We chose our life path?

Swayamvaram (On Own Will, Malayalam; 1972)
Story, Direction: Adoor Gopalakrishnan

When things happen in our lives, were they predetermined, or did they happen because of our actions, something we decided to choose out of our free will? 

This story and debutante director, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, 1972, says that our fate is all our doing. We cannot blame anybody for anything. Everything is the result of our own will.

Sita (Saradha) and Vishwam (Madhu) are both graduates. They probably are eloping from their families and decide to start life anew in another town. Both have big plans. Sita wants to spend happy times with her beau, and Vishwam is excited about his manuscript, hoping to be a fabulous writer. Soon reality sinks in. His story does not excite the publishers when employment is low and appreciating arts is the last thing on people's minds. 

Their savings get smaller, and they progressively move from their hotel to the cheaper housing area and, finally, a squatter home. Vishwam then gets a lecturer's job at a private college. It does not work out, and he has to be content as a clerk at a timber mill. 

Despite the general poverty, they find happiness in each other. A child comes in the way to cement their relationship. Misery never seems to leave them. He contracted an illness from a fellow colleague and succumbs to it. Sita is left alone, with a baby, without a job or a future to carve for herself and her baby without a spouse. 

Sita chose to run away from her home with her lover. Vikram decided to marry without securing a job for himself and his new family life. Vikram agreed not to be aggressive with his non-paying employers. He also chose to go out of his way to care for his seriously ill co-worker.

Their neighbours also live the life they choose. There is a two-timing wife who digs money from her lover to support her husband's drinking problem. Then there is a smuggler who decided to live in comfort despite being on the police's hit list. Everybody makes a choice, not out of free will but of needs. Things are not straightforward. We do not sway topsy turvy like a leaf on a moving stream decided by the wind and the water's hydraulic forces but utilise our mental capacity and primal needs to pave the life we want. 

This movie reminded me of Satyajit Ray's 'Pather Pancholi' and A. Vincent's 'Tholabaram'. Pether Pancholi, because of the arty feel of this movie. The use of sounds of people, roads and machines tell the story rather than dialogue to tell its story. The gradual fall from a place of comfort to one of hopelessness mirrors that of 'Tholabaram'. And Saradha acted in both these similar roles.

The neighbours were not helicoptered into their current situations. The fact that one prostitutes herself to support herself and her husband is her own making, not by design.

So, at the movie's end, Sita is left at a similar crossroads. She must decide whether to take another male partner's hand or catch the bull by its horns and steer her and her child's life. She looks resolved, but we, the viewers, are left guessing her next move.

But then, revolutions, which are epitomes of self-determination, do not always bring balance or contentment to society. Even revolutions do not give satisfaction.

(P.S. This is one of the first Malayalam art movies.)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Future, Who writes it? You or the stars?

The birthplace of Jane and Benjamin Franklin.
Jane would live here for most of her life while
Benjamin would leave to pursue his apprenticeship.
(brainpickings.org)

Heard a podcast recently on one of the American founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. As is well known, he emerged from a humble beginning, of a son of a poor candle and soap maker, to propel himself away from the clutches of poverty, to pull himself up with his boots strap even though he could not afford boots. Benjamin, a polymath, later became a printer, a master inventor, a diplomat, established the mail service and had a hand in drafting the Declaration of Independence.

He was self-taught. Together with his favourite sister, Jenny (out of 16 other siblings), they used to teach each other. Then, Benjamin left his home to work in a printing press run by his brother by a twist of fate. One thing led to another, and he left the job. He later managed to establish himself as a printer. In his printing company, he took many government contracts, including printing notes. In those days, paper was made from rags. Franklin used to advertise in his newspaper for rags for his mill. The rags eventually were made into money, enriching him tremendously. This ultimately coined the phrase 'rag to riches', which we still use today.

Jenny was not as lucky as her brother. Married at 15 to an older man who was a slave to the bottle and an underachiever, her world revolved around being her nanny to the result of her 22 pregnancies, keeping the family afloat amidst her husband's numerous failed business ventures. Nevertheless, Jenny and Benny continued corresponding over the years.

Two siblings started on the same footing, but both ended up in different ends of society. In one of the letters, Jenny mentioned, many things in life are beyond our control. Things just happen.

We may think we have it all covered. Nothing can go wrong. There are Plan B and even Plan C. Just when you think it is going to be alright, bam, it hit you. Things beyond your control hit you in your face, catching you off-guard. Murphy's law shows your fallibility and puts you in your rightful place. Embark Peter's Law, find your right footing.