BURIAL OF THE DEAD- No I don't Mean the Blog!

The Burial of the Dead

I get up early (around 7) in the morning, brush my teeth and go downstairs to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea. Amma is not in the least bit happy with my sleeping habits. Her physiognomy reflects her disapproval. But I carry on undeterred, with my culinary task. Then my precious mobile starts making ‘noise’ (according to parent jargon). And my mother cannot control herself any longer. She lashes out at my erratic way of life (my friends would definitely roll their eyes at this since they have a different opinion).

The point is, here starts my life. The first ‘peace’ offered by the dawn of a new day is cruelly shattered as I am reminded of the harsh realities of my existence. It would be foolish of me to dismiss my mother’s advice as generation gap. Sometimes I feel that what she says is true. And then a whole lot of doubts and uncertainities regarding my life and life in general rush in. The funny thing is that I never realized it. I thought I was capable of being happy and contented with what I have. I wonder how I forgot all those moments of brooding over the insignificance of the life I lead.

So, as I was saying I was leading a content life till Waste Land happened. Yep! Eliot’s poem…a seminal piece of modernist writing. Dr Meena T. Pillai, introduced us to the wastelander…the true and genuinine representation of the modern man, she kept saying. She would always end the class saying that we are all wastelanders. Like I said earlier I somehow or the other missed the point. I was hell bent on deciphering the literal meaning of the lines (silly me!). Life didn’t look bleak to me. I thought I was so optimistic that even The Waste Land did not affect me. I felt so proud of my goody good mind which refused to be bogged down. Until “The Burial of the Dead” happened on the 24^th of July, 2009. An eight minute long film by my class mate Pramod.

He had rewrote the Waste Land and that was the script of the film. He made it into a movie with visuals to match (Aromal chettan wielded the camera). Suddenly I discovered that missing piece. That connection which was so significant in understanding the wastelander, significant in making me realise that deep down all the ease and calm and happiness I display to people around, is this unsatisfied person. This unsatisfied person had been there all the while. I was aware of her presence but I was reluctant to reveal her. The fighting spirit in me was unrelenting; it had an ego problem. The spirit thought she would be debasing herself if she admits that she also harbours the wastelander within her. It would make no different from the rest of them.

But I don’t think this revelation was not coincidental. It is the power of the film. The visuals so beautifully blended with the script and created this atmosphere of uneasiness which would force anyone to do a little introspection. Here, Rahul chettan, the cast of the film, has to be mentioned. This may sound a bit prejudiced that not even in my wildest dreams did I think that he could carry it off so well…after all he has such a placid and benign face. But Ave Maria! Iam surprised again. Its now impossible for me to think of another face to portray the poignant emotions conveyed through the script. The grave being digged, the concentric circles being drawn, the constant reference to the “black book”, the pecking at the uprooted trees and its remnants…now everything seems to have attained a new meaning…thanks to Pink Flower Productions!!!

Thanks for making me realise that I can be a wastelander too.