The need for a routine and human interaction!

Mathilukal (Malayalam, The Walls, 1990)
Written & Directed by: Adoor Gopalakrishna
(Autobiography of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer)

This is another classic from Kerala's son of the soil. It tickles our minds to consider two things. Firstly, human beings are creatures of routine. The other is we are social animals.

A routine schedule gives them a purpose to this entity called life. No matter how purposeless the rituals may be, we would do it diligently as if it were a higher calling. We would find a legitimate explanation to justify our actions, perhaps give a scientific twist to it. In absence of these 'unwritten' rules and left to our own devices, we would probably just rot away trying to fulfil the indulges that satisfy our primal needs. This would just make the human race a band of sloppy sluggards. Soon enough, the species would be decimated from the face of Earth.

Being social animals, we need to interact with each other. This interaction could be in person, via mail, in cyberspace or just by hearing a responsive voice, as we learn to appreciate from this film. And the voice does not need a face to go with it.

Being in prison cuts us off from our desire to be free. It put us into a routine, which hopefully will make us reassess our existence. The routine nature of life there hopes to put us back into the loop of living purposefully.

Having human interaction is construed as a luxury for inmates. Hence, solitary confinement is threatened as a stick to cow them to conform to the rules of gaols.

This legendary offering with a string of accolades behind its name tells of the author’s autobiography during his incarceration during the pre-independence era in the 1940s when he was charged with treason for writing ‘anti-National’ articles. The film can roughly be divided into two parts.

In the first, we learn that he is respected by jailers and fellow inmates. He gets on jolly well with other prisoners, considering the usual stereotype about prison politics we get from movies. Everyone has a backstory justifying their crime and the circumstances that pushed them to commit them. Basheer, the protagonist, is well respected, for everyone knows about his incisive writings.

One day, there was quite an excitement when many political prisoners were released when the colonial masters had a change of heart. Unfortunately, Basheer's name is not on the list. Basheer is left alone without his friends. The small rose garden he cultivated around the compound started growing, giving him some tranquillity.

One day, whilst tending his garden, whistling, Basheer hears a feminine voice from the other side of the tall prison wall. What started as time-pass slowly evolved from a non-essential banter to possibly something romantic. It came to a time when that was the most looked forward moment of the day!

Finally, when the day came for release, Basheer was actually in two minds about whether he should leave as he would miss his conversationalist across the wall. How ironic. He wanted to leave the prison all the while, but now he is sad about leaving. How routine and meaningful interaction brought purpose to life!

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

Solitude, my lonely friend!

One of the most significant drawbacks in the manning of a human-crewed mission to Mars is the mental strength (or rather lack of) of astronauts in being able to stay sane over extremely protracted times in solitary confinements. After all, can one stay for 4 years in the company of the same boring company?

They say that Man is a social animal and he needs friends and company to live. Deprive him of the ability to interact with his fellow kind and be sure that he would hit the loony bin. They fight, they laugh, they cry together, they loathe each other, but they need each other to survive! So say the scientists. A man needs to compete with each other or emulate each other to come out with a newer protocol for the next generation to improve so that they can continue surviving as the most dominant species on the planet. Perhaps,  they would remain as the only species as they annihilate other 'less' intelligent ones. Once they have done that, they would step into an intra-special attack of their own kind and ride majestically into Armageddon!

On the other hand, look at the lives of some of the greatest men who had imparted some of the highest wisdom to mankind. Jesus Christ and Abraham allegedly ventured out in the wilderness to be in isolation to come out with a recipe for people to live. Buddha embarked on a journey of self-discovery just to discover so many secrets of the world, including advanced Molecular Physics! Sigmund Freud valued his daily long walks to think out his theories of the mind. Nietzsche stayed in the wild to explore many unanswered questions about life. Heidegger also advocated solitude by spending time in the countryside or even the graveyards to appreciate life!

Through the art of introspection, the key to the secrets of our being had been explored. With the pleasure of the company of the fellow kind, what do we get? Merrymaking, drunkenness and the after effects of temporary insanity, the post stupor morose over spilt milk, the hangover of the morning-after, desire to get even, war, chaos and utmost misery. Is it a plot to keep our minds numbed and docile whilst the master planner sharpen their steely knives to put forth their secret agendas?

What is life?

So this is life? After 52 years of wedded bliss, what do I have to show to myself? What am I left with? A big house which used to be a home with hive of activities that never tend to stop, the Christmas parties that never ended, the stream of friends that we never knew we had. Now I only have loneliness as my constant companion. Solitude is my trusted friend who lassos remote almost forgotten visions of my one and only. The bond that we shared were beyond physical worldly pleasures. Beyond the age of physical allure, our magnet attracted each other like no magnetized ferrous chunks could. 

Prove of our union love is the five lovely offspring that we cared for so much. A little squeal from one used to sound like a wail to you. And the ups and the downs that through together. And the sickness and the health! You are the only that I knew. 

I know I cannot be sniffling like a teenage girl over your demise. I had more than my share of happiness in the lifetime.

Oh God! I am so lonely. My shelf life is approaching its expiry. I do not wish to be a burden to our bearer of our traits. They have their commitments just like we had ours when we were in the prime of our lives.

After all the time doing all the things together, I cannot fathom the idea that I cannot touch you, feel you, question you. They say you are no more around. They say that you are in a good place and I will join you one day to continue the conversations at where we were rudely interrupted by the dreaded crab. But why is it that you appear in front of me ever so often? Why are you so silent with that cheeky smile that stole my eons ago? Why do I feel the aura of your presence? Why do I smell that brand of deodorant and after shave that you were loyal to all your life? Are you here as my guardian angel? Are you lonely there? Are you waiting for me?

You remember all the places that we had worked and gone for holidays together? You made it a point to bring a momento from each of your destination? Now, each and every part of these items have a bitter sweet story to tell. Every touch of an item opens the flood gates to an avalanche of memory with you, I, the kids and our dog Boo.

So, what is life? We sprout sheepishly, spring coyly, spread majestically, stand defiantly, bow progressively and slowly wither away with no trace, leaving only specks of memories to hold on to.