Masaan and the changing face of India

Masaan

Before watching Masaan I got acquinted with Neeraj Ghawayan’s work through his short film titled “Shor” in  an experimental film“Shorts”. “Shor” explored a much talked about dimension in a man – woman relationship. The ego hassle which every woman has to tackle when she is the unacknowledged “lady of the house”  while all her man  manages to do is doubt her motives. The  chauvinist in every man comes alive with a working woman in house and more so when he is being instigated by his mother.  Well, this typical scenario takes another level when Ghawayan adds the other side of human emotion to it.  Among all the chaos  the relationship which has  gone sour suddenly revives itself when it faces a momentary  threat  of death.  And that’s how our protagonist get his salvation....in Love and Forgiveness. 

Love in its essence is never lost. It’s the chaos around us with which we are so busy  that we forget to live. So with Masaan Ghawayan again explores this theme but this time in a broader context and in a bigger canvas. I read somewhere that Masaan is the colloquial usage of the Sanskrit word “Shamshaan” . Set in Benaras , Masaan actually unmasks this ancient city and reveals the layers of undeniable  transformations it has been going through for a long time. The age old orders of life come in conflict with changing times and ever altering human needs and desires.

In India even before a child is born he/ she is stamped with an identity. That identity constitutes a spectrum  of definitions. One is defined by religion, caste, creed, colour, class  and what not. And the fact that even in 2015 a large section of people still hold on to these outlandish set of ideas in the name of “custom”, “dharma”, “riti-riyaz”, “culture” , “sanskriti” and other heavy-sounding words is what pushes India back in the dark age. But Masaan not only deconstructs but also breaks what our all “riti-riyaaz” taught us to do. Be it ambitious and bold Devi Pathak (Richa Chadha) who is ever assertive of her decisions or dreamy and hopeful Deepak (Vicky Kaushal) who aspires to lead a life completely different from what is meant for him.  
Masaan shows a new India. An emerging India where you can’t  put people in tight boxes with bundles of tags given by the society which continuously strangle the idea of individualism. The high walls of a structured society defined by caste, class and creed fall apart with the coming of technology.  Ghawayan has used technology to show how it connects , re-connects, revives, inspires , gives hope and at the same time threatens to destroy us. 

What I love most about this film is, it seamlessly transcends everyday human lives in to something extraordinarily beautiful.  Quintessentially Masaan is a piece of poetry by Varun Grover who touches a continuum of human emotions through this film. Be it love, aspiration, greed, redemption or desire to live a life going beyond what has been already decided by the society. Going by the tagline, Masaan truely celebrates life, death and everything in between. It celebrates the journey of human survival in its core. Neeraj Ghwayan surely visualises and captures it with all his heart. And trust me given the condition India is in right now, we are in dire need of such movies to make people understand what we should ideally aspire to be .

Murshidabad , the city where India lost her independence

To Calcutta , with love :)

Because no matter how much I wanted to get away from you....you are still a part of me and I am a part of you.  Though I don't want to belong to you....I don't want to belong anywhere.....But I still carry little pieces of you with me...Those fragmented pieces have made me who I am.  ~  For you, Calcutta

Random Designs and Paintings

Colors of SurajKund.

An International cratsfair at Faridabad, Haryana draws artists and craftsperson not only from different corners of India but also from all over the world.  29thSurajkund International Crafts Mela was all about splash of vibrant colours, folk dance and music of India , artefacts and handicrafts from all over the world and definitely the unique joie-de-vivre spirit of India ! The Mela celebrates the unique diversity of Indian traditions and culture in a ambience, created to represent the ethos of rural India. Surajkund International Crafts Mela showcases some of the most exquisite handlooms and handicrafts of India. Handmade fabrics soaked in ethnic colours make an eye catching display for the visitors.The multi-cuisine Food Courts provides ethnic cuisines from all over the world, which are immensely popular with visitors.

When two Syrian artists visited India for the first time !

It won’t be a wrong statement  if we say that the 29th SurajKund International crafts fair replicated a miniature world where many talented craftsperson across the world gathered to showcase their handicrafts. Craftsperson from all over the world were present in fair. From neighbouring countries like Nepal,Sri Lanka, Bangladesh to South-east Asian states of Thailand, Malayasia to far Middle-East countries like Lebanon, Syria and others. But this year the fair is special for Fouad Arbach and Ahmad Ratib Dadi, who came all the way from Syria.  While Syria is ravaged by civil war, these two men travelled to India for the very first time to participate in  Surajkund fair.  While visiting this stall we were awestruck by their beautiful handmade artefacts and traditional silk shawls.  The banner of their shop which is named "The Arabesque Factory" was hanging in the front of the stall along with Syrian Flag and dark wooden hanging lantern. Interestingly range of boxes and other artefacts including a board game were made from sea shells and lemon juice ! When we asked them to elaborate more on their process of making these products, they handed us a booklet and showed me a video which were all in Arabic. However what really touched us more was the warm welcome we received from these two gentlemen. They couldn’t speak English but they could understand few words of the language.

 When we asked them for their interview, they happily obliged to our request. Although they only spoke Arabic which was illegible to us, that didn’t deter us from understanding what and Fouad and Ahmed were trying to tell us.  A small message written in Hindi was addressed to the visitors of their stall. It declared “Our products are from Syria. They are made of sea shells and lemon juice. The war is over in Syria. Namaste “. Just like them and their unique handiworks, the simplicity  and directness of their message touches one to his core. 

While Fouad extended the hospitality by offering traditional Syrian sweets to me and my friend, Ahmed , the artist, kindly showed us all his handicrafts and told us that this art of making products from sea shell and lemon juice went back to hundreds of years in Syria. When I asked Fouad whether he would come back to India again, he replied in broken English , “ I love India. I will come again” On a parting note they gave us their visiting card from which I discovered their website www.handmadesyria.com. Before leaving the stall they clicked photos with us. It made me think how technology has made it possible to capture a rare meeting and how this memory will travel all the way to Syria through Ahmad’s cell phone. As we bid goodbye to them, I felt subtle happiness to know that there is always hope and joy at the end of every struggle. Despite the fact that language created a barrier for us to interact, the story of war torn Syria and the pain of Syrian citizens are not unknown us. Even then the presence of Fouad and Ahmed at Surajkund told us that no matter what they have not given up on hope. They fight everyday to stay alive, they fight everyday to keep their art alive.