Features
Mira Nair’s film of Vikram Seth’s ‘A Suitable Boy’
I wish all my readers a happy Christmas season as far as Covid 19 restrictions allow.
In the midst of so much controversy, fear and menace of the pandemic, I thought it best to divert readers’ attention with a huge success story of an excellent film produced from a superb book – Vikram Seth’s 1993, 1,349 paged ‘A Suitable Boy’ about post-Independence India in the 1950s, set in Calcutta and Lucknow, dealing with inter-religious issues and love between Muslims and Hindus. It is one of the longest English-language novels in print and worldwide reviews placed it as one of the best modern literary classics. The title is because the mother of the chief female protagonist is adamantly and determinedly in search of a suitable boy as husband for her university graduated daughter. I admit I am still to read it, but I so enjoyed Seth’s 1999 ‘An Equal Music’ which he autographed for me at a Galle Lit Festival. It was absorbingly interesting though much about western classical music and I know not a note of music!
Mira Nair directed the film version of ‘A Suitable Boy’. Her prestige as a director/producer of films was established by her very first – ‘Salaam Bombay’ 1988, followed by ‘Monsoon Wedding’, both of which won many international awards and the former nominated for an Oscar. She received the second highest Indian civilian award – Padma Bhushan. She lives in Kampala, Uganda, where her husband is posted and in New York. In Uganda she runs a film makers’ lab. A nickname for her is Toofani which is whirlwind in Hindi. Most relevant to me is that she was invited as guest speaker at the third cycle of the Geoffrey Bawa Awards 2013/14 which celebrated the architectural achievements of Prof Ron Lewcock, and archeological achievements of Prof Senaka Bandaranayake at Park Street Mews on the evening of July 23, 2014. Mira Nair was invited by architect C Anjalendran who knows her. She most competently and interestingly delivered her address, coming across as very friendly and simple though of world repute.
Given the film’s epic story and production, Nair, who grew up in India, jokingly described it as “’The Crown’ in Brown.” But beyond its scale and prestige, the project clearly carries deep personal and political meaning for her. She said “The ’50s has always been a real pull for me — 1951 was the year my parents married. It was a secular time and a time of real idealism, taking from the English what we had known, but making it our own.” Though she compared ‘A Suitable Boy’ to ‘The Crown,’ both sweeping the popular stakes and aired on Netfliz, the film on the House of Windsor cost much more, being one of the most expensive shows on TV. To be within the BBC budget, ‘Suitable…’ was filmed on location in India and the production trimmed from eight episodes to six, thus somewhat curtailing the long drawn narrative of the novel.
The film
I saw three episodes of ‘A Suitable Boy’ a couple of days ago; Netflix releasing an episode every Monday. The episodes I saw were rapturously captivating. If I go to describe what I saw I will use all superlative epithets of praise. I love anything Indian and “Suitable’ is completely Indian. While the married daughter’s sister falls in love with a Muslim university student, her father-in-law, a liberal Hindu member of the governing council argues and wins a case to distribute land to the landless and is against a kovil being built by the Rajah right next to a mosque, igniting rioting. The novel “A Suitable Boy” emerged as Hindu nationalist politics began to take center stage in India.
(NOTE
: For the rest of this article I will quote or extract information from the New York Times article of Dec 7 by Bilal Qureshi: ‘A Suitable Boy’ Finally Finds Its Perfect Match: Mira Nair)
When the film debuted on BBC One in July this year it was lauded in Britain as the network’s first prime-time drama filmed on location in India with an almost entirely Indian cast. In India, the reaction was more complicated: members of the ruling Hindu nationalist party over its depictions of interfaith romance, and the police opened an investigation into Netflix, which distributes the show. (How narrow minded and illiberal can politicians become?)
“After several failed attempts to have the book adapted, Seth personally chose the Welsh screenwriter Andrew Davies for the job, fresh off a successful 2016 BBC adaptation of another historical epic, Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace.’ As Seth continued to work on his long-gestating sequel to the novel, he entrusted his sister, Aradhana Seth, to ensure the integrity of the adaptation. (She is credited as both a producer and an executive producer). The BBC commissioned the series in 2017; Nair, who had expressed interest from the beginning, was brought on the next year.”
The film was severely critiqued by “South Asian critics who focused on the mannered English dialogue and overly enunciated accents, with particular focus on why an 84-year-old Welsh writer had adapted this iconic story about the birth of modern India and a young woman’s romantic awakening.” Vikram Seth broke his public silence to defend his choice of Davies in The Telegraph, saying “Race should have nothing to do with it. It’s a balance between getting someone very, very Indian to write it or someone very, very experienced at adapting long books.” Davies, who scripted the film adaptations of ‘Bleak House’ and
‘Pride and Prejudice’ explained from his home in the British Midlands: “I feel a little prickly and needing to defend my territory and not have it taken away from me as a writer. I would claim the right to put myself in the mind of people who are different from me.”
Filming was completed in India in 2019 and Nair took a break in March from editing the show in London with a visit to New York. Then international borders closed because of the corona virus. Editing and other finishing touches to the film had all to be done on line. Even the music was scored remotely, with a full orchestra in Budapest and composers, Alex Heffes and the sitarist Anoushka Shankar, in Los Angeles and London.
Nair, who grew up in a secular home, shifted her emphasis from the romance to a comment on politics. “Politics was front and center for me, and that was one of the biggest things that I could do – to re-shift the balance of the story. Less from ‘will she or won’t she marry’ to really making Lata feel like the making of India.” She also integrated spoken Hindi and Urdu into the screenplay within the strictures of BBC broadcasting. Thus the songs sung by Saeeda Bai are in Urdu, with inserted subtitling in English.
“The series was filmed on location amid the grandeur and the decay of real cities,” as Nair described it, “where production designers labored to hide the electrified chaos of modern life to achieve the show’s layered, mid-century Indian minimalism. An appropriated mansion in Lucknow was refashioned into the salon of the Muslim singer and courtesan – Saeeda Bai. Her home is the luminescent force at the center of the adaptation, the embodiment of an aristocratic Islamic court culture and literary sensuality that was in decline by the time the story begins.”
Snippets about the Stars
Saeeda is played by one of India’s most acclaimed actors, Tabu, who made her international debut in Nair’s 2007 adaptation of the Jhumpa Lahiri novel ‘The Namesake.’ Her character’s poetry, singing and beauty seduces the younger Maan, the dashing son of the influential Hindu politician.
Maniktala, luminous in her fresh beauty plays Lata, the female protagonist for whom a suitable boy in marriage is being sought. Her grandfather was traumatized as a Hindu refugee forced by the 1947 partition to flee to India from Pakistan. “I realize how important pain is, and the lessons to be found in that”, she noted.
Khatter, who plays Maan, the politician’s son, besotted by Saeeda, noted that in a country as diverse and sometimes divided as India, stories of interfaith love remain a powerful theme “I myself am the son of an interreligious marriage, and it’s very much who we are.”
Sadaf Jafar, who plays Saeeda’s servant, Bibbo, protested in the riots that erupted after Hindu nationalist government’s that explicitly from Indian citizenship – 2020. She was jailed and beaten. Against the advice of friends, Nair started a public campaign on Jafar’s behalf until the actor was released three weeks later.
“The optimistic multiculturalism reflected in ‘A Suitable Boy’ may seem in many ways like a fading relic of both literary and political history.” To me the very Indian film showed how different things were in India from the secular times written about to now when there is so much inter-religious conflict and the Hindu majority trampling the Muslims. Are we in Sri Lanka much different with our burgeoning Buddhist supremacy? How different from the balmy days of immediate post colonialism that we grew up in.
Author
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Author
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There’s an ill more dangerous and pervasive than the Coronavirus that’s currently sweeping Sri Lanka. That is the fear to express one’s convictions. Across the public sector of the country in particular many persons holding high office are stringently regulating and controlling the voices of their consciences and this bodes ill for all and the country.
The corrupting impact of fear was discussed in this column a couple of weeks ago when dealing with the military coup in Myanmar. It stands to the enduring credit of ousted Myanmarese Head of Government Aung San Suu Kyi that she, perhaps for the first time in the history of modern political thought, singled out fear, and not power, as the principal cause of corruption within the individual; powerful or otherwise.
To be sure, power corrupts but the corrupting impact of fear is graver and more devastating. For instance, the fear in a person holding ministerial office or in a senior public sector official, that he would lose position and power as a result of speaking out his convictions and sincere beliefs on matters of the first importance, would lead to a country’s ills going unaddressed and uncorrected.
Besides, the individual concerned would be devaluing himself in the eyes of all irrevocably and revealing himself to be a person who would be willing to compromise his moral integrity for petty worldly gain or a ‘mess of pottage’. This happens all the while in Lankan public life. Some of those who have wielded and are wielding immense power in Sri Lanka leave very much to be desired from these standards.
It could be said that fear has prevented Sri Lanka from growing in every vital respect over the decades and has earned for itself the notoriety of being a directionless country.
All these ills and more are contained in the current controversy in Sri Lanka over the disposal of the bodies of Covid victims, for example. The Sri Lankan polity has no choice but to abide by scientific advice on this question. Since authorities of the standing of even the WHO have declared that the burial of the bodies of those dying of Covid could not prove to be injurious to the wider public, the Sri Lankan health authorities could go ahead and sanction the burying of the bodies concerned. What’s preventing the local authorities from taking this course since they claim to be on the side of science? Who or what are they fearing? This is the issue that’s crying out to be probed and answered.
Considering the need for absolute truthfulness and honesty on the part of all relevant persons and quarters in matters such as these, the latter have no choice but to resign from their positions if they are prevented from following the dictates of their consciences. If they are firmly convinced that burials could bring no harm, they are obliged to take up the position that burials should be allowed.
If any ‘higher authority’ is preventing them from allowing burials, our ministers and officials are conscience-bound to renounce their positions in protest, rather than behave compromisingly and engage in ‘double think’ and ‘double talk’. By adopting the latter course they are helping none but keeping the country in a state of chronic uncertainty, which is a handy recipe for social instabiliy and division.
In the Sri Lankan context, the failure on the part of the quarters that matter to follow scientific advice on the burials question could result in the aggravation of Islamophobia, or hatred of the practitioners of Islam, in the country. Sri Lanka could do without this latter phobia and hatred on account of its implications for national stability and development. The 30 year war against separatist forces was all about the prevention by military means of ‘nation-breaking’. The disastrous results for Sri Lanka from this war are continuing to weigh it down and are part of the international offensive against Sri Lanka in the UNHCR.
However, Islamophobia is an almost world wide phenomenon. It was greatly strengthened during Donald Trump’s presidential tenure in the US. While in office Trump resorted to the divisive ruling strategy of quite a few populist authoritarian rulers of the South. Essentially, the manoeuvre is to divide and rule by pandering to the racial prejudices of majority communities.
It has happened continually in Sri Lanka. In the initial post-independence years and for several decades after, it was a case of some populist politicians of the South whipping-up anti-Tamil sentiments. Some Tamil politicians did likewise in respect of the majority community. No doubt, both such quarters have done Sri Lanka immeasurable harm. By failing to follow scientific advice on the burial question and by not doing what is right, Sri Lanka’s current authorities are opening themselves to the charge that they are pandering to religious extremists among the majority community.
The murderous, destructive course of action adopted by some extremist sections among Muslim communities world wide, including of course Sri Lanka, has not earned the condemnation it deserves from moderate Muslims who make-up the preponderant majority in the Muslim community. It is up to moderate opinion in the latter collectivity to come out more strongly and persuasively against religious extremists in their midst. It will prove to have a cementing and unifying impact among communities.
It is not sufficiently appreciated by governments in the global South in particular that by voicing for religious and racial unity and by working consistently towards it, they would be strengthening democratic development, which is an essential condition for a country’s growth in all senses.
A ‘divided house’ is doomed to fall; this is the lesson of history. ‘National security’ cannot be had without human security and peaceful living among communities is central to the latter. There cannot be any ‘double talk’ or ‘politically correct’ opinions on this question. Truth and falsehood are the only valid categories of thought and speech.
Those in authority everywhere claiming to be democratic need to adopt a scientific outlook on this issue as well. Studies conducted on plural societies in South Asia, for example, reveal that the promotion of friendly, cordial ties among communities invariably brings about healing among estranged groups and produces social peace. This is the truth that is waiting to be acted upon.
Author
By Sanjeewa Jayaweera
It was on 3rd January 1972 that our family arrived in Karachi from Moscow. Our departure from Moscow had been delayed for a few weeks due to the military confrontation between Pakistan and India. It ended on 16th December 1971. After that, international flights were not permitted for some time.
The contrast between Moscow and Karachi was unbelievable. First and foremost, Moscow’s temperature was near minus 40 degrees centigrade, while in Karachi, it was sunny and a warm 28 degrees centigrade. However, what struck us most was the extreme warmth with which the airport authorities greeted our family. As my father was a diplomat, we were quickly ushered to the airport’s VIP Lounge. We were in transit on our way to Rawalpindi, the airport serving the capital of Islamabad.
We quickly realized that the word “we are from Sri Lanka” opened all doors just as saying “open sesame” gained entry to Aladdin’s cave! The broad smile, extreme courtesy, and genuine warmth we received from the Pakistani people were unbelievable.
This was all to do with Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike’s decision to allow Pakistani aircraft to land in Colombo to refuel on the way to Dhaka in East Pakistan during the military confrontation between Pakistan and India. It was a brave decision by Mrs Bandaranaike (Mrs B), and the successive governments and Sri Lanka people are still enjoying the fruits of it. Pakistan has been a steadfast and loyal supporter of our country. They have come to our assistance time and again in times of great need when many have turned their back on us. They have indeed been an “all-weather” friend of our country.
Getting back to 1972, I was an early beneficiary of Pakistani people’s love for Sri Lankans. I failed the entrance exam to gain entry to the only English medium school in Islamabad! However, when I met the Principal, along with my father, he said, “Sanjeewa, although you failed the entrance exam, I will this time make an exception as Sri Lankans are our dear friends.” After that, the joke around the family dinner table was that I owed my education in Pakistan to Mrs B!
At school, my brother and I were extended a warm welcome and always greeted “our good friends from Sri Lanka.” I felt when playing cricket for our college; our runs were cheered more loudly than of others.
One particular incident that I remember well was when the Embassy received a telex from the Foreign inistry. It requested that our High Commissioner seek an immediate meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Zulifikar Ali Bhutto (ZB), and convey a message from Mrs B. The message requested that an urgent shipment of rice be dispatched to Sri Lanka as there would be an imminent rice shortage. As the Ambassador was not in the station, the responsibility devolved on my father.
It usually takes about a week or more to get an audience with the Prime Minister (PM) of a foreign country due to their busy schedule. However, given the urgency, my father spoke to the Foreign Ministry’s Permanent Sectary, who fortunately was our neighbour and sought an urgent appointment. My father received a call from the PM’s secretary around 10 P.M asking him to come over to the PM’s residence. My father met ZB around midnight. ZB was about to retire to bed and, as such, was in his pyjamas and gown enjoying a cigar! He had greeted my father and had asked, “Mr Jayaweera, what can we do for great friend Madam Bandaranaike?. My father conveyed the message from Colombo and quietly mentioned that there would be riots in the country if there is no rice!
ZB had immediately got the Food Commissioner of Pakistan on the line and said, “I want a shipload of rice to be in Colombo within the next 72 hours!” The Food Commissioner reverted within a few minutes, saying that nothing was available and the last export shipment had left the port only a few hours ago to another country. ZB had instructed to turn the ship around and send it to Colombo. This despite protests from the Food Commissioner about terms and conditions of the Letter of Credit prohibiting non-delivery. Sri Lanka got its delivery of rice!
The next was the visit of Mrs B to Pakistan. On arrival in Rawalpindi airport, she was given a hero’s welcome, which Pakistan had previously only offered to President Gaddafi of Libya, who financially backed Pakistan with his oil money. That day, I missed school and accompanied my parents to the airport. On our way, we witnessed thousands of people had gathered by the roadside to welcome Mrs B.
When we walked to the airport’s tarmac, thousands of people were standing in temporary stands waving Sri Lanka and Pakistan flags and chanting “Sri Lanka Pakistan Zindabad.” The noise emanating from the crowd was as loud and passionate as the cheering that the Pakistani cricket team received during a test match. It was electric!
I believe she was only the second head of state given the privilege of addressing both assemblies of Parliament. The other being Gaddafi. There was genuine affection from Mrs B amongst the people of Pakistan.
I always remember the indefatigable efforts of Mr Abdul Haffez Kardar, a cabinet minister and the President of the Pakistan Cricket Board. From around 1973 onwards, he passionately championed Sri Lanka’s cause to be admitted as a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and granted test status. Every year, he would propose at the ICC’s annual meeting, but England and Australia’s veto kept us out until 1981.
I always felt that our Cricket Board made a mistake by not inviting Pakistan to play our inaugural test match. We should have appreciated Mr Kardar and Pakistan’s efforts. In 1974 the Pakistan board invited our team for a tour involving three test matches and a few first-class games. Most of those who played in our first test match was part of that tour, and no doubt gained significant exposure playing against a highly talented Pakistani team.
Several Pakistani greats were part of the Pakistan and India team that played a match soon after the Central Bank bomb in Colombo to prove that it was safe to play cricket in Colombo. It was a magnificent gesture by both Pakistan and India. Our greatest cricket triumph was in Pakistan when we won the World Cup in 1996. I am sure the players and those who watched the match on TV will remember the passionate support our team received that night from the Pakistani crowd. It was like playing at home!
I also recall reading about how the Pakistani government air freighted several Multi Barrell artillery guns and ammunition to Sri Lanka when the A rmy camp in Jaffna was under severe threat from the LTTE. This was even more important than the shipload of rice that ZB sent. This was crucial as most other countries refused to sell arms to our country during the war.
Time and again, Pakistan has steadfastly supported our country’s cause at the UNHCR. No doubt this year, too, their diplomats will work tirelessly to assist our country.
We extend a warm welcome to Mr Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is a truly inspirational individual who was undoubtedly an excellent cricketer. Since retirement from cricket, he has decided to get involved in politics, and after several years of patiently building up his support base, he won the last parliamentary elections. I hope that just as much as he galvanized Sri Lankan cricketers, his political journey would act as a catalyst for people like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene to get involved in politics. Cricket has been called a “gentleman’s game.” Whilst politics is far from it!.
Author
Believe me, seeing certain videos, on social media, depicting action, on the dance floor, at some of these entertainment venues, got me wondering whether this Coronavirus pandemic is REAL!
To those having a good time, at these particular venues, and, I guess, the management, as well, what the world is experiencing now doesn’t seem to be their concerned.
Obviously, such irresponsible behaviour could create more problems for those who are battling to halt the spread of Covid-19, and the new viriant of Covid, in our part of the world.
The videos, on display, on social media, show certain venues, packed to capacity – with hardly anyone wearing a mask, and social distancing…only a dream..
How can one think of social distancing while gyrating, on a dance floor, that is over crowded!
If this trend continues, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Coronavirus makes its presence felt…at such venues.
And, then, what happens to the entertainment scene, and those involved in this field, especially the musicians? No work, whatsoever!
Lots of countries have closed nightclubs, and venues, where people gather, in order to curtail the spread of this deadly virus that has already claimed the lives of thousands.
Thailand did it and the country is still having lots of restrictions, where entertainment is concerned, and that is probably the reason why Thailand has been able to control the spread of the Coronavirus.
With a population of over 69 million, they have had (so far), a little over 25,000 cases, and 83 deaths, while we, with a population of around 21 million, have over 80,000 cases, and more than 450 deaths.
I’m not saying we should do away with entertainment – totally – but we need to follow a format, connected with the ‘new normal,’ where masks and social distancing are mandatory requirements at these venues. And, dancing, I believe, should be banned, at least temporarily, as one can’t maintain the required social distance, while on the dance floor, especially after drinks.
Police spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana keeps emphasising, on TV, radio, and in the newspapers, the need to adhere to the health regulations, now in force, and that those who fail to do so would be penalised.
He has also stated that plainclothes officers would move around to apprehend such offenders.
Perhaps, he should instruct his officers to pay surprise visits to some of these entertainment venues.
He would certainly have more than a bus load of offenders to be whisked off for PCR/Rapid Antigen tests!
I need to quote what Dr. H.T. Wickremasinghe said in his article, published in The Island of Tuesday, February 16th, 2021:
“…let me conclude, while emphasising the need to continue our general public health measures, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding crowded gatherings, to reduce the risk of contact with an infected person.
“There is no science to beat common sense.”
But…do some of our folks have this thing called COMMON SENSE!
