Apur Sansar final scene and Gregory Nava's My Family

Generally many Indian films suffer from allegations of plagiarism. However I recently I came across a film by American director Gregory Nava where strains of Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar final scene is evident. Ray's Apur Sansar finale has a sequence of father-son union where the father Apu (Saumitra Chatterjee) carries his son Kajal on his shoulders and walks away. Gregory Nava's film My Family has a similar kind of scene where the father finally unites with the young son. Though culturally disparate and set in different continents, I found the similarity between the two uncanny. May be emotions of paternity is universal.

First observe the Ray film Apur Sansar final scene from 1:41: 00 till the end.

Then observe Gregory Nava's My family/Mi Familia (1995)

Got the similarity between father and son in these two films in the time points I mentioned ?

I am thankful to the unknown author in Wikipedia who pointed this out in Satyajit Ray's biography. I did a little search in Youtube and got this. Now the readers should tell if I am right or wrong.

'Poora India Thumakda' Queen - a movie review

Word of mouth is still the best form of advertisement and by all means, Queen (the movie recently released with stellar performance by Kangana Ranaut) is going to be a sleeper hit like Kaahaani and it should for all reasons.

I did not like the trailer of this movie when I saw it 6 months ago. This happens with quite a many films – their storyline and acting is superb; however the trailer doesn’t do any justice to the story. Thank god that I did not go by the trailer. I actually went to Inox to see it and I was bowled over by Kangana’s honest portrayal of a journey that transforms her from a demure coy clinging ivy type to a character full of spunk and spine. Journey to a foreign land after her marriage being called off which she calls her Honeymoon (without getting married) is a surprise itself and shows that the simple girl from Delhi is not going to take this uncalled for rejection lying down. Rani (Kangana) is the queen of heart of Vijay, the suave engineer who coaxed and cajoled ( Chinese ? Manchow ? Maan jao !....) Rani into a relation. Daughter of a halwai in Delhi was about to get married to the suave engineer.

However Rani gets a shock of her life when the Londoner Vijay rejects Rani or Queen two days before marriage. ‘A lot can happen over coffee’ and ironically rejection happened in a coffee shop whose tagline is ‘A lot can happen over coffee’. Reason is difference in social status. Rani obviously feels lost and betrayed and her hope of breaking the ‘Virginity ka vrat’ is dashed. But contrary to what other thinks she decided to go for the honeymoon which could have happened. From the moment she landed in Paris after being rejected by Vijay (played brilliantly by Rajkumar Rao), met voluptuous Vijayalakshmi ( the Mumbai girl Lisa Haydon is a big surprise ) who lives life on her own term and over whom Rani’s father and obese kid brother Chintu drools, the transformation of Rani begins. She drinks, dances in a disco and lets her hair loose. After Paris and a few days with Vijaylakshmi (Vijay nahi to vijaylakshmi sahi !) she is a liberated soul trying to break away from typical Indian customs that girls are tied to.

A visit to Amsterdam has even more surprise. She has to share a room with men which is unthinkable for her. However slowly she bonds with them and enjoys traveling with them. One Russian artist who wants to stop war over oil, one Japanese who lost his parents to Tsunami and one African origin Frenchman who sings with a guitar are her friends now. Enter the macho Italian chef who spurs an interest in Rani to be self reliant. She participates in a cooking competition and serves spicy Golguppas to foreigners who develop a liking for it. The Italian cajoles her to her first kiss. Just when things are looking up Vijay comes to Amsterdam and pleads for reconsideration of marriage. Rani, now a changed woman, politely refuses to give in. A brawl  between Rani’s friends and Vijay erupts which also exposes the tenderness that Alexander, the Russian harbors for rani. However, next day a transformed Rani places Vijay on the tenterhooks by offering a talk in Delhi. And leaving a surprised Vijay she goes for a rock concert with her new-found friends. The tenderest moment of this movie was when she pastes the marriage invitation card on the hotel room’s wall which is a wall full of treasured thoughts of the visitors. Taka her Japanese friend posts his parents’ photo, Alexander pastes his drawing. But I started crying when Kangana pasted her invitation card of a marriage that did not happen. It spoke a lot about her disappointment, her soul-stirring emotions, her frustrations. A marriage card is not a mere invitation card; it is an announcement of a fresh beginning, of a new phase of life.

In the end we see a bold Rani returning the ring to her fiancé and walking boldly into a new phase of life.

Queen is a movie that will make you feel good with superb storyline, brilliant comic timing and stellar acting. Kangana takes you to the path trodden by her and I identified with her feelings in many ways.And now with soaring popularity it seems that not only ‘London thumakda’ but ‘Poora India Thumakda’ with it.

Sedin Dujone by Pandit Ravi Shankar

There are some songs which I used to dislike. However with change of time and place sometimes I changed and now I like those songs immensely. One such song is “Sedin Dujone dulechinu bon e” by Tagore. I heard this many many times while in Kolkata. However I never quite liked it. I thought it was too mushy. In fact this song is an all time favorite romantic song for many. But my views changed until I heard last year Pandit Ravi Shankar playing it on sitar and singing it too in a London concert. I am thankful to the uploader of this following Youtube video. 

The music, the description by Pandit ji, the ambience….something influenced me heavily to like this song. Maybe the idea of “Forget me not” behind this song made me like it because every mortal like me want to be remembered by others. The melancholic strains urging to remind one of good times gone by appealed to me. There are 'n' number of versions of this song in Youtube now. However other than Pandit ji’s version, no version of this song made me sit and appreciate like this.

Anecdotes from Indian History

I recollect and pen down some anecdotes of Indian history from different sources.

When Shivaji maharaj got to know that the venerable Sinhagad fort has fallen but his favourite chieftain Tanaji Malsure died in the bloody battle he commented languidly “ Gad ala pan simha gela”. That means “We won the fort of Sinhagad but my lion is gone”. Simha translated to English is Lion. Shivaji maharaj lovingly called Tanaji as Simha or Lion.

When Warren Hastings attacked Awadh, the locals started to flee in fear. In hurried manner they were taking all they could with them and as it happens they made several mistakes in the flurry of activities. This is elaborated in a Hindi couplet by anonymous nicely.

“ Ghode par Hawda, Haathi par Jinn,

Jaldi bhago Jaldi Bhago Warren Hastin…”

This means that when they saw Warren Hasting they hurriedly put Hawda ( used on Elephant or Haathi) on a Ghoda (Horse) and a Jinn( usually put on a Ghoda,Horse) they put on back of Haathi (Elephant). These are mistakes made while they were busy fleeing.

When Birbal died Akbar lamented

“ Kanhai Brija Chor Giya, rahe Giya sab Ahir

  Sab shobha darbar ka har liya Bal ka bir”

This means as Lord Krishna left Brajadham, everyone was sad and desolate. Similarly Birbal’s demise took away all the joy and glory of his (Akbar’s) Navratna sabha/darbar.

When the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Jaffar II was deported to Rangoon, Burma by the British, he was imprisoned in a small cell where he wrote on the wall with charcoal the following couplet.

“Na kissi ke Ankhon ke Noor hun

Na Kissi ka dil ka karaar hun

Koi Aa ke shaama jalaye kyun

Koi aa ke char phool chadaye kyun

Main woh bekaasi ka majaar hun”

Translated this means neither am I light of anybody’s eye, nor am I desire of anybody’s heart. Who will come to my grave with flower wreath? Who will light a lamp in my honour after I am gone? Because mine is the grave of despair.

This was in 1857. Many years down the lane I read in Indian Express that President of India, Dr Abdul Kalaam visited Rangoon and Bahadur Shah Jaffar’s grave. He spread a chaddar and offered flowers and lit a lamp. And he wrote in the visitor’s book: “Sir, at last somebody from your country remembered you and came to light a lamp in your grave. At last one of your countrymen remembered you.”

When Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar helped in formulating and promulgation of Widow remarriage Act and spreading women’s education, textile designers from Shantipur presented him a Dhoti with inscription like this .

“ Benche thako Bidyasagar chirojibi hoye,

   Stri shikkha korecho prosar, diyecho bidhobar biye”

Rajkahini by Abanindranath Tagore is a shadow of Todd’s Annals and Antiquities of rajasthan replete with anecdotes from Rajasthan royals. However since it is well known I abstain from quoting many stories.

When Sri Chaitanya spread the bhakti rasa and swept people of Bengal by Vaisnava sect, a phrase indictaed his popularity - 'Shantipur dubu dubu Node bhese jai' . This means Shantipur is already submered with bhakti rasa, Nodia is also going down.

Some historical evens etch a mark on collective human memory by being part of songs or poems. When Marathas used to  invade Bengal and demand tax, the following poem was born which is still sung as a lullaby. 'Chele ghumalo para juralo, borgi elo deshe, bulbulite dhan kheyeche , khajna debo kise ?'. This means as the young child falls to sleep, the Maraha (borgi) arrives and demands tax. However the landowner pleads since the birds ate the paddy seeds how will I pay tax ?

Nice examples.

‘Amai Bhasaili re’- Bengali song that bonds three nations (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh)

Note : I could not find many historical details like year of recordings of different versions . So I cannot authenticate who sang it first or whose version is older due to paucity of data in internet. However I tried aligning these versions chronologically and put the years of recording wherever I could find data. I seek help from my readers for more information. Your comments are most welcome.

A recent Coke Studio Pakistan video on Pakistani pop music pioneer Alamgir singing ‘Amai bhasaili re’ spurred my interest to search more.  

And what I found after sifting through internet is profound. The following article will show how a strong musical bond exists between three countries – India, Pakistan and Bangladesh of the Indian subcontinent through a song sung in the language Bangla.

‘Amai bhasaili re’ is a Bengali song of the genre Bhatiali. Bhatiali songs are sung by sailors/fishermen/boatmen in West Bengal and Bangladesh. They are well known folk songs handed over from generation to generation and are very popular for their simple tune and soulful lyrics. Google search shows this particular song ‘Amai dubaili re, amai bhasaili re’ was a collection of the Bengali poet Jasimuddin and made popular by Abbasuddin Ahmed, the singer from Bangladesh. Please click on the following video for Abbasuddin’s recording.  The song has simple words but intense meanings. The sailor complains to the river waves that your ups and downs is drowning me at one time and floating me at another. It seems the shore is distant, however the boat which is broken should not drown. The shore has to be reached. Similar situations in our life makes us boatmen cruising through the turbulent sea of life where our ultimate redemption lies in reaching the end of our life - the death - the shore.

In India it was popularized by several singers. Nirmalendu Chowdhury became immensely popular in post independence Calcutta by swaying a whole generation of youth to its melodious tune. In the movie Ganga made by Rajen Tarafdar in 1960, Manna Dey sung this song under the baton of music director Salil Chowdhury.  

 This song , translated to Hindi by Gulzar with words differing from the original while maintaining the spirit was used sung by Hemant Kumar in 1961 in a Bimal Roy classic ‘Kabuliwala’. Note the tune; it is same as the original bhatiali song.

Then in Pakistan the pop icon Alamgir popularized this song in 1970’s. He migrated from Bangladesh to Karachi during the turbulent seventies. Along with him migrated this Bengali song which became an instant hit in Pakistan and a highpoint of his career when he recorded it in 1973. The recent Coke Studio video by Alamgir shows the immense popularity of this song which has swayed an entire nation for decades. Being a pop music pioneer and a pop icon in Pakistan, Alamgir commands a huge fan following spreading over generations. Following video is his interview on this topic where his awestruck musician friends chip in. 

This song continues to be popular in Bangladesh and India. Following videos are testimony of that. 

Sailors all over the world sing while rowing   to keep off the drudgery. However everywhere their songs reflect the perennial flow of the river, the ups and downs of the waves and how it blends with human life. Examples of the likes of Bhatiali genre or sailormen singing can be had from Russia and US. ‘Song of the Volga boatmen’ is a famous example from Russia. ‘Old man river’ is another example from the US. It also influenced Bhupen Hazarika of Assam, India in ‘Bistirno Dupare’. That is a different story altogether.

So the universal appeal and the ubiquitous popularity of the Bengali bhatiali song ‘Amai bhasaili re’ proves the existence of a unique musical bond and common heritage running through a vast sub-continent despite the geographical barrier and political animosity. This also proves that music has a timeless appeal that transcends borders and generations.

Note: I included only one Bengali song to illustrate the musical bond between three countries. However Hindustani classical music (the ragas and gharanas) and Quawalis and Ghazals form a common bond between India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Rabindrasangeet, Nazrulgeeti, Atulprasadi, Dwijendrageeti, Lalon geeti, Baul songs form another common bond between India and Bangladesh. And then there is Bollywood whose songs and singers has charmed all across these borders for generations. I still remember a top Pakistani diplomat with roots in Murshidabad royal family scouring Calcutta music stores in early 2000’s to collect Pankaj Mullick songs. And I also remember flowing tributes by Javed Akhtar and Gulzar on Noorjehan who migrated to Pakistan after partition.

Marilyn Monroe and Chanel No.5

During my M.Tech in Biotechnology in Jadavpur in 2001, one of my professors from Chemical Engineering Department Dr. Pinaki Bhattacharyya used to teach us diffusion. He used to take example of Chanel No.5 while explaining how fragrance molecules diffuse from one place to another. With a naughty smile he mentioned Marilyn Monroe loved to wear Chanel No.5. Then he digressed to nitty gritty of chemical engineering. But why did a smile hang on ?

I decode his furtive smile today. Today after long I retrieve the video which shows why Marilyn was famously linked to Chanel No.5 ! I could after all decode the hint in his smile. Watch it. Marilyn famously answered " Only a few drops of Chanel No.5 " when asked what did she usually wear to bed at night ! Much is left to your imagination.

Another ad on this theme was by Brook Shields for Clavin Klein jeans. " You know what's there between me and my Calvin Klein Jeans ? ....Nothing" said Brook Shields whose Blue Lagoon made many young men come of age in early 1980's.

How Bibhutibhushan published Pather Panchali

I share this anecdote from Sagarmoy Ghosh’s book ‘Rachona Sangraha’

Bibhutibhushan after his graduation worked for the rich Bengali zamindar Khelat Ghosh in Bhagalpur, Bihar. He was a manager at their timber industry. Trees of the forest in Bhagalpur were felled, cut and supplied to the timber merchants. Bibhutibhushan was working in that forest and this was the place which shaped Aranyak. This was also the place where Pather Panchali was written. Bibhuti babu being a sensitive soul longed for the literary adda of Calcutta and Upendranath Gangopadhyay was a lawyer in Bhagalpur at whose residence a weekly literary meet would take place. Upen babu noticed a tall man wearing a dhoti and kurta with a lathi and lantern at hand comes, sits quietly, listens intently and leaves quietly. One evening it was Kalboisakhi jhor. Nobody arrived at the meet. Upen babu found only Bibhuti bhushan is present. Quizzically he asked “ What do you do ? Why do you carry a lantern ? Why do you come ?” Bibhuti babu said he works at Khelat Ghosh’s zamindari, carries a lantern because he has to walk through the forest when he goes back at night and that he comes to enjoy the literary flavour. Upen babu asked “Have you written anything ?” “Yes,” said Bibhutibhushan, “ I have written a novel”. Upen babu was about to fall from his chair “ What !! You have written a novel?? People start with short poetries, and then they graduate to short stories. How come you have written a whole novel?? OK…give it to me next week. I shall read”. This was the conversation. After that Bibhuti babu left when the storm subsided. Next week Bibhuti babu came back with the novel he called Pather Panchali and very shyly handed it over. By the time Upen babu finished reading it he realized he has spotted a gem. The moment Bibhutibhashan came for next meeting Upen babu exclaimed “ Apni ke he moshai ? Ei lekha to jogot joi korbe !”. Looking at a shy Bibhuti babu Upen babu said “ But a word of advice…..you have to learn the metrics of writing….some chapters are too long, some are short….please count the words and distribute the chapters evenly….then you give it to me …I shall arrange for its publication”. Bibhuti bhushan was amazed. He went back and made the changes. When he handed over the final manuscript Upen babu said “ Bibhuti babu, as a father takes a son’s responsibility, I take your manuscript with same responsibility. I am going back to Calcutta. My son-in-law is funding me to start a weekly literary magazine. I promise your novel will be published in my magazine in episodes and mark my word, you are the next star of Bengali literature”.

Then Upen babu made Calcutta his base and started the magazine “ Bichitra”. In no time Bichitra became talk of the town. Bibhuti babu got the news of the phenomenal success of Upen babu’s effort but found that his novel Pather Panchali is still unpublished. By now almost a year has passed and Bibhutibhushan took up a school teaching job and came back to Calcutta. One day after school he visited Bichitra’s office. Upen babu was not there but a few suited booted Bengali gentlemen present there dismissed a dhoti kurta clad Bibhutibabu wearing a torn brown soiled cambis shoe as if he was a piece of dirt.. They were animatedly discussing sexuality in D H Lawrence’s literature. Waiting for Upen babu , a shy Bibhuti babu stood outside the door. Suddenly from a room inside came out Upen babu. Looking at Bibhuti babu coyly waiting outside he ran and embraced Bibhuti babu and exclaimed “Lo and behold the next star of Bengali literature. Bibhuti, you are going to revolutionize the literary field”. The gentlemen sitting on sofa were incredulous. They could not believe what they heard from a man of stature like Upen babu. Their jaws opened in disbelief and the collective thought was “ This man ! this lowly man with such dirty clothes and shoes is going to be the next star !! No, impossible .” How wrong they were. Pather Panchali started as episodic novel published in Bichitra. Bengal has never witnessed such plain emotions, such simplicity coming out from a village boy living a mundane life. It was so fresh. Upen babu got flooded with congratulatory letters. Bibhuti bhushan later on told that being a village boy he never liked the noise of Calcutta but that afternoon when Upen babu heralded him to the pantheon of Bengali literature he was ecstatic and humbled.

Rest as they say is history.

NB : A letter shortly after the publication of Pather Panchali came to Bichitra office. Bard of Bengal from Jorasanko, Calcutta wanted to know from Upenbabu who this new writer is !!