Sri Ghanashyam Mohapatra - the forgotten Odia movie maker

 We Odias are famous for being poor appreciators of those from our state who excell in the fields of art, literature, entrepreneurship and innovation. At the same time we are the champions of eulogizing Civil Servants. It is a classic trait of a feudal state and "GAAN KANIA SINGHANI NAKI" - Country girl, running nose syndrome. Making sure the message is not lost in transliteration from Odia to English, it simply means we ignore those of our own by making a pooh-pooh of their achievements.

So given an opportunity I contribute my 2 cents by highlighting those men and women from the current and previous generations from Odisha by making sure it gets to the larger audience through the social media platform of Facebook. I have already shared several blogs about such eminent personalities from my home state, from the Astronomer Pathani Samant and Utkalamani (Jewel of Odisha) Gopabandhu Das to Author Manoj Das and Filmmaker Nirad Mohapatra, and many more.

Until Chetana Samal my friend from college days and wife of Rasmi Ranjan Routray, friend from my Engineering days mentioned it to me the other day, I was barely aware of this gentleman named Ghanashyam Das from Odisha. In 2011, Odisha Society of America's Dallas Convention, she got a chance to watch the Odia movie 'Kanaklata' for the first time! She couldn't believe herself how beautifully the movie maker Sri Das had picturized the novelist Palli Kabi (Country Poet) Nanda Kishore Bal's 1925 book by the same name and that too, after 50 years.

This was one of the movies that was screened as part of inauguration of Calcutta Doordarshan. Sri Mohapatra was late in submitting this movie in 1975 for the International Film Festival as information was hard to get on time those days. Satyajit Ray immensely liked this movie made by an young man and actually Mrinal Sen had persuaded Sri Mohapatra to send the movie to the festival, like outside the competition category. This movie got rave reviews. It is the only odia movie which had a special screening for all Members of Parliament and later it was specially screened for then President of India, Nilam Sanjeev Reddy. Sri Mohapatra fondly remembers the word by word, introduction to this movie in Hindi, for the President.

Chetana and Rasmi spent a wonderful afternoon with the filmmaker and his family. He had laid out all his works showing her and talking about his career. In his twilight years too, he is full of energy and was happy to show us his works. It is very sad that such a man of talent could never be awarded even the smallest of Padma Awards. It's another matter that these Padma Awards had been so much politicized beyond redemption that there shouldn't be any remorse for not getting them.

That was the only movie Mr Das made with a loan from RBI. Later on he focused mostly on documentaries and he won a multitude of awards. He is known as Father of Documentaries in Orissa. The Old timers who are reading this posts should remember him. Thanks Chetana for giving me the opportunity to pen a few words about him. May God give him a long rewarding life.

Cornwallis and his tryst with history

 It was October 17, 1781. A bunch of so called rag tagged farmers as ridiculed by British under the leadership of George Washington forced General Cornwallis (later to become Lord Cornwallis, the Governor General of India) to surrender. America 🇺🇸 had already declared itself independent 5 years ago in 1976. The surrender of Great Britain was a matter of formality. 

In the iconic movie "The Patriot" when Cornwallis was cornered by American revolutionaries and staring at defeat, his compatriot generals were reluctant to surrender, still disillusioned with the notion of British supremacy and infallibility. But Cornwallis was prudent enough to beat the retreat rather than face any further humiliation and gotterdammerung, as he knew he was on a losing ticket.

The myth of the invincibility of English power was shattered. The Great Britain wasn't looking so great anymore. Its colony America convincingly defeated it, with quite a bit of help from the French which vindicated the adage - DUSHMAN KI DUSHMAN DOST HOTA HAI (Enemy's enemy is a friend). No doubt the French contributed its formidable military and diplomatic support to defeat the British in America and became first state to recognize the United States.

The British morale was at its lowest ebb. The future of its empire which it prided as "Sun never sets over British empire" was at stake. It's ego was tarnished and trampled in Yorktown, Virginia after its forced surrender of the English Army. But the icing of the cake, its new colony of India 🇮🇳 inside where it was on an expansion spree wasn't looking so good as Tipu Sultan, the King of Mysore was giving it a run for money. 

A dejected Cornwallis returned back to England and five years later he had to go on a voyage to India as the Commander-in-Chief of the British India Army to secure its empire there. The iron was hot. The English were most vulnerable at the time. It was the time for India to deal the final blow to the British occupation. Tipu Sultan had already defeated the British in the second Anglo-Mysore and forced them to a sign a treaty in Mangalore.

The French sensed an opportunity and tried to teach the English a lesson in India. They had to relinquish India not so long ago which the French General Joseph Dupleix almost managed to drive away the British. Now after successfully helping the Americans to defeat British they were anxious to replicate the same in India by extending their help to Tipu Sultan.

But unfortunately for India, history had something else written in its fate. The French connection wasn't much fruitful due the inopportune time of internal turmoil in France with the advent of the French revolution. But still Tipu could have put the final nail in the British coffin if the Marathas and Nizam of Hyderabad supported him (the other powers of the yesteryear, the Mughals and Rajputs were already a spent force).

It didn't happen. British, the master of divide and conquer policy managed to keep the Nizam and Marathas away from Tipu and finally defeated him. It was the last, real opportunity for us to force a Brexit ahead of time, but we missed the boat.

The British tried its classic divide and rule policy in America too, but spectacularly failed as its founding fathers, especially Benjamin Franklin could foresee it and spread the message to the Americans to stay united in his journal "Philadelphia Gazette". But divided along the lines of caste, creed, religion, ethnicity and plagued by serious regionalism and factionalism blended with parochial outlook we provided the British the perfect recipe to divide and rule. Cornwallis succeeded in India when he failed in America. History has taught us so many lessons. One among them -United we win,  divided we fall.

Rihanna and the aftermath of her tweet

 I just heard her name. Never have listened to a single song of her. Now Rihanna is a house holder name in India by virtue of her Twit sympathizing with the ungoing farmer's agitations in and around Delhi.

The singer wanted to get some free publicity. She got it and we did a fabulous job at fulfilling her desire by straight walking into her trap. Forget Rihanna, many back home who themselves and non in their 14 previous generations from both sides of parents knew about pop music have suddenly become her critics. Not to be left behind our External Affairs Ministry has jumped too fast, too soon protesting her tweets, double dipping the attention she is got. We drool over any attention we can get from Westerners.

If an Akshay Kumar or Kangana tweets about some demonstration in US, will the President of US, the Democrats or the Secretary of State will give a damn ? I don't think so. Rihanna is accused of being a foreigner interfering in India's internal matter. Akhshay Kumar, the actor who is incidentally a citizen of Canada is considered as a hero for supporting the BJP led government. The diehard Bhakts sing eulogies of Akshay Kumar - no matter he being a Canadian citizen, at the same time accusing Rhianna as a foreigner. Double standards is our forte and no wonder we are World's Champion hypocrites.

Didn't a good section of folks in India whole heartedly supported Trump during the last US Elections, a clear case of interference in the internal affairs of a country ? What you call them ? Did we

forget that a certain immature Prime Minister was dancing in a stadium in Texas proclaiming - AB KI BAAR, TRUMP SARKAR (Next time it will be Trump's government) in a different country ? Can't it be construed as interference in the internal matter of another nation ? 

In the quest of getting publicity the girl and this man aren't a whole lot different. What a stupid thing to do by the leader of billion plus people when Netanyahu, his Israeli counterpart and a close associate of Trump didn't publicly endorse the later. Both are Prime Ministers, but similarities end there. One is a seasoned, mature leader, one is a myopic person prone to preposterous histrionics.

In meantime some Right wingers are branding the Sikh protestors as secessionist Khalistanis. The Bhakt brigade and RSS folks who rarely serve in military are questioning the patriotism of Punjabis who form the backbone of our defense forces. 

They should not forget that during partition riots in 1947 when Hindus were killed and their women raped in today's Pakistan, the RSS leaders ran away with their tails well tucked between their hind legs. At that time Sikhs provided a formidable resistance and came to the rescue of the Hindus. Now from their armchairs the Bhakts are accusing Sikhs of being unpatriotic.

Finally the BJP led government has procrastinated the law for one and half years as it chickened out. Why ? The UP Election is just one year from now and further fiasco can cost BJP the state of UP. And losing UP couple of years before the 2024 General Elections doesn't augur well for BJP. 

A party which prides itself as - JO KAHTA HAI SO KARTA HAI (What it says is what it does) has spectacularly failed to deliver yet again. After coming to power in 2014, sans scrapping the controversial Article 370 in Kashmir, BJP has failed to implement its agenda - from Demonetiziton, GST to the latest Farm Bill. So much for the party with a difference !!!

Our obsession with America

 Are we an US obsessed nation ? If social media is to be seen and believed, it feels so. The amount of coverage given to America by our folks back home, especially since last year's Presidential elections is staggering. From what I can see, the obsession has doubled in past 5 years, ever since Trump's arrival in the political scene.

Every American Presidential election gets its fair share of coverage in India. But last year's election Trumped all - partly due to flamboyant nature of Trump's candidacy and character. The social media was flooded with posts followed by discussions. The Right wing conservatives in India found their ally in Trump and Republican party. It's another matter the American Conservatives care a shit about India.

The night after the day of US Elections I was fast asleep. In the wee hours my phone kept ringing. Drowsy after a long day I hesitantly received the call. At the other end I could hear the sad voice of a lad from our village - "BHAINA, KANA TRAWMPAW KU HAREI DELA - Brother, you defeated Trump" ? "But why do you care ?" - I asked in an intriguing tone. He retorted back - "BICHARAA HAARI GALA. NA HELE PAKISTAN UPARE BOMA PAKEI THANTA - The poor guy lost. Otherwise, he could have dropped a bomb on Pakistan". I replied dismissively - "Oh, Trump told you so ? That's good to know".

In meantime, there was a Presidential election that was held in Tanzania on October 28, less than a week before the US Elections. Outside their country, nobody cared, nobody bothered about their elections. Poor Tanzania !!!

A lot has since happened. Trump is gone from the White House and Biden is in. But the obsession hasn't gone, nor subsided. Recently I saw posts where followers of Modi predicting Modi and Trump both winning elections in 2024 and taking the world to next level. Oh Really ? Their terms coincided for four years from 2017 to 2021. To what level they took the world to in those four years and what magic they have to do wonders together in 2024 ! Here in America forget about juxtaposing him with Trump and hallucinating about a glorious global scene in 2020, hardly anybody is even aware of Modi.

When I point about this obsession, some get defensive - justifying it to having their nears and dears in USA to make them obsessed about America. That's a weird and flawed logic. We have far bigger Indian diaspora in Uganda, South Africa, Fiji and Guyana too who got their friends and families in India. In fact, they are much larger in numbers and constitute a sizable portion of the population of their respective countries. Yet we rarely discuss about them.

Another yardstick of obsession is the amount of attention an American President gets while visiting India which can make any global leader turn green with envy. Putin, Xi, leaders of Germany or Japan don't get anything close to what an Ametican president gets in India. Even the British Prime Minister, a country with whom India has lon, historical ties and a sizable Indian diaspora doesn't get 1/10th of the attention an Obama or Trump gets. On the other hand, Putin has stood with India multiple times whereas the US Presidents have hardly done anything beyond lip service.

Why this obsession ? Is it due to Pax Americana ? People tend to look up to others who they perceive up in the higher echelon. For example - I know Modi and Rahul Gandhi. I am sure neither of them knows me, nor care to know about me. 

Obsession, like love or hate is a human emotion. It has its own reasons. As Somerset Maugham wrote, love is  strongest when it's unreasonable (so also its opposite hate). On a different but good note, there is a decrease in our obsession towards Pakistan in the last few years. And that's not a bad thing at all. Part of the reason - we are surging ahead of Pakistan, not just in economy but in cricket and hockey in which they dominated us for decades. We feel we are better off them, so no need for obsession.

The Storming of Capitol Hill

 Recent storming of the Capitol Hill, the citadel of US Senate and House of Representatives located in Washington DC led by hundreds of Trump supporters was America's ultimate shame and disgress. The images on live TV of the marauding, fanatical followers of the about to be one term President on rampage were disturbing and can't be condoned. Obviously Trump added fuel to the fire by his incendiary remarks and his stubborn disrespect towards the rule of law following his loss in the 2020 Presidential elections.

The scene reminded me of a picture from Chapra, Bihar in India not long ago where friends and relatives of students sitting in a College Examination center were seen climbing the windows of the building, some hanging from the rooftop and windows, supplying copies (a term used in Odisha for the act of cheating by providing answers to exam questions). What I saw happening in badlands of Bihar was enacted in the heartland of America 🇺🇸 . United States was looking like a first world Bihar.

An incident like this was waiting to happen. The atmosphere was already surcharged, akin to a room filled with inflammable gas. All needed was for someone to light a matchstick. Trump exactly did that through his incendiary speeches and tweets. An under equipped and overwhelmed Capitol police force spectacularly failed to prevent the vandalism from happening inside the centre of American legislature. Luckily only a few lives were lost, though it could have been far worse.

I was not surprised and saw this coming from a long time. Of course Trump is to be blamed. Yet Donald J Trump is not the cause, rather the symptom of a larger disease plaguing America for a long time. It's analogous to our body getting a fever. The disease is not the fever itself but rather the cause of the fever - which could be due to a viral, bacterial or some other infection infecting our immune system which responds with a fever, raising the temperature and giving us an unsettling feeling. 

Similarly America has been plagued long time by various illnesses - economic, social, psychological and racism in the society. Rising inequality and Healthcare costs over the year has created a distinct class of have and have nots as middle class jobs are gradually vanishing due to automation and Corporate greed of preferring profit over people. 

Ironically most of this has been created due to policies of successive Republican administrations whose base are the ones who are the most impacted. Republicans are very much the part of the current problem, though Democrats who once upon a time used to be the champions of the American middle class have also let them down (That's why the traditionally Democratic Rust belt states voted for Trump in 2016). Idle mind is Devil's workshop. Loss of jobs have led to multiple social issues like broken families, alcohol and drug abuse. All these are taking a toll on those folks, their rising frustration transforming into violence and thuggery. They feel alienated from the society and country, easily vulnerable to crazy rumors and conspiracy theories.

I love Capitalism, but not the kind of unbridled Capitalism without checks and balances which benefits only the top, creamy later at the cost of the middle class. On top of that in last two decade there was a two term President in Barack Obama, rise in the minority population asserting their rights, followed by a woman candidate running for President in 2016.

It made a sizable section of population unhappy who felt the America they grew up is fast changing and getting snatched away from them. They want their America to be great again, looking for a leadership to fill the void. Trump sitting on the wings to enter into politics read it very well and tapped into it (no wonder he came up with his MAGA - Make America Great Again slogan). He not only won the 2016 elections against all odds, but also almost won 2020 - thanks to COVID-19 pandemic followed by a recession put a spanner in his reelection. A person who branded Republicans John McCain, a war hero and Mitt Romney as losers, found himself on the losing side. He obviously couldn't take his loss on his stride and kept living in his make believe alternate universe. So also his followers.

This violence has led to Trump been banned by Twitter and Facebook, inviting censorship for enticing violence. Facebook or Twitter is not someone's father's property which one can misuse in the name of freedom of speech. I can disagree with someone on social media. But it doesn't give me rights to abuse or troll or threaten someone with personal attacks. Trump is not an ordinary person whose threatening act doesn't have much effect. Trump is still the President of United States - the richest country in the World and a Superpower. His irresponsible, pugnacious acts needed to be curbed. Both Facebook and Twitter have taken the right decision by banning him. Hope he stays same in till January 20 when Biden takes over the reigns.

Happy new year 2021

 The antonym of "Happy New Year" would be "Unhappy Old Year". 2020 was exactly that - an old year now which made us all unhappy. Now the first post teen year of 2020 paves way for the year 2021 - a new year we wish it will make 2020 a forgettable one. While wishing so we step into it, we don't know what lies ahead, what's in store for us. As the old man 2020 bends his spine and extends his hand to open the door to welcome the New Year, it is now time for some introspection. 

The passing year 2020 will be forever be remembered for two several reasons - Coronavirus pandemic which killed millions, caused economic recession and impacted the US Presidential elections. For the first time since 1944, a Olympics wasn't held on the schedule year. And for the first time since 1992 an incumbent President lost his reelection.

A la getting rid off old cloths for the new ones, the soul moving from one body to another as famously extolled by Lord Sri Krishna in the BHAGWAT GITA and other Hindu Scriptues, 2020 will be reborn yet again at midnight tonight as 2021. The year dawns with the cherubic smile of a newborn, as another number is added to its age in the form of a New Year.

But hardly anything else ever changes for me with the arrival of a new year. For me life trudges ahead as the same shit, different day - with different color and texture. Hardly anything cataclysmically different happens, rather more or less the status quo is maintained. I don't make any New year promises to myself, as I don't and can't keep them anyway. I just roll over to the year ahead of me.

We may forget history but we don't forget to repeat it year after year. Similar to this starting stanza of the Kishore Kumar's song :

EK RUT AAE, EK RUT JAAE PHIR,
MOUSAM BADLENA, BADLE NASEEB.

"One season comes and another goes,
Seasons change, not the fateful woes". 

This year came and went with a mixed bag of good, bad and ugly for me, with additional baggage of memories rolling into next year. Made new friends, revived old ones and lost a few near and dear ones, once and for all. Yet the year comes with this stark reminder - life goes downhill from here, tasks become uphill and years are numbered before I go over the hill. 

To me, almost all the New Year wishes expressed over the years have been pleasant enough to makes them forgettable. Homo Sapien's inherent instinct is to remember the unpleasant ones. I being no exception - remember this one from 1st January, 1982. On the first New Year after his marriage to Diana, Prince Charles wished the nosey British Paparazzi, "Have a Nasty New Year".

But I don't have to be nasty. So let me repeat the forgettable wish, as I do not forget to do at the end of every year - HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR ahead and stay blessed.

India All out for 36

 In the year 1974, India toured England in the first half of English summer. I lived in Liverpool, England for some time and very familiar with its freaky weather. It is not unusual to have cold spells during the summer in England, especially in its early part. But that year it was quite unusual - it was more like a cold spring than summer when the Indian team landed on the English soil on a 3 test series.

The tour was ill fated from the beginning. India lost the series 3-0, whitewashed. Ordinary bowlers like Chris Old and John Snow created havoc in India's batting line up. Gavaskar was probably the only batsman who stood up showing some grit filled resistance. 

Sunil Gavaskar has rated his 101 on a cold, blistery day in Old Trafford, Manchester on that tour as his best knock, well above his several double centuries. Our bowling attack those days, completely dependent on spinners who couldn't get their grip on the ball due to the cold conditions. English batsmen made our world class spinners look like ordinary club cricketers making a mincemeat out of them.

To add salt to the wound, India was bowled out for a paltry 42 runs at Lord's. I had an old copy of the magazine "Illustrated Weekly of India" (now defunct) at home where its cricket columnist Raju Bharatan published all the 10 black and white photos of our batsmen's dismissal.

Fast forward to 46 years later. All these years Cricket has gone through metamorphic changes. India is no more the cricketing world's minnows of 1970s. It is now a cricket powerhouse having all the money, power, influence over the game centered around it. West Indies, the unbeatable team of 1970s is now just another ordinary team on the cricket map.

Yet India couldn't defy history. History repeats itself and strikes at inopportune moments. Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it. Yesterday we created history, breaking that record set at Mecca of cricket in 1974 by getting dismissed for 36 runs, 6 runs less than the humiliating innings total under the Captainship of Ajit Wadekar. Emotional fans in Indian greeted Wadekar and the team mates with a shower of rotten eggs and sandals (a mode of humiliation in Indian subcontinent) upon their arrival at Bombay (it wasn't Mumbai yet) Airport. Glad there was no social media then - otherwise, they would have been trolled.

And trolled are now our players on media, social or otherwise after scoring 36 runs off pink ball in Adelaide losing all their 10 wickets, especially the director of the team Ravi Sastri who is toasted and roasted a la a burnt bread. Sastri is not new to this kind of treatment. During his playing days he was known to be a selfish player hell bent upon scoring runs at snail's pace at the cost of the country. His slow innings was blamed for several Indian defeats. At least one comes to my mind. When India lost to Australia in a crucial group game in 1992 World Cup held Down Under by just 1 run, Sastri's slow innings came under scanner. 

The ignominy then wasn't just limited to media. Across India Ravi Sastri's effigies were garlanded with CHAPPAL (sandals) and public made bonfire of them. It still remember a photograph from Sastri's hometown of Bombay where his name was painted on a donkey and the poor animal was garlanded with string of slippers. It doesn't take our mercurial fans to overreact. It doesn't take long for bricks to follow bouquets. It may happen yet again. An emotionally charged public may very well make an ass out of him - fanning a long stretch from the player Sastri of yesteryear to Director Sastri.