Nirmalyam, an epoch making film of the seventies won’t be made again, much less shown in the theatres of Kerala. The reasons are two fold: one, the story is no longer contemporary –that’s the subject of my post- and two, I doubt, the present religious (Hindu) awakening will permit such a film being shown without a cut. Kerala society has moved on so much since the seventies, thanks to the dilution of Marxist dogma with liberal ideological moorings, that even the hard core Marxist is temple going and sports the sacred sandal paste on his forehead. In such a revivalist point of time, it is doubtful whether the ordinary Hindu will tolerate the perceived blasphemy of the Velichapadu (Oracle). Such is the intolerance that has crept into the society that MT, the author, director and producer of the movie would consider it a misadventure not worth taking.
Nirmalayam is the story of an impoverished Velichapadu, set in the backdrop of a village temple in ruins and the people around it, who depend on the meager income of the temple to eke out a living. The temple has fallen on lean days with fewer devotees thronging in. With poverty stalking at their doors, the son of the Oracle turns into a rebel, a deviant; the daughter falls an easy prey to the charms of the young temple priest. Amidst the despondency, all that the Oracle is looking forward to is a resurgence of faith among the villagers which could brighten his fortunes. As if in answer to his prayers or as a result of the wrath of the deity, the village is afflicted by small pox. The villagers turn to their Oracle to appease the deity. This was the moment the oracle was waiting for, his moment of glory! Fully charged, he rushes home to get his temple sword, only to find the money lender walking out of the house, satiated by his (oracle’s) wife who had sold her body to discharge the family debt. Utterly defeated and shattered, he pours his pent up fury into the ritualistic frenzied dance, slashing his forehead repeatedly with the sword and splashing and spitting the blood on to the deity till he falls dead. A very powerful end which stunned the audience! And for his powerful acting as Velichapadu, P J Antony walked away with the National Best Actor award.
Well, as I said in the beginning this story no longer holds good. The story of Nirmalyam came to me as a flash back, during the local temple festival. The oracle of the temple is a stocky young man who is in business almost all the days of the week. On Chuttuvilakku (adorning the whole temple walls with oil lamps) days, for which there is a waiting list of devotees, he performs the ritualistic dance. It is then that the deity speaks through him to the devotee. The devotees, blessed by the deity, make liberal offerings. During the festival season the Oracle goes around the village showering blessings and collecting offerings to the temple and to him. Devotees vie with each other in their offerings and devotion. No wonder the modern day oracle is a far cry from the Nirmalyam days. He moves around in his private conveyance, has all the modern amenities at home and a happy contended family.
If MT decides to remake Pallivalum Kalchilambukalum, he might have to change the script a bit, though, to make it contemporary. And sure it will not have a torrid ending!
കേരള സാഹിത്യ അക്കാദമിയുടെ, ജനവരി-ഏപ്രില്‍ ലക്കം സാഹിത്യ ലോകം രണ്ടു ദിവസം മുന്‍പാണ് കിട്ടിയത്. ഇന്നലെ വായിച്ചു തുടങ്ങി. ആദ്യം വായിച്ചത് ദിവ്യ.എം. ചേലക്കരയുടെ ഒരു പoനം . 'പള്ളിവാളും കാല്‍ചിലമ്പും' എന്നാ കഥയെ കുറിച്ച്. വൈകുന്നേരം ഇ മെയിലില്‍ ഒരു അറിയിപ്പ്. വാപ്പാല ഉണ്ണികൃഷ്ണന്‍ സ്വന്തം ബ്ലോഗില്‍ എന്തോ എഴുതിയിട്ടുണ്ടെന്ന്. "വെളിച്ചപാട് - ഒരു മിന്നല്‍ പിന്‍നോട്ടം" കുറച്ചു മാസങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് മുമ്പ് ഈ കക്ഷി എന്റെ ഒരു പോസ്ടിങ്ങിനെ പറ്റി കമ്മന്റ് ചെയ്ത കൂട്ടത്തില്‍ പറഞ്ഞു 'This "synchronicity" has been so internalised that you seem to be "looking out " for such coincidences rather than "finding" one" ഇത് കൂടി കക്ഷിയുടെ ചിന്തകള്‍ക്ക് ആഹാരമായിക്കോട്ടേ
ReplyDeleteദിവ്യ പറയുന്നു. "ഒരു കഥയെ നില നിര്‍ത്തുന്നത് അതിന്റെ വായനാ പരതയാണ്. .....എം. ടി. യുടെ കഥകള്‍ കാലാതിവര്‍ത്തിയാകും എന്നത് നിസ്തര്‍ക്കമാണ്". ഞാന്‍ വാപ്പാലയോട് യോജിക്കുന്നു. രാമായണം, മഹാഭാരതം തുടങ്ങി ചില പുസ്തകങ്ങള്‍ അല്ലാതെ മറ്റൊന്നും കാലാതിവര്‍ത്തിയല്ല.
Re: [The Straddler] The Oracle: a flash back
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mukundan k.g to me
show details 2:17 PM (4 hours ago)
I chanced to serve as an agricultural field officer in Nannamukku, near Changarankulam where this temple is situated. After the shooting was over, involving the spitting by Mr.P.J.Antony on the idol the local devotees boycotted worship in the temple in protest and M.T. even offered some money to compensate the hurt caused, by cleaning the temple as per the relevant temple norms!! I remember Ponthanmada Ravi (who was also in the SBI and was an executive producer of Swayamvaram, Alicinte Annuasanam etc) commenting on the gesture of offering the guilt money as sheer hypocrisy.
I couldn't help comparing P.J.Anthony's role and image with a velichappadu of Chinakkathur kavu of my formative years. He was a tall and muscular man sporting long hair. On the Pooram day where everything was to go as "Thanikkothonam", soon after the Kuthirappuram a grave issue came up before him.
The Radhams as well as the Nariyum Puliyum sponsored by different groups were waiting for the completion of Kuthirakkali and the stirr surfaced as to who should be the first to perform. Both approached the oracle for a final decision as a last resort. "Bhagavathy paranjhapole enthum cheyyam" was both the party's' dogma.
He promptly went in and got himself into the ceremonial attire with the red pattuvasthram, chilanga, the metal belt with several bells and the sword and came out blaring as loud as he could, which was much in itself. I had positioned myself near to the scene in order to decipher his unworldly order (Every year in my boyhood, on Sivarathri I had tried to learn the Godly commands of the bleeding oracle in his climax rendered to the owner of the nearby Vettekkaran temple, Mangatte Kuttysankaran Nair, the father-in-law of E.P.Madhavan Nair, Lion Matches). The style of speech always differed from any simplicity of communication and that used to interest me.
The Godess delivered the command to let the Radhams perform. But one of the leaders of the Nariyum Puliyum set from Thennady Bazaar casually put his arm around the Holy representative and begged, "Bhagavathy angine parayaruthu" and all on his side persisted strongly.
To our Oracle it seemed this was not unexpected. He quickly disappeared into the temple and came out abruptly in a colorful lungi and a heavy bamboo stick in the place of his sword and challenged, waving the stick dangerously, "Aareda avide Bhagavathy paranjhathu kelkathe, Pu...l....di makkale !!"
The tense situation suddenly came to order and the peaceful shows of the Radham and Nariyum Puliyum followed.
The moral of the story is that Values, particularly religious values are predominantly dependent on the interests of utilising it. I am not neglecting the role of alcohol when it comes to the dear "values".
my response to Raju's comment :Your readings and interests are so vast, deep and divergent that the chances of you 'looking out' and 'finding' coincidences are immense. My post just happened! I'm sure you are not convinced.
ReplyDeleteHere is what Paulo Coelho had to say : " When we are interested in something, everything around appears to refer to it ... the mystics call these phenomenon 'signs', the skeptics 'coincidence' and the psychologist 'concentrated focus'........
Coincidently, I read the book 'The Witch of Portobello' around the same time as our above mentioned interaction. Synchronicity?
A man fell down from the fifth floor of a building and escaped unhurt. The attending doctor said it is a miracle. He fell from the same spot a second time with the same result. The doctor said it is a miraculous coincidence.This happened a third time and the doctor was forced to admit that it must be his habit.
ReplyDeleteseetharaman m to me
ReplyDeleteshow details 10:36 AM (20 minutes ago)
the society of malayallee has undergone drastic and dramatic change . it is true that poverty was ruling during fifties and sixties in kerala .migration , green revolution, politics, science ,educatuion....many factors can be attributed for the evolution undergoneby it. But, the changes has taken to a different level.The tragedy of human life is that one cannot return to past may seem absurd but it is the cardinal stream of flow in almost many stories/ novels of MT. In his own words Nashtapetta Dinangal .He has portrayed the characters around the village temple. Now where is the concept of village?velichappad and the other temple employees are salaried class. The short story has relevance at that time when it was written . I fully agree with u the end will have to be altered if it is in remake. I often feel that more than that the society has lost its calibre for tolerence , capacity for compasion, and above all patience to enjoy life. One cannot expect in a time when every t hing is at his/her finger tips. thank u for the nostalgic memories. As u know i have a past ,closely associated with an oracle who was my grandfather, during my school days .I knew , how hard was his days and how he was reluctant to accept the changing system of temple administration which came during his last days. thank u with regards Ram