the last temptation of christ

a passage in the gospel of mark that has always disturbed me, is in chapter 11: 12-14 :
'and on the morrow, when they were come from bethany, he was hungry. and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon; and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. and jesus answered and said unto it, no man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever.'

the same incident is recorded in the gospel of matthew 21: 18-22.

there are 47 miracles attributed to jesus; 40 of them in the canonical gospels and 7 in non-canonical sources. for me, the withering of the fig tree is also a miracle, but it hasnt been recorded, maybe because of the destructive nature. i have also wondered: how could jesus? he fed 5000 with five loaves of bread and two fish, but couldnt resist cursing a tree when it didnt provide relief to his needs. it was a passage that made me think of jesus as a normal human being, like any of us.

yesterday, i happened to see the 1998 martin scorsese directed movie 'the last temptation of christ' adapted from the nikos kazantzakis' philosophical novel of the same name. to an extent, the movie did make a religious impact in me.

in the movie, jesus is a 28 year old jewish carpentar in nazareth who is torn between self-conflicts - between the reality that he is a normal man and the knowledge that god has a plan for him. the conflicts result in self-loathing and he wants god to find someone else to spread the message of the kingdom of heaven. so he goes about trying to do things that would make god hate him and eventually leave him - he constructs crosses and collaborates with the romans to crucify the jewish revolutionaries (sicarii) trying to overthrow the romans.

judas iscariot belongs to the sicarri, and he is sent to assasinate jesus for his alleged relation with the romans. during their confrontation, judas suspects jesus to be the messiah and refrains from doing the deed. judas has visions of overthrowing the romans through a violent revolution while jesus' message is that of love for mankind. reluctantly, judas joins jesus' ministry reminding him that he would kill him of jesus strayed from the revolution.

mary magdalene is older than jesus and had a motherly longing for him from childhood. despite being a high-prized prostitute, she still longs for jesus and he had even decided to start a life with her. after judas joins him, the both of them save her from being stoned instructing the mob - he who is without sin should cast the first stone'.

john the baptist preaches about destruction to mankind for the sins committed by them. people flock to the lakeside to get baptized by him. when jesus and his first disciples visit him, judas queries whether thebaptist is the messiah. jesus disagrees saying the messiah doesnt carry an axe of destruction but the message of love. the baptist believes that, one must first gain fredom from the romans before the world is declared (somewhat on the lines of judas' vision), while jesus believes that love is more important.

to find out if god is really speaking to him, jesus walks to the desert and overcomes the three temptations of satan. with newfound courage and vision, he performs signs and wonders. his ministry leads him to the temple in jerusalem where he throws out the money-dealers and proclaims the destruction of the temple in three days. jesus leads a small army to take the temple by force but blood starts to pour out from his hands; whereby he realises that violence is not the right path and that he must die to bring salvation. he realises that judas is his only disciple who doesnt admire him blindly, so he confides in judas to betray him. judas doesnt want to, but jesus implores him and he agrees.

jesus is finally crucified on the cross, where he sees and angel who tells him that he is neither the son of god nor the messiah, but god is pleased with him and wants him to be happy (just like god's love for abraham on being ready to sacrifice issac). the angel takes him and conducts his marriage to mary magdalene. the couple live an idyllic life and has a child. upon mary's death, the angel tells him that all women are 'mary' and conducts his marriage to mary and martha, the sisters of lazarus. he leads a peaceful life. paul preaches about jesus. paul was once saul and had murdered the resurrected lazarus to prevent the disciples from spreading the word of jesus. when jesus confronts paul and reveals himself, paul rejects him saying that, he prefers a dead-and-resurrected jesus. upon his death-bed in old-age, his disciples visit him when the world is in ruins. judas, his favourite disciple calls him a 'traitor'. it is then that jesus realises that the angel which had been following him all the time, is indeed satan who has been tempting jesus into the life of comfort of a normal human being. jesus realises that he has to die for the salvation of mankind. he takes himself back to the crucufixion and begs god to let him fulfill his purpose and be 'god's son'.

the last temptation of christ was a fantasy - to escape the death on cross, to be married, to have a family, to be a mere mortal.

'the prophet' (1923) - khalil gibran vol. 1

for 12 years, almusthafa had waited in the city of orphalese for the ship that would return him to the isle of his birth. in the seventh day of the month of ielool, the month of reaping, he saw his ship coming through the mist. the first surge of happiness slowly changed to sadness when he thought about the times he had spent in the city; the days of pain and loneliness. he would have to leave with a wound in his spirit; leaving the city was like tearing one’s own skin with one’s own hands. his mother the sea called out and it made him decide that he had to board the ship. just another loving look backwards, that was all before he would join his men. as he walked, he saw men and women returning from the fields and the vineyards, calling out his name and announcing the arrival of the ship. the day of parting seemed to change into the day of gathering. he wondered what could he, a seeker of silences, give the city in return? the elders asked him not to leave. for them, he was a noontide at twilight, a youth whose dreams had given them dreams; he was a beloved son of theirs. the hour of separation is when the depths of love can be known the most. tears welling his eyes, he walked with the people to the temple-square. the prophetess, almitra, who was the first to believe him on his first day in the city, came out of the sanctuary and hailed him as a prophet of god, in quest for the uttermost and have searched long distances for his ship and now that it has come, he has to go; the deep longing for his homeland is greater than the binding love of the city-dwellers yet she request him to give them the truth so that it will be passed on down the generations and wont perish. the city requested him to disclose about them to themselves and tell them all that is between birth and death. the prophet started to speak, ‘people of orphalese, of what can I speak save of that which is even now moving within your souls?’ then they asked him his thoughts about certain topics:

love – when love beckons to you, follow him, though his ways are hard and steep. and when his wings enfold you, yield to him though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. and when he speaks to you, believe in him though his voice might shatter your dreams. love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. but if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: to melt and be like the running brook that sings its melody to the night; to know the pain of too much tenderness; to be wounded by your own understanding of love and to bleed willingly and joyfully. to wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; to rest at noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy; to return home at eventide with gratitude and then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

marriage – you were born together and shall be for evermore. you shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. you shall be together in the silent memory of god. but, let there be spaces in your togetherness. love one another, but make not a bond of love; fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup; give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf; sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, even as the strings of a lute are alone they quiver with the same music. and stand together yet not too near together, like the pillars of the temple stand apart; like the oak and cypress trees that grow not in each other’s shadow.

children – they are life’s longing for itself. you may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. you may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in dreams. you may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. you are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

giving – you give but little when you give of your possessions. it is when you give of yourself that you truly give, for what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow? and tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the over-prudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand. there are those who give little of the much which they have – and they give it for recognition and their hidden desires make their gifts unwholesome. and there are those who have little and give it all, these are the believers in life and the bounty of life and their coffer is never empty. you often say, ‘i would give, but only to the deserving.’ the trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture. they give that they may live, for to with-hold is to perish.

eating & drinking – would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by light. but since you must kill to eat, and rob the newly born of its mother’s milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an act of worship. and let your board stand on altar on which the pure and the innocent of forest and plain are sacrificed for that which is purer and still more innocent in man. when you kill a beast, say to him in your heart: ‘by the same power that slays you, i too am slain; and i too shall be consumed. for the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.’ and, in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyard for the wine-press, say in your heart: ‘i too am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress, and like new wine i shall be kept in eternal vessels. and in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup; and let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days and for the vineyard and for the winepress.

work – you work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. for to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step put of life’s procession that maries in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite. which of you would like to be a dumb and silent reed when all others are singing together in unison? but if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then i answer that, naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written. i have heard many say. ‘he who works in marble and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone is nobler that he who ploughs the soil.’ but i say, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass. and if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better than you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

joy and sorrow – your joy is your sorrow unmasked. is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven? when you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. when you are sorrowful, look again into your heart and you shall see that, in truth, you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

houses – your house is your larger body. it grows in the sun and sleeps in the stillness of the night. in their fear, your grandfathers gathered you too near together. and that fear shall endure a little longer. what have you in these houses? and what is it you guard with fastened doors? have you peace, the quiet urge that reveals your power? have you remembrances, the glimmering arches that span the summits of the mind? have you beauty, which leads the heart from things fashioned of wood and stone to the holy mountain? or have you only comfort, and lust for comfort, that stealthily thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host and then a master? and it becomes a tamer, and with a hook and scourge makes puppets of your larger desires. your house shall be not an anchor but a mast. you shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living. for that which is boundless in you abides in the mansion of the sky, whose door is the morning mist and whose windows are the songs and the silences of the night.

clothes – your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful. and thought you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a harness and a chain. would it be rather that you could feel the sun and the wind with more of your skin and less of your raiment? for the breath of life, is in sunlight and the hand of life, is in wind. forget not that modesty is for a shield against the eye of the unclean. and when the unclean shall be no more, what were the modesty but a fetter and fouling of the mind?

buying and selling – to you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands. it is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied. yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice it will but lead some to greed and others to hunger. when in the market-place you toilers of the sea, fields and vineyards meet the weavers, potters and spice merchants, invoke then the master spirit of the earth, to come to your midst and sanctify the scales. and if there come the singers and dancers and the flute-players, buy of their gifts also, for they too are gatherers of fruit and frankincense and that which they bring, though fashioned of dreams, is raiment and food for your soul. and before you leave the market-place, see that no one has gone his way empty-handed.

crime and punishment – it is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind that you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and yourself. and for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate of the blessed. you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world. even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each of you, so the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also. as a single leaf does not turn yellow without the silent knowledge of the whole tree, so the wrongdoer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all. like a procession you walk together towards your god-self. and when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone. and he falls for those ahead of him, who, though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not the stumbling stone. the murdered is accountable for the murder; the righteous is not innocent of the deeds of the wicked. you cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked, for they stand together. if any of you would punish in the name of righteousness and lay the axe unto the evil tree, let him see to its roots; where he will find the roots of good and bad; fruitful and fruitless all entwined together in the silent heart of the earth. and how shall you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their mis-deeds? the cornerstone of the temple is not higher than the lowest stone in the foundation.

laws – you delight in laying down laws yet you delight in breaking them; like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then destroy them with laughter. what shall i say of those that stand in the sunlight with their backs to the sun? they see only their shadows and the shadows are their laws. you can muffle the drum, you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark to sing?

freedom – you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment. you shall be free when our days are not without a care or your nights without want and a grief. how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour? in truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains. just like when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light, your freedom, when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.

india's orson welles

jaane woh kaise log dhe jinke /
wonder what were those people
pyaar ko pyaar mila /
who got love in return for love
humnein jab kaliyaan maange /
when i had asked for a garden
kaanton ka haar mila /
i got a garland of thorns instead
- pyaasa / thirsty (1957)

when in hyderabad at the start of the century, i used to frequently buy filmfare mag. i first read about guru dutt when filmfare came out with a hard-bound '100 greatest stars of all time'. nasreen munni kabir's 'guru dutt: a life in cinema' was published in 1997 and considered to be a in-depth work. i bought the book and read it. then came the guru dutt film festival - a 7 day festival showcasing his best. i bought a 'season' ticket of 200 rs. and went with my fellow-animator kiran to watch the movies in the evenings. i couldnt see all, but made it to watch his best three - pyaasa (1957), kaagaz ke phool (1959) and sahib, bibi aur ghulam (1962). i was stung. the b/w song picturisations, the characters and the flow of the narrative were stunning. he was indeed, one of the greatest indian film-makers who ushered in an artistic narrative yet not too arty, but accessable to the common man. he made brillaint lyrical and artistical films within the context of the masala hindi cinema of the 50's. several of his works have a cult following with his movies going full house when re-released in germany, france and japan. pyaasa and kaagaz ke phool are included among the greatest films of all time by 'time' magazine and by the critics of 'sight and sound'. critics poll have included him in the list of greatest film-makers of all time.

vasanth kumar shivashankar padukone was born on july 9, 1925 in a chitrapur saraswats in a village in south kanara district of the kingdom of mysore (present-day karnataka). his father was a headmaster and then a bank employee while his mother was a teacher who also wrote short stories and translated bengali literature to kannada. strained relationship with his parents, financial difficulties, hostility from maternal families, the insanity of a maternal uncle and the death of his 7-month old brother - all gave him a tough childhood. a childhood accident led to him being renamed as guru shivashankar padukone dutt. he spent a lot of time with his mother's cousin who painted cinema posters. one of the paintings was that of a snake-dancer which greatly influenced guru and he produced many inspired movements and persuaded his uncle to paint them. he won a cash prize of rs. 5 when he performed the snake-dance at a function. when his grandmother used to perform arathi, he would use his fingers to make shapes on the wall with the diya. when his father joined the burmah shell company, the family moved to calcutta where guru finished his schooling. though he was a good student, financial troubles didnt allow him to join college. the bengali tradition and culture greatly influenced guru. instead of joining college, at the age of 16, he joined the uday shankar india cultural center at almora where, under a scholarship of rs. 75 annually, he studied dance, drama and music for 5 years, till 1944 when the center had to be closed because of the advancing ww2. when he moved to bombay, he dropped the middle names to be known as guru dutt.

guru got a job as telephone operator at lever brothers factory in calcutta. disinterested with the job, he left it and joined his parents in bombay. his uncle got him a 3-year contract job at prabhat film company in pune, where he gained the friendship of dev anand and rehman. in 1944, he made a cameo as sri krishna for chand. the next year, he acted and was assistant director for lakhrani. the next year he worked as assistant director and choregraphed the dances for hum ek hain. when his contract came to an end, he joined as freelance assistant with baburao pai, the ceo of prabhat, but was unemployed for nearly 10 months during which he developed his flair for english and wrote short stories for 'the illustrated weekly of india'. during this stage of unemployment, he wrote an autobiographical script called 'kashmakash' (the struggle). prabhat hired him as choreographer but he also worked as an actor and assistant director. he regained his friendship with dev anand and rehman. guru and dev promised each other that, if guru were to become a film-maker, he would cast dev as hero and if dev were to produce a film, he would hand over the direction to guru. when prabhat closed down in 1947, guru shifted to bombay and assisted leading directors like amiya chakravarthy and gyan mukherjee.

baazi (1951):
after the first film under his production house 'navketan' failed, dev anand fulfilled his part of the promise by offering guru the chance to direct 'baazi' (the wager). the movie was a crime thriller like the 1940's hollywood movies which had a morally ambigious hero. the movie starred dev anand, geeta bali, kalpana kirtik, k.n. singh and johnny walker. the music was by s.d. burman. the film introduced the 'guru dutt shot' which are close-ups used either with a 75mm or a 100mm lens. the film had 14 such shots. the film also used songs to further the narrative of the plot. the film was a huge success.

jaal (1952):
guru's second directorial was 'jaal' (the net) with dev anand, geeta bali, k.n. singh and johnny walker. the music was by s.d. burman and cinematography by v.k. murthy. set in the goan fishing villages, the film told the love story of a good-for-nothing man from the city and an innocent village girl. the film had the christian messages of love and forgiveness and also had a strong religious fervour, both of which were missing in later guru films. the songs were a huge hit and the film had an average run. creative differences between guru and dev's elder brother, film-maker chetan anand made future colloborations impossible.

the 'guru dutt crew' had been formed. it consisted of the directors guru and raj khosla; the writer abrar alvi; the cinematographer v.k. murthy; the lyricists sahir ludhianvi and kaifi azmi; musician s.d. burman and singers mohammed rafi and geeta bali. guru also encouraged the actor rehman and the comedian johnny walker.

baaz (1953):
the third was 'baaz' (the hawk) set in the 16th century and told about a young woman who rose in defiance against the portugease with the help of an indian prince. the film was an action adventure abroad a ship and had the guru dutt team. since guru couldnt find any actor to play the lead, he starred as the hero. the film didnt make much money. the movie was the first production under the 'guru dutt movies pvt. ltd.' (gdmpl)

aar paar (1954):
the fourth was a light-hearted movie 'aar paar' (both sides)which starred guru, shyama, shakila and johnny walker. the lyrics were by majrooh sultanpuri and music by o.p. nayyar. the plot was the love story of a convict who gets job at a garage, falls in love with the owner's daughter, gets fired and is mistakenly hired as the driver of a gangster. the movie had stylish dialogue, great songs and pace. the film was produced by gdmpl and was a huge success.

mr. and mrs. 55 (1955):
the fifth was a socially-critical romantic comedy starring guru, madhubala, lalita pawar and johnny walker. it had lyrics by majrooh sultanpuri and music by o.p. nayyar. it told the story of a struggling cartoonist who gets into a sham marriage with a young socialite as planned by her feminist aunt who wants the couple to divorce at the earliest, but the pair starts to realise their feelings. the cartoons in the movie were drawn by r.k. laxman.the film was produced by gdmpl and was a huge success.

the fourth movie under gdmpl was the 1956 crime thriller 'c.i.d'. the movie starred dev anand, shakila, johnny walker and waheeda rehman. guru had produced the movie but it was directed by raj khosla. as per their promise, guru should have directed it but it didnt happen. guru had spotted waheeda in a telugu movie and gave her a supporting role as a vamp in 'c.i.d' to prepare her for later movies. the film had choreography done by zohra sehgal, costumes by bhanumati (who later came to be known as bhanu athaiya and won an oscar award for her work in the 1982 richard attenborough directed 'gandhi'), lyrics by majrooh sultanpuri and jaan nissar akhtar with music by o.p. nayyar.

sailaab (1956):
this was guru's sixth directorial and it starred abhi bhattacharya and geeta bali. it was produced by guru's brother-in-law mukul roy. the plot was that of an amnesic patient who falls in love but later cannot recognise his lover when he regains his memory following a shock accident. finally the lovers meet. the film had some good songs with music by mukul roy, but the film was a huge disaster.

pyaasa (1957):
'pyaasa' (thirsty) was actually 'kashmakash' the script guru had written during his stage of unemployment. the movie was a product of the 'guru dutt crew'. it was dedicated to his guru, gyan mukherjee. it starred guru, mala sinha, rehman, johnny walker and waheeda rehman in her first leading role. the story was that of an unsuccessful poet who is not recognised by society or his family. a prostitute gets hold of some of his poems. when the poet is mistaken to be dead, the prostitute gets the poems published in the name of the dead poet and they are critically acclaimed. the living poet tries in vain to prove his identity but gets admitted in a mental asylum by the publisher of his poems, who also happens to be the husband of his college sweetheart. he escapes from the asylum to arrive at a memorial being conducted in his name. at the memorial he denounces the corrupt, materialistic world. when his brothers decide to prove his identity for monetary benefits, the poet himself rejects his individuality and walks off with the prostitute to start a new life. the film had some of the best works of sahir ludhianvi, s.d. burman, geeta dutt and mohd. rafi. guru wanted dilip kumar to play the poet, but when the 'tragedy king' declined the offer, the director donned the role. guru's close associates had predicted a failure but, after a slow opening, the movie became a major commercial success. the film has a cult following in france and germany. it was a huge commercial success during its 1984 french premiere. the movie is a regular at international film festivals. in 2002, 'sight & sound' critics listed the film in their list of all-time greatest films. in 2004, they considered the soundtrack of the movie to be 'the best music in film'. in 2005, time magazine had this film in its list of the 100 all-time best films. the readers of time mag listed the movie in top 10 movies of all time.

kaagaz ke phool (1959):
motivated by the success of 'pyaasa' guru decided on another socially challenging movie. guru's eighth and last directorial was 'kaagaz ke phool' (paper flowers). it starred guru, waheeda rehman, johnny walker and mahmood. it was a product of the 'guru dutt crew'. the film told the story of a film director who is facing a rocky marriage and is not allowed to meet his daughter since film-making is considered a job lacking social dignity. he introduces a new actress who becomes an acclaimed star and the relation between them fill the gossip pages. upon th daughter's plea, the actress leaves the film world to teach at a school. the separation causes the destruction of the once-respected director who finally dies a lonely, forgotten death at old age in the director's chair of a film studio closed for lunch break. it was the first indian film to be made in 75mm cinemascope. the song 'waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam' and its picturisation are still unmatched today. the theme and execution of the film was ahead of the indian audience who were used to simple plots. the president of india, dr. rajendra prased, who had been invited as special guest walked out deeply offended by the movie. audiences at delhi cinema halls threw stones and damaged the screens. the film became a disaster. many claim that the film is autobiogrpahical, owing to the strained relation guru was having with his wife and the alleged love affair with his find, waheeda rehman. it is also said that the plot was based on the life of gyan mukherjee, the eminent director whom guru had assisted. gyan had tasted success in 'qismet' in 1941 but his later failures made him an introvert. the songs 'waqt ne kiya' by geeta dutt anf 'dekhi hai zamaana ki yaari' by mohd. rafi are classic gems of indian cinema. the failure of the movie affected guru so much that, he stopped direction. he had spend a great deal of passion and the failure made him believe that his name as director didnt attract benefits. the 1984 re-release in france and japan made it a commercial hit. from the 1980's the film enjoyed cult followings in europe and asia. in 2002, 'sight & sound' critics listed this film in their list of all-time greatest film.

chaudhvin ka chand (1960):
the movie was about lucknow at the start of the century. the team worked hard on the details. it was directed by mohammed sadiq and starred guru, rehman, waheeda and johnny walker. the plot was of two friends caught in a love triangle with the same woman. by the time the shoot was nearly complete, color cinema was just filtering in india. guru wanted to re-shoot the entire movie in color, however his financiers and distributors didnt allow him. however, guru compromised with them and had the memorable title song in color. the lyrics were by shakeel badayuni and music by ravi. the movie was the biggest hit of guru dutt's career. the team was sure that the movie would succeed but the magnitude was beyond reason. the film saved gdmpl from bankruptcy.though not directed by guru, the movie does have his signature styles.

sahib, bibi aur ghulam (1962):

this is the third movie for which guru dutt will always be remembered for. it was directed and written by abrar alvi; and produced by gdmpl. it was based on a book by bimal mitra exploring the tragic fall of havelis in bengal during the british raj. the plot is about a lower-class uneducated youngster who arrives in bengal to work at the mohini sindoor factory which is next to the grand haveli of the choudhary's. contrary to his belief, the life inside the haveli is all in shambles. the choudhary brothers engage in a decadent lifestyle. it is when the choti bahu (youngest daughter-in-law) asks him for the mohini sindoor to keep her husband at home, that he realises the strained relationship. the youngster becomes a trainee architect and leaves the factory. the choti bahu resorts to drinking in order to keep her husband at home by providing him company. the architect comes back years later to find that he had been betrothed as a youngster to the daughter of the factory owner. he finds out that the choti bahu is a hopeless alcoholic and her husband has become paralyzed. when she goes out to the temple with the architect to pray for her husband's health, the other zamindars punish her for consorting with someone outisde the household. the shame forces the choti bahu tl leave the haveli. years later, the middle-aged architect arrives at the broken-down haveli and during excavation finds the remains of the choti bahu. the movie starred meena kumari, guru, rehman and waheeda. the lyrics were by shakeel badayuni and music by hemant kumar. the performance by meena kumari as the choti bahu is one of the finest in indian cinema. the film was a critical and commercial success. it was nominated for the 'golden bear' at the berlin international film festival and was chosen as india's official entry to the oscars. there has always been a debate as to the director of the movie. since the film is characteristic of guru, it is impossible to think of abrar as the director. guru never made any claims when abrar won awards for the best director.

in between, guru had acted in the movies, suhagan (1954), 12 o'clock (1958), sautela bhai (1962). after 'sahib,bibi aur ghulam', he acted in movies like bharosa (1963), sanjh aur savera (1964), just to keep his production house running so that he could work on projects of his choice.

on october 10, 1964, at the age of 39, guru dutt was found dead in his rented apartment. the death was supposedly because of the lethal combination of excessive alcohol and sleeping pills. if it was a suicide attempt, it should have been his third attempt. at the time of his death, he was acting in two projects (picnic, love and god) and was having talks about his upcoming film 'baharein phir bhi aayenge'. he also had talks with raj kapoor on making color films. though there were instances earlier in life that could have driven him to suicide (which he actually did twice), at the time of his death, he was in full creative swing. he had been talking the night before with abrar alvi, who later recalled that guru was tense but was also excited about his upcoming ventures. incidentally, abrar alvi was one of the very few persons who seemed to believe that it was not a suicide attempt.

in 1953, guru had married the well-known playback singer geeta roy overcoming oppositions from both families. although guru was a strict disciplinarian in his works, his personal life was totally undisciplined. he smoked heavily, dranked heavily, ate at odd times and slept only 3-4 hours. his relation with his protege waheeda rehman created problems in his family life. at the time of his death, guru was separated from his wife geeta dutt and waheeda had distanced herself from him not to wreck his marriage. he had three children, tarun, arun and nina.

upon his death, the mourning was first for that of a movie star. as years passed, it became clearer that it was the director in him that should be remembered. from 1973, film festivals in his name are being shown every year in different parts of the world, especially in europe. along-wih satyajit ray, he was considered around the world as an intelligent film-maker. his song picturisations and vivid characters are still etched in the minds of his followers, of which i am one. contrary to the image, all of his movies were money-makers except for the 1969 'kaagaz ke phool' which is now a cult classic, a film much ahead of its times. the movie is part of cinema study in many international universities.

'dekho na, mujhe director banna tha, director ban gaya; actor banna tha, actor ban gya; picture achcha bananna tha, achche banaya. paisa hai, sab kuch hai, par kuch nahi raha'

- see, i wanted to be a director, i became one; wanted to be an actor, i became one; wanted to make good pictures, i have done that too. i have money, i have everyhting but i have nothing left.

these were guru's words which clearly showed the angst inside him.

booze in gandhi-land

though i was never a supporter of gandhiji or his teachings, i did visit his home-town porbander, when i had been to gujarat for the wedding of a friend of mine. i had reached two days in advance, and so, went round the place with another frined of ours.

my friend - the bridegroom, was from a huge guju joint-family that dabbled in well...almost everything. they had their hands in the manufacture of pump-sets to shell-caps for the para-military forces. he was a regular at our weekly booze nights in banjara hills, hyderabad. a peculiar thing about his habit was that he used to become deeply emotional after each peg of his favourite rum, old monks. he starts to cry on becoming tipsy (or tully). i have experienced laziness when a pint of beer makes me ballooned up in the bladders, so much that, i am forced to go for a pee. in this guy's case, he used to cry out the rum and soda. he used to bawl about his failed relations and how he would never be able to run the family business efficiently because of his waywardness. but he was a person who played for the gallery (like sehwag) rather than making records for himself (like tendulkar he he). he used to spend proficiently for his friends. he had a nice vocabulary about the drinks and its various mixes.

so, when i was invited for his wedding, i expected nothing short of champagne and caviar. from cochin, i boarded the train for ahmedabad. the journey was nice. it was when i landed at the railway station that i learned, rather shocked to learn that, gujarat is a state where 'prohibition' is in. prohibition is the state policy of legal ban on alcoholic products, owing to being the birth-state of the father of the nation, gandhiji. but it was at the bachelor party that i howled in relief when i realised that the law was a joke.

kerala, along-with punjab held the record sales for selling liquor. in cochin, i had to arrive at the supplies by 7 in the evening, stand in a long queue and the bottles would be handed over in black polythene bags by 9. a good 2 hours would be spend reading the labels and planning out good mixtures inside the head. i had to hold the bottles safely in the pillion seat while the two-wheeler would speed past the streets to avoid being noticed by anyone. ironically, in the alcohol-prohibited state of gujarat, i just had to sit at home and...abracadabra... the bottle is in front of me. the supply chain is well organised and the neighbourhood bootlegger supplies the request at home. nobody drinks publicly but huge parties serving quality brands are organised behind the doors. the policemen look the other way because a large part of their income is from this business. on the weekends there is massive traffic on the roads to neighbouring mount abu, diu and daman. being out of gujarat, revellers can drink openly strewing the roads with empty bottles and generally making a nuisance of themselves. by keeping up the farce of prohibition, gujarat loses in annual revenues an estimated 2,500 crore or more that could have been charged by way of excise duty, but the state government cannot gather courage to do away totally with prohibition.

gandhiji believed that free flow of liquor encourages the poor and others to drink excessively resulting in the sapping of their health, making them incapable of working; they end up neglecting their families. but the point to note is that it is the poor who are affected the most by prohibition. the gandhians of gujarat think that the streets of gujarat are immune from the sort of crime seen in other places because of prohibition. lifting prohibition will be akin to opening the gates of a dam, they argue.

the recent hooch tragedy didnt shock me. over 130 people died in ahmedabad after consuming illicit hooch. most of the people who have died are poor and according to reports, over 80 per cent of them are dalits or gandhiji's so-called harijans. incidentally the epicentre of the tragedy is in chief minister narendra modi’s very own maninagar area of ahmedabad.

why is narendra modi unable to muster the courage to lift this farce of a law that has been part of state policy in gandhi-land for the last 50 years. he does not lift prohibition not because he is in awe of gandhian thinking or any care for the people as projected in his public stunts. his reluctance stems from the fact that he lacks boldness and vision which is....contrary to his general image.

sunflowers to sita-apaharanam via kr narayanan

i still remember the shivers that went through me, when the class which i was in, was told to make a sketch titled 'my garden' in the social studies text book. i was 7 years old and studying at 2nd standard at ideal indian school, doha. for a boy of 7, that sketch seemed to be the question of life and death for me.. because i knew i had to depend on someone else to do it. amma understood my dilemma and drew a sunflower in my test which i colored beautifully in shades of yellow and brown.

the next week the topic was 'my family'. amma told me it would be tough for her. i went to papa. brushing up his skills that he had used during his college days for filling up zoological records, he took out a family photo and made the sketch which to me, was the most beautiful i had ever seen. it was the first time that i had seen an artist at work. i hang over his shoulder, watching him create the basic shapes and then go into the details...i happily colored papa, amma, me and my months-old young bro in amma's hands. it was papa's rendering of the family with the image of amma's drawing of the sunflowers that got me interested into drawing...the world of lines and colors

i took out all the amar chitra kathas and illustrated bibles. i vividly remember the first sketches i made. all black and out of shape....slowly by slowly, i came into terms with the 'one' in me...i was able to draw.. amma was really happy about it. i drew some beautiful sunflowers for her.

papa encouraged me a lot. he bought me colors, gave advices about the sketches... he sent me for vacation classes to mr. a.h. mirza, the art teacher at my school. papa dropped me at his accomodation and picked me up later. mirza sir took my hand and led me into colors... a world which till then was evidently open in front of me but i was never able to appreciate it, let alone, be a part of it. he taught me water color painting. friends and relatives came to consider me talented. i made posters for exhibitions and even made some money painting movie posters for the video cassette shop nearby.

when kr narayanan became the first malayalee president of india, i took up the picture that was full-page on malayala manorama and made a portrait. papa gave me the idea to send it over for the prez's autograph. i even had done a portrait of i.k. gujral the prime minister at that time. papa made some color photocopies of the two pictures. i send the originals over to the rashtrapati bhavan and the pm's office. in three months time, i got a reply from the secretary to the pm's office, a congratulatory note and the autographed portrait. when i didnt get any response from the prez, i send over a color copy. after an year, i got the autographed portrait with an appreciation letter from the home of the indian president.

i even got a report on malayala manorama sunday supplement gulf edition and a full-page report in the thursday weekly supplement of gulf times.

after i left doha for my animation studies, i seldom took up the paints. i just did some occasional pencil portraits. that was it.....after around 6 years, i was back in doha. it then took another 2 years to get that bug to sting me again. i opened my raja ravi varma folder and took out sita-apaharanam. i finished the sketch, bought some winston oil and water paints from jarir bookstore. i think i am on the roll again.....

bhagavan sri ramana maharshi

"self enquiry is the fastest path to moksha.
consciousness is the only existing reality"

"of all the thoughts that rise in the mind, the thought 'i' is the first."

- bhagavan sri ramana maharshi (30.12.1879 - 14.04.1950)
- 70 years

in 1879, venkataraman iyer was born to an orthodox tamil hindu brahmin family in tiruchuzhi, near madurai in tamil nadu. his father was a respected pleader. he was good at sports and an intelligent but lazy student who indulged in mischiefs. he showed no religious interests during his chldhood. he went inot deep sleeps, sometimes to the verge of unconsiousness that his friends often assaulted him physically, but it didnt seem to make a difference. in games, the team that he played in, used to always win - it earned him a nickname 'thangakai' meaning 'golden hand'. at the age of 11, he was sent to live with his paternal uncle in madurai, so that he could be educated in english that would make him eligible to government service. he lost his father at the age of 12 and the loss made him contemplete about death - about how his father's body was there without the 'i' in it. an elderly relative told him about arunachala... a word that was already instilled in him as an inaccessible, authoritative, absolutely blissful entity. he was deeply moved and inspired by 'periya puranam' written by sekkizhar, describing the lives of 63 saivite saints. he began devotional visits to the madurai meenakshi temple and associated himslef with bhakti.

he started to fear death. upon inititaing a process of 'self-inquiry', he realised that even if the body dies, the spirit of 'i' in it transcends the body; 'i' cannot betouched by death; 'i' is a deathless spirit. the self-focussed attention or the power of 'i' was a fascination for the young man. the fear of death vanished in him. the ego was lost in the greatness of self-awareness. he lost interest in studies, friends and relations. he preferred to sit alone and concentrate on the 'self'. at the age of 16, lying at home that he had to attend special class, he left home. he spend three days walking to temples relying on food given to him as alms. finally he reached arunachaleswara temple in thiruvannamalai and embraced the linga in ecstasy - he had reached his home. he was so deeply absorbed in samadhi that he was unware of the vermins and pests that were feeding on his body. food had to forced into his mouth. a sadhu named palaniswami became his attendant and followed him thereafter, begging alms and preparing food for both of them. both of them stayed in the caves of virupaksha and skandasramam. despite his silence and desire for privacy, he attracted attention from visitors who soon became his disciples. he considered himslef to be an 'atiasrami' - a state of non-attachment to all bonds and beyond all caste restrictions.

a government offical, sivaprakasam pillai visited him in the hope of obtaining answers to understand one's identity through 14 questions. the answers were eventually published as 'nan yaar?' (who am i?). the vedic scholar kavyakantha sri ganapati shastri proclaimed him as bhagavan sri ramana maharshi. bhagavan (god), sri (indian honorific title), ramana (a version of venkataraman), maharshi (seer). paul brunton's 'a search in secret india' (1931) introduced sri ramana to the western world. the spiritual guru in w. somerset maugham's 'the razor's edge' is modelled after sri ramana. even as his fame spread, his lifestyle remained that of a renunciate.

sri ramana was noted for his belief in the power of silence. he rarely spoke. he believed that the purest form of his teachings was the powerful silence which radiated from his presence and went in sync with the mindsof those attuned to it. he gave verbal teachings only for those who could not understand his silence. his verbal teachings were said to flow from his direct experience of consciousness as the only existing reality. he believed in the liberation of souls for humans and animals. when asked for advice, he recommended self-enquiry as the fastest path to moksha. though his teachings were based on non-dualism, advaita vedantha and jnana yoga, he highly recommended bhakti. he had a lack of concern for fame or criticism. he gave equal prioroty to people of all starta of society.

his mother and younger brother later joined him, becoming sanyasins. his mother looked after the ashram kitchen. sri ramana composed 'the five hymns to arunachala' a magnum opus of devotional lyric poetry which tells of the glowing symbolism of the love between the human soul and god. after his mother's sudden death, her body was enshrined in a samadhi, on top of which a sivalingam was installed and given the name 'mathrubhuteshwara' (siva manifesting as mother), where a puja is conducted every year. sri ramana came down the from skandashram and settled at the base of the hill where the sri ramanashramam is located today. the ashramam grew to include a library, hospital, post office and other basic necessities.

treatments of cancer failed and sri ramana died in 1950. upon his death, a bright ray of light passed across the sky and disappeared behind the ashram , as reported by various newspapers and photos taken by french photographer henri cartier-bressen.

to devotees who begged him to cure himself for their sake, he is said to have replied, "why are you so attached to this body? let it go.... where can i go? i am here."

'here in india, where thousands of so-called holy men claim close tune with the infinite, the most remarkable thing about sri ramana maharshi as that he never claimed anything remarkable about himself yet became one of the most loved and respected spiritual masters of all.' - april 15, 1950, new york times.

the indian budget 2009 -10 - from 'aam aadmi' to 'alms for the aadmi'

in the interest of the prosperity of the country, a king shall be diligent in foreseeing the possibility of calamities, try to avert them before they arise, overcome those which happen, remove obstructions to economic activity and prevent loss of revenue for the state.

- arthashastra

- kautilya (chanakya) (350-283 bc)

so, its out....quoting kautilya and praising the 1969 bank-nationalisation scheme of indira gandhi, finance minister pranab mukherjee opened the 'pranabora's briefcase' yesterday amidst high speculations. the fm has focussed on the need to put the economy back on 9% growth.

minimum alternate tax (mat) increased from 10% to 15% which will increase the cash outflow burdens for companies liable to tax.

plans are on to introduce a uniform indirect tax structure (known as goods and service tax - gst) on a dual process, at centre and state levels. for the implementation of this tax, excise duties have been raised on items like nylon, filament and lpg's. the gst is supposed to replace excise and service tax at the centre and vat at the state level. at present, most goods attract a tax rate of 20% (8% at centre and 12% at the state).

legal advice is goint to cost more. govt. has bought plastic & cosmetic surgery under service tax which means actresses and models will have to re-think before increasing or decreasing their 'assets'. interstate transportation for passengers on private carriers has been exempted which means travel rates will be lowered. since services received by exporters from goods transport commission agents would be exempted, from now on, exporters need not go through the hassle of paying the taxes before claiming refunds.

at the expense of other women and child welfare plans, the funds for 'integrated child development scheme' has been increased. by 2012, every child under the age of six will be taken care of. govt. has also proposed the 'rajiv gandhi scheme for empowerment of adolescent girls' which will provide calorie meals to girls in order to reduce the school-dropout rates. govt. will launch a 'national mission for female literacy' focussing on minorities and marginalised groups, to attain female literacy in three years. thats nice. if not more indra nooyi's at least, to keep a tab on day-to-day expenses. but, other schemes like the ones for children of working mothers,'shishu greha scheme' and 'integrated scheme for street children' have been trimmed.

its good time for hikers and rafters. the budget has introduced incentives for adventure tour equipments and road travel which could reduce air fares and room rents.

the abolition of fringe benefit tax (fbt) is a relief for corporates and advertising agencies. the huge sums that celebrity management companies had to cough out for sales promotion, publicity and brand ambassadors can be re-routed for better purposes. the stimulus package handed out to the print media (10% increase in govt. ad rates and 15% waiver fo agency commisions) will be continued.

the budget has given a boost to the accelerated power development and reforms program (apdrp) to reduce gap between power demand and supply. this will bring the loss down to 15% from the present 35%.

for the poll-bound state of maharashtra, the proposal is to provide relief to farmers and flood management program which will help the party in coming elections. for uttar pradesh, the minimum daily wage under national rural employment guarantee scheme (nregs) has been raised to 100rs. the 'big bong' railway budget was augmented with reliefs for cyclone victims for the state of west bengal. tamil nadu has been taken into account by providing relief for tamil refugees. in the elections, upa had performed well in minority dominated districts. as a return-goodie, the minority sector has been put on par with the underprivileged communities like sc's and st's. the ministry of minority affairs (moma) has struck jackpot this time. since muslims form the largest backward group, the budgetory proclamation sounds more of political than social. 'pradhan mantri adarsh gram yojana' shows a budgetory inclination towards dalits; an attempt on the part of congress to challenge the bsp or mayawati in particular or the ambedkar gram yojana in specific.

the recent terror attacks have echoed in the budget. proposal to construct dwelling units, increase the strength of para-military forces, better border management by construction of fences, roads and flood-lights to secure the eastern and western borders and the modernisation of state police forces. the bulk of the home ministry budget is for the recruitment and training of jawans in crpf, bsf, cisf, ssb, itbp, nsg and assam rifles. pensions have been hiked for soldiers and jco's. though it is not on their demand of 'one-rank one-pension', still, it has helped to reduce the disparity in the pensions of past and present retirees.

the thrust for rural development and consumption will give the food processing industry a boost which will in turn, help the customer. india can become the outsourcing destination in processed foods. prices will remain constant. i hope it brings a ray of sunshine into the life of farmers.

the budget has indeed, given a life to the i.t. sector. the extension of tax holiday for one more year would help i.t. units that would not have completed 10 years of operation (about 70% of the industry). the removal of fbt will also help. packaged software will no longer attract vat, but service tax.

120 crores have been allocated for setting up the unique identification authority of india (uidai) for providing 'unique' identity cards based on an online database with identity and biometric details that can be verified across the country. so, the ration card can now be used as a bookmark.

now for matters of my interest:
wheels: nothing has been done for lowering the taxes for cars and two-wheelers. the automobile companies can heave a sigh of relief that the stimulus packages promised for them have not been touched. the additional excise duty levied on cars/utility vehicles above 2000 cc have been lowered by 5000 rs to 15, 000 rs.

booze: gst doesnt cover booze products. tax on alcohol is a state subject, attracting high taxes on an average of 70%; so the states would not want to dilute their earnings by bringing liquor under gst. this means alcoholic beverages will continue to vary across the country. i am going to bangalore and fill my kitty.

clothes: excise duty on manmade fabrics and yarn has been increased, which will help the polyester makers. the word polyester reminds me of gurukant desai from the movie 'guru'. the cost of finished products is bound to increase which will be passed on to the ones at the end of the line - the customer.

others: customs duty on gold and silver (bars, coins, ornaments) has been increased. even for lcd panels. branded jewellery has been exempted. mp3 players, mobile phones, ipods, contact lenses, set top boxes are going to cost more. tata dish and dishtv are going to pass on the hike to the customer. while soaps, detergents, shampoos and cosmetics will be cheaper, the toothbrush is going to cost more!!!.

when pranabda started his speech, the sensex was 150 points up and by the time he finished it, it was 756 points down. i would love to sit back and see how the fm is going to get the 9% growth in a way that benefits all sections of society as he promised.