlights an issue in way which keeps you from saying "yet another social issue".

The issue at hand is the plight of Hindu widows. Naturally in India, anything remotely condemning anything religious faces steep opposition from the extremists groups 'representing' the particular religion. Burning of effigies and vandalism in cinemas has become a norm. But when a movie causes violent demonstations even while being filmed, and when an entire cinema is burnt to ashes, loud alarm bells should be ringing among Indians that something that they value the most is in jeopardy - their freedom of speech.

The extent of the troubles that Deepa Mehta and her crew went through, and which led her to lose 80% of the film's budget and drove her filming activities out of the India completely, is a prime example of the lunacy of Hindu extremists and the sad state of affairs that are the Indian state governments and police forces.

And in the wider view, this is another reason why its people leave the land to enrich themselves and the lands abroad, and why India puts off business and investment. No wonder the film is recognised as a Canadian one (Deepa Mehta is a resident of Canada), and why most of the successful Indians gained their success abroad. Hats off to Deepa Mehta for a valuable contribution to an otherwise silent war that is social change in India.

Of Streets and Soul

Continuing from the last post, it must be mentioned how riding a moped or any other two-wheeled vehicle, even riding in a auto-rickshaw for that matter, is almost a 'near death experience' in Indian traffic, making it even more thrilling. To those unacquainted with the streets of India, here is how traffic would flow at a typical junction, and if you're on your feet, here's how to keep them while crossing the road (forget zebra crossings for they are seldom seen outside the capital city.)

The funny part is not how order exists among chaos or how Indian drivers manage to turn three lanes into six, but the fact that the very culprits who drive recklessly (trucks and auto-rickshaws) try to educate other drivers into 'driving with care'.

Almost every single truck / lorry in India has the slogan 'Horn OK Please' painted decoratively at the rear of the lorry as part of the entire truck's decoration. It is so ubiquitous that it is now used in popart reflecting the soul of India, rightly so. The origins of the slogan are unknown, but my guess is that phrase is 'Horn Please, OK!' (since the OK is always in another font), instructing the driver behind to sound the horn as he / she overtakes the lorry, with an encouraging 'OK'. This way the lorry driver knows to give way. On a 2-lane road I have usually seen them riding with the lane divider right in the middle of the vehicle, though this may finally be changing slowly.

The slogan may also accompanied by another one in smaller size and italics, 'Use dipper at night'. Yet everyone uses their headlamps on straight beams at night, and the flashing of lights during daytime usually means 'get out of my way' rather than the 'thanks' or 'you go ahead' it communicates in the UK. To top it off, they may also have one of many classic Hindi phrases, the most common of them being: बुरी नज़र वाले , तेरा मुंह काला (translation would't do it justice, but roughly it is: 'You of the evil eye, may your face be blackened!').

Auto-rickshaws may have similar rears, but not so commonly. An instruction to downright 'STOP' is more likely to be seen at the corner, as opposed to the central aligned messages on trucks.

Generally these vehicles combine to make traffic from hell, especially in Delhi. Drivers in Mumbai seems to have a better traffic sense. To finish off this post, I urge you to watch a short animation jointly created by Irish and Indian animators, accurately depicting many aspects of the life of a Mumbai taxi driver.

Short films

Just watched 'Little Terrorist' - a short film by Ashwin Kumar, nominated for an Oscar. Haven't seen something so sweet and simple in a long time. A must watch!

If you find it boring, then a contrast is 'Fallen Art' by the incredibly talented Polish animator Tomek Baginski.