Black And White

                                      

  

                                                                                                                                          

  

A Page from my sketch book

                                          ©

                                   Vishnu Mathur

                                                                  Mumbai.

      December 15, 2014.

               

A poem

                                                 

                                                   

                                                        Poem


                                                Half moon
                                                And an evening sky
                            Patches of clouds
                            And a bird flying by.





                                                     Vishnu Mathur.
                                                   November 25,2014.
                                                          Mumbai.

A thought for the day!

Women And Men.


While every woman carries the universe with her men are just hanging around!


Vishnu Mathur.
November 13, 2014.
Mumbai.

A Thought for the day.

We often make the mistake of looking at our own "happiness' trough the eyes of others. I feel true happiness can only be experienced from with in and not from outside.


Vishnu Mathur.
Oct.13, 2014.
Mumbai.

A Poem

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                            After the Rain

                                  Comes
                                    The
                                  Shadow.

                                                      

                               Photograph and poem©
                                                     Vishnu Mathur,
                                                   September 18,2014

                                                          Mumbai.

A poem

                                           

                                               




                                             Rain 

                                                  

                                                     I reach home

                                                         In time

                                                        To find

                                                        The rain

                                                  At my doorsteps.

  

                                              Vishnu Mathur.

                                             September 9, 2014,
                                                    Mumbai.



                                                     बारीश 

                                                
                                                  मैं पहुंचा घर
                                                       
                                                       जब 
                                                                                                                                                                                          तब 
                                                       
                                                  पहुंचीं  बारिश. 

                                                   
                                                   विष्णु माथुर 
                                                सितम्बर ९ , २०१४ ,
                                                        मुंबई 
                                                        
                                                                              

A Thought for For the Day.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                   
                             


                                                   A Single Goal.


A single goal in the final of the FIFA World cup in Brazil was the moment for which the whole world was waiting for.That was it. A single moment of fulfillment in an event of such massive proportion!May be we all live our entire life waiting for that one single moment to happen which would justify our entire  existence.


Vishnu Mathur,
August 20,2014.
Mumbai.

I "Quotes"

                                                             
                                     "   


                                            

 "Nothing appears as it should in a world where nothing is certain. The only thing certain is the existence of a ‘secret violence’ that makes everything uncertain."       

                               Lucretius. 
                                        Roman Philosopher.




Vishnu Mathur
August 11,2014.
Mumbai.

A Poem

                                          



                                           

                                            How can one

                                            Reason

                                            Loneliness

                                            With the  crowd.

                                                            Vishnu Mathur. 
                                                              July 12, 2014.
                                                                 .Mumbai.

A thought for the day!

When the Stars are not with you just follow the Sun and the Moon!


Vishnu Mathur,
Mumbai.
June 30,2014.

" I Quote"

                                                                                                                                 

                                   Humility.

                  
"Understanding of the limitation of the human psyche  creates a state of non commitment, which is humility."

                         Vimla Thakar.
                                    From the book

                                               ‘Silence in Action’


Vishnu Mathur.
June 12, 2014.
Mumbai.

A Poem

   

               

                                               The hills
                                               Beyond 

                                               The skyscrapers.

                                               I can feel.

                                          Poem and Painting ©   

                                                                         Vishnu Mathur
                                                                           June 5, 2014,  
                                                                              Mumbai.

           

Far Away Land. Again! (Part Three)

                     Part Three.



                

As  I wrote earlier,  I was in Jhamtese Gatsal in a  colder time of the year; although my breath was supporting me, this time my legs were much stiffer, specially my knees. But the rest was the same.The beautiful mountains, the rivers in the valley and the loving children in the campus. I had a feeling that I now belonged to that place.A home away from home!

                     

As the days passed and it became colder by the day, the layers of woolens increased on the body. I was not the only one doing that I noticed; even the foreigners who had come from the west were reacting to the effect of the winter the same way.So I used to see both the film makers Andrew and Johnny wrapped up in heavy woolens moving around with their equipment in the campus with feverish activities of filming.Sometimes they were off for a shoot even before I was out of the bed. They were in the process of making a film on Lama Lobsang Phuntsok and a little girl called Tashi. Through their story they were trying to capture the spirit of Jhamtse Gatsal Children's Community. The guest house where we were staying was like a veritable production house where all  their editing and shooting equipment was stationed and very often we were sitting around the editing consoles watching some footage of the shooting and discussing cinema while sipping hot cup of tea made in my room.Three film makes from different part of the world immersed in a creative process in a far away land! Andrew from New York, Johnny from London and myself from Mumbai! It was quite interesting. While I write this the rough cut if their film is being prepared on the editing tables in London and New York and very soon the film will be out for every body to see.  

                 

Meanwhile my  Cinema workshop and the screening of films continued.A new set of films and a new window to the world for the children by now more familiar with a different concept of cinema than they were used to before. Apart from Charles Chaplin's  'Gold Rush' I had taken Bimal Roy's 'Do Bigha Zammen', K Asif's 'Mughal E Azam"'(which to my mind is the best film Hindi film industry (Bollywood?) has produced so far.

I had also taken with me Mehboob Khan's' Mother India' and Dev Anand's 'Guide' which was directed by Vijay Anand. 'Guide', to my mind, was conceptually the most modern film of that time and maybe it still is with its layered story based on the novel 'Guide' written by India's well-known English writer R.K.Narayan. These rich films further enlightened the minds of the young children as well as some of the foreigners about the  so called 'Bollywood' cinema.The most favourite of the packet I took this time was 'Jagte Raho' Produced by Raj Kapoor and Directed by two Bengali film makers Amit Mitra and Shambhu Mitra. Children immediately caught on to the song from the film "Zindagi Khwab Hai." Last time around it was "Nanhe Munne Bachche teri muththi mein kya hai" from the film 'Boot Polish'. I also thought that 'Jagte Raho' is Raj Kappor's  best film as an actor and as a producer. All the other films Raj Kapoor either acted in  or produced were rather too inclined towards the commercial aspects of film making.

 I told children about the similarity in 'Do Bigha Zamin" and Victoria De Sica's 'Bicycle Thief' which I had screened during my last trip to Gatsal. I also took with me two films of Jaya Bachchan (who is popular with children there): 'Guddi' and 'Parichay'. 'Parichay' was important because last time around I had screened for them 'Sound of Music' on which 'Parichay' was based.While last time I screened Mani Kaul's film 'Duvidha' from the "Indian New Wave" packet this time I took Kundan Shah's 'Jaane Bhi dho Yaro' A nice breezy comedy which children enjoyed. I chose 'Mr India' as the last film of the season, the film children remember  because of the dialogue "Mogambo Khush Hua' and the song "Hawa Hawai"

 One interesting note.While I was apologetic about the presence of songs in my introduction of the  Hindi films one American volunteer on the campus remarked that in fact she found the songs in the Indian films the most interesting part of the Indian  films!

If you are in Jhamtse Gatsal a trip to Tawang is inevitable.This time it was for an important event. It so happened that the remains of Lord Buddha which were being displayed in various parts of the country happened to be at the monastery in Tawang during that time It was decided that the entire community would visit the monastery to see the remains of Lord Buddha.Two buses and two vans were arranged to transport all of us to Tawang. Lunch was cooked and packed the previous night and an early breakfast was scheduled. It was a cold winter morning and it was quite a task to get every one lined up in front of the buses at seven  o'clock in the morning. By the time every single detail was taken care of it was past 8 O'clock and our caravan could leave only by 8.30 A.M.

              

A tight security  awaited us as we all lined up to enter the Tawang monastery.The gun toting solders looked very menacing and one felt a sense of unknown fear even though one knew that one had no reason to fear. One could imagine how people who live under a regime of military in other totalitarian countries must be conducting their lives when there is a constant danger of being pulled out without any order and pushed into a jail without a trial. It was also a strange feeling because one was there to visit a shrine for a most revered reason. Many a time, I feel my over grown beard and long hair  makes me look like a prospective terrorist. And I was wearing a broad hat in a military color to boot! Not to mention that I was singled out for a thorough search and some questioning. I certainly did not look like a person who  belonged to that place. All this tight security for a small part of Lord Buddha's remains. A strange combination of a  faith and fear!

Finally after a long wait and we were able to enter the main hall of the monastery. The remains of Lord Buddha which consisted of small pieces of bones were found in two soap stone caskets discovered in a stupa at Piprahwa in Siddharth Nagar Distt. in Uttar Pradesh. These remains were excavated and authenticated by the Archaeological Survey Of India between 1971 and 1977 and are now preserved in the National Museum Of India in New Delhi. It was a rare opportunity for the people of that region to have a glimpse of the sacred relics and for many it was an opportunity of a lifetime because many common people of that far away land do not even get an opportunity  to go out of the region let alone visiting New Delhi where the relics are permanently kept.

          

As my stay was coming to an end winter was setting in  all its true colours. One would wake up in the morning to find the entire valley filled with thick fog a sure sign of a cold day ahead. But on the other hand the ever changing light and shades and the picturesque valley would tempt one to go out with the camera and brave the freezing temperature  to take some picture of the beautiful place one was in. My workshop and the documentary work of Andrew and Johnny were also coming to an end and we were planning our departure together. Meanwhile a colourful cultural show was staged in the campus on the birthday Of Dalai Lama which included  the famous Snow Lion Dance of that region and some beautiful songs and dances by the children and staff members. It was followed by a camp fire at night where everybody lets their hair down and children dance till they fall down with exhaustion. A truly exhilarating event happening in the middle of nowhere on the foothills of the Himalayas!

            

It was time to pack up. I screened my last film for the children followed up with a tearful farewell where the children practically made me swear to come back again to Jhamtse Gatsal. I promised not knowing when that will be, but I could not say no to the lovely children full of love and hope. Many of them were now thinking of becoming filmmakers after having attended two of my film workshops. One final farewell party only for adults around this time around the fire in the kitchen with songs and stories till the wee hours and then the departure at 4.30 A.M. We all packed into  the Tata Sumo: Johnny, Andrew, Vasudha Wanchoo our host, who was accompanying us up to Tezpur for some work, and I. Our great Sumo captain captain  Dor Je was on the wheels  thinking of the snow that we would have to wade through on the way when we cross the Se La pass, which we did.

I have seen snow before but not like the one we came across on the journey. To travel on those roads is treacherous enough in normal conditions, so when we were confronted with heavy snow and traffic jams on the Se La pass it was quite a reason for concern. To get stranded there at night can be quite an experience, I was told. Luckily the traffic eased out with the help of  everyone around, and we gradually came out of the snowy zone in good time and we headed towards Tezpur well within our time schedule. It was my first real encounter with snow in those extraordinary conditions. While on the one hand there was tension within, there was some beautiful "snowscape" outside. I managed to capture some good pictures to take back home for the children before we reached Tezpur, our final destination, before we all parted company and headed home the next morning. Good bye once again to the 'Far Away Land' and the beautiful children of Jhamtse Gatsal. Again!

                



Text and Photographs© 
Vishnu Mathur.
May 20,2014.
Mumbai.

'I Quote"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        "Punching the villain on the jaw is too easy a way of solving life’s problems."


George Bernard Shaw.



Vishnu Mathur.

May 10, 2014.

Mumbai.

A Poem

                                                                                                                    

             In Pushkar       

                                                     

                         At dawn                          

                   

                                 A peacock                                                            

   And    

                               A distant tree.                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                         Vishnu Mathur.  

       Mumbai.       

     May 3,2014.    

                                                 

Photograph : Vishnu Mathur.© 

  

पुष्कर में

बहुत  सुबह

एक मोर

और  दूर

 एक  वृक्ष।

  

विष्णु  माथुर

मुंबई ,

 मई ४, २०१४ 

Guru Speak

                                                       
                                                          

                              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.

Far Away Land. Again! ( Part Two)

Part Two.

    

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.

April 13,2014.Mumbai