Lion (2016)
In the process of evolutionary neural development, lifeforms initially developed a primitive neural structure. As the transmission of neural impulses increased by leaps and bounds, the nervous system slowly evolved to develop a brain, protecting information collecting interfaces from the central processing unit. When the impulses were overwhelming in terms of quantity, some of them were suppressed. This highly complicated mechanism eventually developed 'attention schema' and eventually consciousness. Memory, which is an important component of our brain function also helps to build consciousness and conscience!
This interplay has helped mankind to survive the many calamities of Nature, outlive many of their contemporaries and rule over many of the deathly beasts that roam the Earth. Unfortunately, it also acts as a double-edged sword. Memory which helps to avert danger, to repeat the same mistakes twice and to progress as a race, also gives traits like guilt, nostalgia (if it indeed a bad thing) and morbid longing for something which is not there! Memory can be a curse sometimes.
This is an emotionally charged Oscar nominee film is based on a true story of a 5-year-old 'dirt poor' (sic) Indian boy from the economically deprived part of interior India who, whilst scavenging for food and coin on trains, get separated from his brother. The 5-year-old, Saroo, lands in Calcutta confused, unable to converse in Bengali, not knowing his place of origin, keeping himself busy escaping clutches of hoodlums and even the arms of the law, at least initially. He eventually lands in an orphanage to be picked up for adoption by an Australian couple in Tasmania.
Everything was dandy till the time he was 25. His adoptive parents adopted another Indian boy and life went on. His adopted brother, however, had behavioural issues which plagued the whole family throughout.
At university, Saroo developed a sort of Indian consciousness after mixing with other students from the Indian sub-continent. His old thoughts, all so nicely tugged hidden in his subconscious mind slowly resurfaced. His obsession to reconnect with his Indian biological mother and brother reached fever pitch. He spent three good years with the aid of the then new kit of the block, Google Earth, to try to trace back his journey to Calcutta. This madness of his affected his relationships with his family and girlfriend. It finally led to an heart-wrenching meeting of a son with his mother after years of absence and the subsequent meetings of the real mothers, Australian and Indian and Saroo Brierly. After so many years, only then did Saroo knew that his given name is Sheru, affectionate for Sher, which meant 'Lion'!
We can see that it is not a question of whether having a memory and a consciousness is good or bad. Having unerasable memory helped Saroo link up with his biological mother to give a closure to his unanswered queries and to the people in India too. Conscience, compassion and love allowed Saroo's Australian mother to adopt foreign children and even support Saroo's desire to reconnect with his roots. All these masalas of the thinking mind not able to forget as well as to fail to remember creates all the drama, mayhem and happy endings in this life of ours.
N.B. Interesting to note that the theme of family separating because of unavoidable circumstances, natural catastrophe or amnesia has been a regular feature of a well-tried formula in Indian movies. The happen endings usually come via a special family song recognised only by the family members (e.g. Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Naalai Namathe). Here, in keeping the times, it is Google Earth and the reemergence of repressed childhood memories!.
In the process of evolutionary neural development, lifeforms initially developed a primitive neural structure. As the transmission of neural impulses increased by leaps and bounds, the nervous system slowly evolved to develop a brain, protecting information collecting interfaces from the central processing unit. When the impulses were overwhelming in terms of quantity, some of them were suppressed. This highly complicated mechanism eventually developed 'attention schema' and eventually consciousness. Memory, which is an important component of our brain function also helps to build consciousness and conscience!This interplay has helped mankind to survive the many calamities of Nature, outlive many of their contemporaries and rule over many of the deathly beasts that roam the Earth. Unfortunately, it also acts as a double-edged sword. Memory which helps to avert danger, to repeat the same mistakes twice and to progress as a race, also gives traits like guilt, nostalgia (if it indeed a bad thing) and morbid longing for something which is not there! Memory can be a curse sometimes.
This is an emotionally charged Oscar nominee film is based on a true story of a 5-year-old 'dirt poor' (sic) Indian boy from the economically deprived part of interior India who, whilst scavenging for food and coin on trains, get separated from his brother. The 5-year-old, Saroo, lands in Calcutta confused, unable to converse in Bengali, not knowing his place of origin, keeping himself busy escaping clutches of hoodlums and even the arms of the law, at least initially. He eventually lands in an orphanage to be picked up for adoption by an Australian couple in Tasmania.
Everything was dandy till the time he was 25. His adoptive parents adopted another Indian boy and life went on. His adopted brother, however, had behavioural issues which plagued the whole family throughout.
At university, Saroo developed a sort of Indian consciousness after mixing with other students from the Indian sub-continent. His old thoughts, all so nicely tugged hidden in his subconscious mind slowly resurfaced. His obsession to reconnect with his Indian biological mother and brother reached fever pitch. He spent three good years with the aid of the then new kit of the block, Google Earth, to try to trace back his journey to Calcutta. This madness of his affected his relationships with his family and girlfriend. It finally led to an heart-wrenching meeting of a son with his mother after years of absence and the subsequent meetings of the real mothers, Australian and Indian and Saroo Brierly. After so many years, only then did Saroo knew that his given name is Sheru, affectionate for Sher, which meant 'Lion'!
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| Allz well |
We can see that it is not a question of whether having a memory and a consciousness is good or bad. Having unerasable memory helped Saroo link up with his biological mother to give a closure to his unanswered queries and to the people in India too. Conscience, compassion and love allowed Saroo's Australian mother to adopt foreign children and even support Saroo's desire to reconnect with his roots. All these masalas of the thinking mind not able to forget as well as to fail to remember creates all the drama, mayhem and happy endings in this life of ours.
N.B. Interesting to note that the theme of family separating because of unavoidable circumstances, natural catastrophe or amnesia has been a regular feature of a well-tried formula in Indian movies. The happen endings usually come via a special family song recognised only by the family members (e.g. Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Naalai Namathe). Here, in keeping the times, it is Google Earth and the reemergence of repressed childhood memories!.
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