To learn, one has to listen.

Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

(Based on Heinrich Harrer's book with the same name)

Similar to the internment camps established in the USA for German and Japanese migrants during the First and Second World Wars, India had comparable camps. Numerous German workers and even alpine climbers from Austria were detained in various camps around Ahmedabad and Dehradun. One notable individual was Gustav Hermann Krimbiegel, an extraordinary gardener credited with creating royal gardens across India. Krimbiegel was a German botanist who migrated to Britain in 1888. He began his apprenticeship at Kew Gardens and was subsequently recommended to work in the garden of the Maharaja of Baroda. After witnessing his remarkable gardening skills, he was commissioned by other princely states. He is recognised for his development of Lalbagh in Bangalore, Brindavan in Mysore, and many others. In addition to his horticultural achievements, he is also known for introducing new seeds from abroad to India, along with innovative architectural designs, creating a distinctive Indian aesthetic for gardens.

When World War II broke out, Krimbiegel, due to his German origins, was confined to an internment camp as an enemy of the British Empire. With the assistance of King Baroda, who was at the time the wealthiest man in the world, special arrangements were made with the Empire for his release. Krimbiegel is credited with introducing innovative agricultural practices that enhanced irrigation, supported local economies, conducted tree censuses, and infused European techniques into traditional Indian gardening. 

Gustav Hermann Krimbiegel (1865-1956)
https://medium.com/@andrewabranches/
gustav-hermann-krumbiegel-b6bdb9ad28c0

'Seven Years in Tibet' is based on the life and times of Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian climber who spent seven years in Tibet between 1944 and 1951. Starting as a haughty and rash young man with an attitude leaves his fully pregnant wife to go hiking in the Himalayas in 1939. When WW2 started, Herrer and his friends were imprisoned as POWs. In 1944, he escaped from prison and ran to Tibet, hoping to eventually go back home.

What happened afterwards was a life-changing experience for Harrer and his fellow climber, Peter Aufschnaiter. After receiving divorce papers from his wife and a cold letter from a son he had never met, Harrer chose to stay in Tibet to embark on a journey of self-discovery. Coincidentally, he had a chance encounter with the young Dalai Lama in Lhasa, becoming the Dalai Lama's teacher and close confidante. 

The invaluable lesson that is taught to us from Harrer's life experience is this. Isolation opens our inner eye. Stranded in the middle of the gargantuan forces of Nature, one is humbled to come to terms with his vulnerability. Ego is crushed, and all he sees in front of him is his mortality and the life that passed him by. It is at this opportune time that one can make amends. By being respectful and curious, one can be a good student. Watching this film and viewing Zakir Naik's vile video, one can understand how wrong and close-minded Naik is in spreading his deluded 'wisdom'.

https://mindiafilms.com/the-maharajas-german-gardener-g-h-krumbiegel/

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The movie Disney and China do not want you to see.

**  POST # 3000  **

Kundun (1997)
Director: Martin Scorsese

Even though this movie is honoured with a string of accolades, it does not ring a bell. There is a legitimate reason for this. Disney regrets financing this movie and considers it their greatest faux pas. They kept the film in cold storage and only had limited screenings in the US. Disney did not promote this movie commercially. It was at the time when Disney was trying to venture into mainland China with the plan to build a Disney theme park there.

After making a string of Mafia movies, Scorsese wanted to make one about something close to his heart - tackling the true story of the 14th Dalai Lama. After making the movie, Disney discussed their plans with CCP regarding Disney Park, and they were informed that China was infuriated about the film. In the Chinese eyes, Disney was interfering with China's internal affairs. Tibet was Chinese territory, and the Dalai Lama was a dissident who wanted the region to break away. Making a film sympathetic to his course, the Chinese thought was in bad taste.

Disney attempted damage control for fear of hurting the CCP and destroying the prospect of expanding into the Chinese market share. They produced and promoted the 1998 Mulan to showcase their genuine intention of valuing Chinese culture.

26 years after being stuck in the vaults, Kundun recently emerged on YouTube for all to view to their heart's content. Kundun is the affectionate name of the first Lama was referred to.

The film is a cinematographic galore of the supposed landscape termed Shangrila, the paradise on Earth. Surprise, surprise. The filming was done entirely in Morocco and a Buddhist monastery in New York. 

The film starts in 1937 with the lamas going in search of the special child destined to be the next Dalai Lama. After elaborate tests, they determine their child. The child grows up in the monastery, learning text, chanting, and praying. He has no special powers; he is just a normal person put in an important position to make essential decisions. 

As the boy matures into teenagehood and adulthood, he realises that significant responsibilities are placed on his shoulders. No divine revelations fall from the sky for him to decide. All he can do is think, discuss with others, get their opinions, pray, and make up his mind, hoping for the best outcome. 

He realises that he is not infallible and has made some wrong calls. 

It is the worst of times. It is 1949, and Mao Tse Dong and the Communist Party of China are walking into Tibet. The Dalai Lama is seen as a divine leader of the Tibetian people, but his brand of consultative diplomacy is not working to protect his people. Things become too heated up. The Dalai Lama's shoestring army advised him to abdicate to India and continue his work in Tibet another day. This film is more of a historical account of how the 14th Dalai Lama ended up in his current sojourn, Dharamsala, in Himachal Pradesh.

As the Dalai Lama reaches the Indian border after a treacherous journey, he is greeted by an Indian soldier, which essentially summarises who the Dalai Lama is all about. 

"I think that I am a reflection, like the moon on water. When you see me, and I try to be a good man, you see yourself."

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