I discover Hindi literature
Since I was born in Maharashtra, my mother tounge is Marathi. But as I was learning Marathi at home, I was also learning Hindi outside. As a result I do not have any memories of formally learning these two languages. It’s as if I was born with them. So when the opportunity came to visit the Indian capital for a CSIR research interview, one of the things I was looking forward to was that I will get to speak Hindi with native speakers. People in New Delhi were often surprised to know that I am a Maharashtrian which I took as a compliment. But I can’t really take any credit for it, children learn languages like a sponge; it’s automatic and effortless. I stayed for a couple of days after the interview. New Delhi has a rich historical heritage in its monuments, museums and streets. Being a history buff, it was a unique experience to visit the places where so many freedom fighters fought for India’s freedom.
Due to its enormous size, travelling in New Delhi involved long bus rides. This would be a boring task for most people but I enjoyed it immensely. Reason? I got to hear Hindi in all of its variations. Depending on where they are from – Punjab, Bihar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh etc. – Indians have a unique way of speaking Hindi and each one is as enjoyable (a fact heavily underutilized in Indian movies, IMHO). Travelling in Delhi buses was an audio feast for me.
My next visit to New Delhi was to perform experiments using the accelrator at the National Science Center (NSC). I also got to visit the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
Given this background, you may be surprised to know that until now, I have read very little Hindi literature. Why did this happen? One reason maybe that Hindi books were not that readily available in the pre-internet era in Maharashtra. But I must also take responsibility for not trying hard enough. Fortunately, I realised this and now that I have discovered the treasure, I am like a kid who has discovered a new candy store. I am absolutely blown away by the sensitivity and brilliance of Hindi writers like Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Phanishwar Nath Renu, Kamleshwar, and many more; the list is very long. I am glad to have found this treasure that was always there but I had overlooked it.
I discover Manik Da
When I was in college, the national TV channel Doordarshan decided to telecast all the movies of one of the greatest filmmakers ever, Satyajit Ray or as he is fondly known amongst his fans and admirers, Manik Da.
Some context for Gen Z and later readers who grew up in the environment where just a click lets you watch almost any movie, anytime. In the pre-internet era, watching a movie was something that you did not do too often, and it was a big deal. And Manik Da’s movies were never shown in theaters in Maharashtra so this was my only chance to watch them.
There was a problem. The college exams were going on at exactly the same time. I had a choice to make. Do I watch the movies or do I study? I decided to watch the movies. I failed in one subject and barely passed the others. Do I regret the decision? Absolutely not.
This was my first encounter with Manik Da’s movies and I was absolutely blown away. I had never seen anything like it. Great stories (some of them were by the Nobel Laurate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore Ji), absolutely brilliant camera work, and great music. And following Tagore Ji’s footsteps, Manik Da was also versatile in his talents – he wrote the screenplay and dialogues, composed the music1 and directed the movie.
This was the first time that I began to pay attention to what the director was doing behind the camera. I began to notice how the shot was framed, how the camera moved, how the music aided the effectiveness of the scene and so on.
I wrote a couple of articles on my Marathi blog about Manik Da’s movies. Maybe I will translate them and put them here.
For a few years afterwards, I wanted to become a movie director. Of course, this was nothing more than a teenage pipe dream. I did not have the myriad of talents that making a movie requires. But this experience certainly gave me a unique perspective on watching movies. This was also the beginning of my passion for photography.
Don’t follow me
The purpose of this blog is to make the reader think but I think it needs some clarification. From time to time, I share some tips of what has worked for me but there is no guarantee that it will work for everyone. I could also share a long list of things that did not work out but that will be too boring.
Here’s an example. I will never buy a car. If I win a car in a contest, I would sell it. It’s a purely personal choice. There is nothing good or bad about it. There are lots of advantages of having a car and that’s why most people love them. It’s an equally valid choice. In essence, the way I do things are often idiosyncratic. They work for me but not everyone will find them suitable. And that’s fine.
Narrator: This is the worst marketing pitch in the history of marketing pitches. He is right. Don’t follow him.
- Manik Da started composing music from the movie Kanchenjungha. In earlier movies, the music was composed by Pt. Ravishankar Ji (The Apu Trilogy), Ustad Vilayat Khan Ji (Jalsaghar) and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Ji (Devi). ↩︎
