Swami Sharnanand
Once an old lady came to Swami Sharnanand and complained that her son had taken away from her the entire property left for her by her husband and she had nothing left to fend for herself. She was in deep distress and was crying because she did not know how to fight with her own son. Swamiji told her that either she should fight for her rights and take back what was due to her from her son or just give it up happily for the son whom she loved. The lady followed his advice accordingly fought for her rights and got back what was due to her without any malice in her heart. Swamiji believed that one should not take injustice lying down and one should always struggle for one's rights.
Vishnu Mathur.
April 18, 2014.
Mumbai.
My train reached Guwahati the next afternoon.I was picked up at the station by a taxi and promptly transported to Tezpur the gateway to Arunachal Pradesh. On my previous trips to Arunachal Pradesh too I have passed through Tezpur and have even camped overnight in this small but homogeneous town which is half way between being an big city and an over grown town. The town Tezpur was in news during the Indo-China war in 1962 as there were rumours that the Chinese troops had reached up to Tezpur which is in Assam and last year when I was in Tezpur the local news papers were writing stories about how the local people of Tezpur were bracing themselves to face the Chinese take over of the town. Today there are no such fears of such an eventuality for that is what one perceives looking at the large presence of army in the region.
Walking along very homely crowd around the market place in the evening, just below my hotel I did some shopping buying some essential things for my stay in Jhamtse Gatsal. The town gives me a sense of relaxed feeling. An easy going town where people come out in the evening in their light woollens during that period of the year for shopping of the day or just out for a stroll along the promenade. As the sun set I saw the shops pulling down shutters at eight or eight thirty and people slowly ambling back to their Maruti 8oo cars like a slow fade out.Too early in the evening for a person from a metropolis like Mumbai to retire. But then I too reluctantly amble back to my hotel which was on the main street of the town. I tucked myself in the bed early to brace myself for a long journey ahead to Jhamtse Gatsal the next morning at 4 A.M. Mildly excited about the long journey ahead I fell asleep.
By 4.30 A.M. the next morning our Sumo Jeep was on the way after packing all the baggage which included a lot of equipment for the physics lab for the children at the school. I had some co-passengers who were known to the official driver of the van Dor Je. Dor Je who has been with the community since its inception is the trusted ally of Lama Lobsang Phuntsok, the founder and the current director of Jhamtse Gatsal Children's Community and is in charge of all the transport to and from Jhamtse Gatsal and the three vehicles the community owns. I was told that in order to reach Tawang/Lumna one has to cross over five small and big mountians including Se La pass which is at 14 000 feet. It is a tough ride for anyone young or old and driving all the way in a day is a herculean task for any one. Dor Je told me that he must have driven on that route at least a thousand times. Earlier he was a professional driver driving the Sumo taxis which run on that route from Tezpur to Tawang.
As the sun rose one could could see the now familiar topography of the place including the tea gardens on the way till we started climbing the mountains.Tea gardens of Assam produce the famous Assam Tea, the most popular tea in India because of its thick body which makes a strong brew, the "kadak chai" as they call it in Hindi. The other two teas which India produces are of milder and more fragrant variety; Darjeeling and the Nilgiri teas.A connoisseur of tea must sometime try a blend of all the three Indian teas and enjoy the thick body and flavor of the tea at the same time. As we moved along I realised that the journey this time was less arduous as the monsoon was over and there were no landslides and slush on the roads as it was during my last trip.In fact, during my last trip in 2013, at some points on my journey one had to cross sheets of water overflowing on the roads and at points roads were virtually non existent. With mandatory halts for breakfast and lunch and a few pee breaks we covered our journey in good time. As we touched Lumna the closest town to Jhamtse Gatsal I could feel the excitement in my body of secretly knowing that there in the campus of the school all the children and teachers would have lined up to receive me as is the tradition of the community, to welcome each guest in a ceremonious manner. But more than that it was the excitement of seeing the happy faces of the beautiful children and the bountiful hugs from them which gives one a great sense of joy and long lasting love.That is what Jhamtse Gatsal stands for -- love and compassion. As our van entered the campus I could see Lobsang Phuntsok at the head of the queue with the ceremonial white scarf which he put around my neck after a warm embrace as soon as I got down from the van. This time I was also prepared as I presented him with a woolen shawl which I had carried with me all the way from Mumbai. Rest of the evening was a series of warm embraces from the children and adults alike some old and some new faces. Warm food in the kitchen followed where some familiar and some new volunteers were waiting to see me. I was home in a 'Far Away Land, Again!
It took me a few days to recover from the journey and get on with the job I was scheduled to do.The place was abuzz with excitement as two film makers Andrew Hinton and Johnny Burke were in the process of making a documentary film on Lobsang Phuntsok and the community. So I was the third film maker on the campus! So while they were all over the campus with their camera and recorder I started my Cinema Workshop with the children. This time my workshop was entitled "Evolution of Mass Communication" in which I included evolution of visual communication, the spoken language, drawing and visual art, evolution of the written language leading to the printing press and beginning of the newspaper the first medium of mass communication after hand written books.Then the evolution of Radio, Television and Cinema as media of mass communication leading to the present age of the digital world of computers, laptops and mobile phones. Children found the journey I took them through very fascinating.That brought them back to my subject cinema. I revised for them what I had taught them in the previous workshop in 2013 entitled "Six days in Cinema."And then started another session of screening of a fresh bunch of films I had taken with me for them. Another journey into the wonderful world of Cinema.
Like the previous year I started the film screening programme with a Charles Chaplin film. Last Time it was "City Lights' this time I screened "Gold Rush" As expected children started rolling all over the ground with laughter as soon as Charlie Chaplin appeared on the screen with his baggage and a huge bear following him. This went on as long as the film lasted.Children love Charlie Chaplin because Chaplin immediately communicates with audience.The was an instant hit.While the film was being screened the film makers Andrew and Johnny were busy filming the reaction of the children and they did it throughout the running time of the film.Later on they told me that they could make short film out of the footage they shot by inserting the clippings of the film in between the reaction shots of the kids.They thought it would make a nice short film.I told them that it would and I suggested that the film could be called "The Kids'. I hope they remember and make that film.I would make a nice tribute to the great Charles Chaplin.
Photographs and Text ©
Vishnu Mathur.
