bal vividha

A SHARING.....

I have been working with 15yrs-18yrs old ‘children’ in a higher secondary school in Kolkata for more than 2 decades , and have noticed the increasing influence of cinema not only in the way my students dress up or behave, sing or dance, but also the way they think and act. The primary source of ideas, opinions, facts, attitudes and values is the films they watch. Realising that using this medium in the classroom, would make them more aware, sensitive and beautiful human beings, I formed a film club in my school. For the last few years, students of class IX have been taking part in weekly screenings and discussions of films.

I wanted to give the senior children (classes 10-12) too an opportunity to view the films. So this year, from 3rd August to 3rd September ’09, I screened 16 films (out of which 12 were documentaries) in a classroom , after school hours. The documentaries were on themes like women, human rights, character building and our classical heritage by directors like Anand Patwardhan, K Stalin, Shabnam Virmani, Reena Mohan. The 4 feature films screened were by Satyajit Ray and Charlie Chaplin .

Out of 20 students who watched them, Priya Jhunjhunwala of class 9 is the only one who saw the maximum number, ie.12 films, and later, borrowed CDs of other films from me. When I asked her to express her feelings, she mailed the following article to me. I feel it gives an insight into the hearts and minds of our youth, apart from encouraging me to continue, despite poor attendance! Professor Santanu Karmakar of B E College Shibpur has responded to Priya's article by expressing the desire to show the films to his students too ! May his tribe increase!

I share her article with all of you, and invite responses/queries.

Rupali Sachdev


Seeing so many documentaries in a month was a great opportunity for me. It is a privilege to see such movies. We can learn several things from these movies. They show us various ways of viewing life. They show how people survive in difficult conditions and under heart-breaking circumstances. We know that the way we live is all by God’s grace and we don’t suffer like various other underprivileged groups. But somewhere we feel that all that we have is not sufficient for being happy and satisfied. These films introduce us to several realities that we are not aware of. We can never even imagine that there are people living in villages that have no electricity supply. Our lives without electricity and gadgets are unimaginable.

Seeing women fighting for their rights was a pleasure. In the movie DAUGHTERS OF THE SOIL by TERI, women work in the fields and do most of the work without the help of men. Though instead of lauding, society has ignored these women, they are not concerned about publicity and work because they like it.

Various other movies were also inspiring. They show us the path to fight for our rights. In the movie, WHEN WOMEN UNITE: THE STORY OF AN UPRISING by SHABNAM VIRMANI, I saw the extraordinary women’s uprising against state supply of liquor in Andhra Pradesh. This movie shows the incredible courage of these women and the realization to the viewers that through struggle, destiny can be controlled.

Some movies teach us to be strong in every situation. They also are very inspiring to all humans. In the movie ARMED WITH HOPE, John Foppe, a young man born without arms, makes his way through the mean society to the ladder of success and fame. He does all his work with his feet. Even writing, typing, cooking, driving and various other daily jobs are done by his legs. Such easy work to be done with legs would have been extremely difficult for most of us. A single day without using our hands would be like the end of this world. Such a man is a source of inspiration and hope for the handicapped humans. I realized that we have been gifted with a normal and healthy body by God’s grace, then why don’t we use it to make the most of our lives.

Some movies make us aware of the injustice offered to some groups or sub-castes. In the movie, LESSER HUMANS by K STALIN, the Bhangis of Gujarat continue the profession prescribed to them by the caste system. They dispose human excreta. They do so not because they wish to but since society does not permit them to do any other job. They cannot even raise their voice since no one is there to listen to them. They are paid a pittance for their super human tasks. It is not just about these sub-castes but various such castes which are treated with equal cruelty.

These were some of the movies which touched my heart and also made me think that someday I would like to introduce the reality to the common people who are not aware of these backward classes who are surviving without three meals a day and poor conditions.

I also want women to be independent and not to depend on men for our needs. If we feel things are not right, then we should work to make it our way. Unity will always provide success in such issues. And if nothing is going our way, then also we should not lose hope and try our best to succeed. We should try and try until we succeed and ultimately we will reach our goal.

Priya Jhunjhunwala
Class 9 D
Mahadevi Birla Girls’ H S School