The Snows of Kilimanjaro - A classic movie review - Immortal Hemingway

The Snows of Kilimanjaro -   A Classic Movie Review - Immortal Hemingway

     

     

              

          

The writer is a huge, huge fan of Ernest Miller Hemingway.  If you ask me, there is no other writer in this entire universe like Hemingway – popularly known as “Papa” Hemingway - who had influenced me.   There are 1952 and 2011 version of movies based on Hemingway’s 23 page work “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”.  This story  of Hemingway is an autobiographical literary master piece.   When I talk about Hemingway my throat sores with emotions and the heart pounding in my mouth.  Hemingway is such a phenomenon who finds instant cult figure status. 

I have decided to write the review of the  movie “Snows of Kilimanjaro” which was produced in 1952 and Hemingway’s role immortalized by Gregory Peck, the tall handsome, rough and rugged “Papa” Hemingway best suited for a big game hunter, a bull fighter or an army man rather than a frail novelist or a writer.  Gregory Peck, the prince charming lift the role with his own controlled aggression, poise and poignant caricature. 

The wounded writer Harry Street (Gregory Peck) after an African safari hunting adventure nursing his deeply wounded leg blood soaked through the bandage and attracting the birds (vultures) in his campsite at the height of snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro attended by his wife Helen (Susan Hayward) and a team of African attendants.   

The opening paragraph of the literature is copied in the movie which goes like –

“Kilimanjaro is a snow covered mountain 19,710 feet height, and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called ‘Nagaje, Ngai’ the House of God.  Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard.  No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.”

This was the riddle or puzzle the dying father of Harry who was well built and a hunter, trekker and an adventurous traveler himself handed out to him.

Harry Street through his agonies stint recall his life’s other two women in flash back.  In pursuit of all three, he has traveled the globe from the salons of Bohemian Paris to the battlefields of Spain to the plains of Africa.  Now in the shadow of the great mountain and his own approaching death from gangrene. The gangrene is a   potentially life threatening condition that happens when body tissue dies.

Harry Street lying in his deathbed, a cot, at the camp under a mimosa tree and as he look up there are three vultures squatted on them and a dozen flew across above the trees leaving  their shadow on him.  He yells for whisky and soda to escape from the pain and the odor that the blood soaked wound discharges. 

Harry in his autobiographical life of writing, big game hunting and women in love with him glance through a series of flashbacks.  His first love Cynthia (Ava Gardner) finds him not ready to settle down and enjoy wildlife adventures leaves him and one day she meets with her death.  However, Harry could not forget his first love and ponder with the memories of her. 

The second love, a filthy rich countess finds him not in her clasp of Octopussy and tantrums loses him as well.  The adventure seeking Harry did not have any problem whatsoever to abandon her.

The third one Helen to whom he gets married and started his life’s journey with her.  She was a kind and nice person always motivating Harry to cling on to his life and fight his wounds.  She serves him soup and dress his wounds after denying him whisky and soda which would have given him only a temporary reprieve.  A devoted wife nurse him well and given him courage to fight for life and makes him to wish for God's gift the invaluable treasure of  life.

In one of the sequence an oracle and black magician performs the native African rituals to cure Harry with pieces of bones and skull and biting carrots and finally an irritated Harry drives him away.

Helen along with their African servants are hoping to see a private jet which will land on their campsite to rescue the wounded Harry and her to America. 

In another horrifying  sequence a hyena smells the odor of Harry’s wound and almost attacked him in the lighted tent if not just in time Helen suddenly woke up from the vigil and shout and scares the animal away along with camp inmates.  

The film has excellent cinematography and best art direction.   The movie is a classic and survived the period of 63 years after its release.  It is still a major attraction with movie goers.  The romantic, sentimental, qualities embedded in the fine script are driven home by the background score.  Harry shooting African wild life with his camera in the midst of grave danger is an eye candy. The script has done justice to the literary master piece and making the movie a compelling viewing.

Gregory Peck is charming and lift the role with consummate ease.  Both Ava Gardner and Susan Hayward have done justice to their characters.   

The hunting and war sequences have been brilliantly photographed and African safari is an eye pleasing sight.

IMMORTAL “PAPA”   Hemingway

Before you act, listen.

Before you react, think.

Before you spend, earn.

Before you criticize, wait.

Before you pray, forgive.

Before you quit, try.

        -            Earnest Hemingway

                       

              

In this twenty-three pages sketch of life written by Hemingway and the great literature it produced is marvelous.   It is the American writer Hemingway’s forte to caricature human life in simple yet brilliant and inimitable style.  The Nobel Prize winner author had many imitators but no parallel. He wrote in an extremely unique, concise style to create an unparalleled masterpiece. He utilized a notably typical style to write his books for which was highly ostracized by the writer community in his times.  However, the students of literature over the period of time found him a genius and possessing an unmatchable talent.

The timeless movie gives a spectacular eye treat and lingers in the minds of movie goers, an experience not to be faded away and remain as an all-time classic.

Oedipus Complex - Punarjanm (Reincarnation) and Surrogate Mother

Oedipus Complex-Punarjanm(Reincarnation)

and Surrogate Mother

    

Oedipus Rex was a King of Thebes in Greek Mythology.    Oedipus means  swollen         foot.  When Oedipus was born both his ankles were pinned together and thus the name was originated. He had a hatred for his father King Laius and had a lustful emotion towards his mother. After the death of his father, in fact, unwittingly Oedipus Rex kills his father, and then  he marries his mother Jocasta and had four children out of that wedlock.  His mother was unaware of the relationship as Oedipus Rex was out of the kingdom and returned after many years.  When his mother came to know about the original relationship    with  him  she committed  suicide.  However, King Oedipus Rex continued to rule his kingdom until his death.

Punarjanm or Reincarnation.  After death the soul takes a rebirth in another being.  Punarjanmam is a 1972 Malayalam film based on a true story from the case diary of Dr. A.T. Kovoor.  Dr. Abraham Thomas Kovoor (April 10, 1898 – September 18, 1978) was born in Thiruvalla in Kerala and practiced his crusade against parapsychology and black magic in Sri Lanka. Professor A.T. Kovoor spend most of his life in the Island country of Sri Lanka.  Dr. A.T. Kovoor is an Indian professor and rationalist who gained prominence after retirement for his campaign to expose as frauds various Indian ”God-Men” and so called paranormal phenomena.

                                           

                                

He practiced hypnotherapy and applied psychology.    The famous top grosser Hindi Film “PK", a satire on Gods and Politics, is reportedly inspired by some of his case studies.

The famous English author Martin Buckley in his work “An Indian Odyssey” described Sri Lanka as a heavenly paradise.  The beautiful emerald island landscape almost resembles the Gods Own Country, Kerala.

Let me share with you a poetry tit bit about “I remember” here  -

“I remember the fragrance of you in the morning

Dew on the petals of a new red rose

I remember your gentle reminder time

And I remember the Dragonfly dancing over our head

I remember she sang while she led us to heaven.”

PUNARJANMAM  -  Malayalam Movie

The 1972 Malayalam film “Punarjanmam” produced by M.O. Joseph under his “Manjilas” banner handles the issue of Oedipus Complex. The film is directed by Sethumadhavan, who had also directed the original Malayalam version of “Chattakkari” and its Hindi Remake “Julie".

Punarjanmam Or Punarjanm, Aravindan Or Arvind, all Indian languages are the derivations of Sanskrit.

The mallu film Punarjanmam is one of its kind Psychic Thriller in the history of Indian cinema. It stars Prem Nazir as Professor Aravindan and Jayabharati as his college student Radha.  The college professor Aravindan falls in love with his student Radha and vice versa.  Aravindan lost his dad at a young age and lost his mother six months back.  He is a lonely person in this world.  The only relationship that existed was the umbilical cord one.  He was so much in love with his mother.  After turned on by Radha he proposes her in marriage and Radha’s dad finally agrees to the relationship of Radha and Aravindan.  They get married but Professor Aravindan has an Oedipus complex to handle.  Whenever they make love he sees his mother in his wife, and unable to satiate sex with her and they remains childless.  One night Radha finds out that he is making love to the young house-maid but he is a failure in bed with Radha. Radha’s dad who is waiting to play with his grand-children gets disappointed and when he comes to know about Aravindan’s problem, he takes him to Dr. A.T. Kovoor.   Dr. Kovoor hypnotise Aravindan and gets to know his history.  Dr. Kovoor with the co-operation of Radha creates various seductive situations and in the climax get rid of Aravindan’s Oedipus complex. The film ends with Radha’s dad happily playing with her child and both Aravindan and Radha makes a happy couple and leads a happy married life.

The film was remade into many other Indian languages.   The Tamil remake was “Marupiravi” starring Muthuraman and Manjula.

Bharatiya Yuiktivadi Sangam declared a National Award called the A.T.  Kovoor Award for the secular artist. The most versatile Indian Actor “Kamal Hassan” was the first recipient of Kovoor Award in acknowledgement of his humanist activities and secular life.

Oedipus complex, the concept was introduced by the famous psychiatrist Sigmund Freud in his Interpretation of Dreams (1899).  Freud was the founding father of psychoanalysis, a method for treating psychic patients.  It is also a theory which explains human behavior. Psychoanalysis is often known as the talking cure.  Freud would encourage his patients to talk freely (on his famous couch) regarding their symptoms and to describe exactly what was on their mind.

Sigmund Freud was born in Vienna and was a Neuropathologist.  Freud went on to influence the future direction of psychology as a whole.

Most controversial part of Freud’s theory was psychosexual development and the Oedipus complex.

Surrogate Mother

The word surrogate means “Substitute”.   A surrogate mother is a woman who bears a child on behalf of another woman, either from her own egg fertilized by the other woman’s partner, or from the implantation in her womb of a fertilized egg from the other woman.

In the modern world a large number of people are going for IVF (in vitro fertilization).  In fact India is the world capital for IVF due to the reasonably lower cost for IVF in India.  Fertility industry in India today stands at Rs.750 Cr. and Surrogacy is 7% which constitutes to Rs.54 Cr.

Surrogacy coming of age

The idea of ”Surrogate Mother” has come of age.  More and more people are opting for surrogacy instead of going for adoption.

The latest surrogate child is Bollywood icon, Sharukh Khan’s second son AbRam.  Sharukh Khan and Gauri have Aryan and Suhana two normal children.  Of late they wanted another baby but could not succeed.  The couple made up their mind and decided to go for a surrogate mother.  They approached the same Doctor whom Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao consulted for their son Azad.   It was given to understand that Baby AbRam’s surrogate mother is a UK national and she left India immediately after AbRam was born.  He was weighing only 1.5 Kg at the time of birth.  He was shifted from suburban Nanavati Hospital to Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai for personal care with mother Gauri to give company all the time.  Due to care and parental love baby AbRam is now a healthy and cute boy.

Though there are legal, physical and emotional problems involved in Surrogate Mother in the modern world, many are going ahead with the idea of surrogacy.

Is Oedipus a Villain …?

The first paragraph of this blog post projects Oedipus as a Villain.  In fact, the baby Oedipus after binding his ankles together was abandoned by King Liaus and Queen Jacosta in the Mount Cithaeron after an Oracle told them that his son will slay King Liaus.  The baby was found by a shepherd in the Mt. Cithaeron and felt pity on him and gifted him to a childless King Polybus of Corinth.  The King Polybus and his Queen brought him up as their own child.  In early manhood Oedipus visited Delphi and upon learning that he was fated to kill his father and to marry his mother, he resolved never to return to Corinth.  Delphi was the shrine of Apollo and site of the famous Oracle, whose often inscrutable advice was sought down through historical times.

Travelling towards Thebes a quarrel happens between King Liaus and Oedipus and Oedipus kills unwittingly his real  father  King         Liaus.  Continuing on his way he found Thebes plagued by Sphinx and he solves the riddle of Sphinx and inherits the kingdom of Thebes and marries the Queen Jacosta and had four children out of the wedlock.  Queen Jacosta commits suicide after coming to know that Oedipus was her own son. 

Oedipus when came to know about his double sins (killing his father and marrying his mother) he blinded himself for the rest of his life.

 All this happened as a comedy of errors… the fate and cruel destiny.

The writer recalls a South Korean film called “The Surrogate Woman” released in India in 1987.  The film won many international awards and was a commercial blockbuster.

Like cosmetic beauty is next to the natural beauty, the surrogate mother is the closest thing that can happen to a childless couple.
  

Veni Vidi Vici - Alexander the Great and Chanakya's Chant

Veni Vidi Vici  -  Alexander the Great  and Chanakya’s Chant

The Latin Phrase “Veni Vidi Vici” means “I came, I saw, I conquered”.   Alexander the Great, the Greek Emperor and great conqueror after conquering most of the world and reaching Asia, he reportedly said “Veni Vidi Vici” - “I came, I saw, I conquered”.

This writer was greatly fascinated by the above phrase, and found to be fit in by the above words in my real life.  Two of my major work places and the illustrious real life scenario given the testimony for the above belief.

                                                     

                                                

                          

Jesus Christ, the writer’s Dad and Alexander the Great – they all lived 33 years only in this world.

Alexander III of Macedon known as Alexander the Great was born in BC 356.  By the age of 30 he had conquered most of the ancient world.  He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of the history’s most successful military commanders.

“There is nothing impossible to him who will try” – a famous quote by Alexander the Great.

Alexander said “Thank the Gods to have been born Greek.”

Alexander resembled the Greek myth of Adonis the God of Beauty and Desire.

During his youth Alexander was tutored by the great thinker and philosopher Aristotle till he attained the age of 16.  Alexander attributed his father for his life and his teacher for how to live the life king size and wise.  Alexander succeeded his father to the throne when he was twenty.  Alexander was the emperor par excellence.

“An army of Sheep led by a Lion is better than an army of Lions led by a Sheep” – Alexander the Great.

Like our own Indian political honchos like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Alexander’s father, mother and wife were assassinated.  Though mystery shrouds Alexander’s death, we shall examine the end scripted by our English writer Ashwin Sanghi in his treatise “Chanakya’s Chant”.

In his novel “Chanakya’s Chant” Ashwin Sanghi examines life of Alexander the Great who was a contemporary of Indian Demi God Brahmin “Chanakya”.  Chanakya has written “Arthashastra”, the “Science of Wealth”.  Chanakya was also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta.   Chanakya was a shrewd political advisor and master mind to unify India under one roof, one umbrella through the historical ruler and his contemporary King Chandragupta Mourya.

I would like to use here few excerpts from Ashwin Sanghi’s fiction “Chanakya’s Chant” which I found interesting in respect of Chanakya.   In his work Ashwin Sanghi examines the present day Chanakya, Pandit Gangasagar Mishra and his protégé Chandni Gupta in parallel with Chanakya and his protégé Chandragupta Maurya almost 2300 years ago.

“King Dhanananda of Magadha spent his life amidst wine and women in his pleasure palace.   His Prime Minister Shatkar wanted him to spend less time satisfying his carnal desires and concentrate to 

rule the kingdom wisely to strengthen it and make a better life for its subjects.  An infuriated King Dhanananda orders to take Shatkar in custody.    A close friend of Shatkar and the father of Chanakya – Acharya Chanak revolted against this act of King Dhanananda. Acharya Chanak was a scholar and all the Kings wanted their Princes to get educated under him.  Acharya Chanak being famous and well-known for his wisdom found a large gathering to listen to his speech.  By sighting huge assembly of people to listen to Acharya Chanak and by threatened so, King Dhanananda orders to behead Chanak.  King Dhananada’s men severed Chanak’s head from his body and hanged it with the lock of his hairs on a tree branch.  Chanakya’s eyes welled up with tears after seeing his father’s head hanged on the tree branch.  Chanakya, supported by one of the influential friends of his father secretly climbed on the tree before sunset and releases the head and then wrap it with fresh muslin and swam across the other side of river and conducted the necessary funeral ceremony there with the presence of a Hindu priest.  Then, Chanakya decides that this is the only occasion he will cry, and rest of his life he will make others who found guilty to cry. He unlocked his hair and took an oath that after the murder of “Dhanananda” who killed his father then only he will tie it again……finally one day Chanakya took his revenge by eliminating Dhanananda from this world.”

Chanakya’s greatest asset was his uncanny ability to plumb the lowest depths of the human mind.

Chanakya lived in 4^th Century B.C. Chanakya graduated from the University of Takshasheela and was a sharp student. Chanakya was a strategist, great teacher and visionary. 

 

Chanakya has written Arthshastra a book of total management or science of wealth and Chanakya Neeti.  Arthshastra contains 15 books and 150 Chapters and 600 Sutras or Shlokas.  Arthshastra known as a Book of Economics, State Craft, Punishment, Warfare and Strategy etc.

The seven traits to be seen in a person vying to become a Chanakya are –      

• To inspire and mold good performers to be future leaders. 
• To build a successful organization that manifests fortitude and cohesion.
•  To be more efficient and effective.         
• To experience a dose of self-discovery and transformation.
•  To face and overcome business challenges.
•  To get a gamut of ancient Indian yet universally relevant business knowledge.      
• To get a course in experiential management and economic practices.

Vishakanyas   -   Hiss of Death

“Vishakanya is a poison maiden groomed in Chanakya’s foundation “gurukul” or “institute” to deal with their enemies.

The Vishakanyas are the most beautiful celestial creatures with deadly poison.  Chanakya had personally supervised the creation of an entire army of such maidens.  All the girls in the institute was born on a Tuesday during the seventh lunar day of Vishaka. Vishaka means Heavenly Star. One of the Vishakanya named Vishaka was used to kill King Paurus of Magadha by Chanakya. Paurus was a threat to his protégé Chandragupta Maurya and thus Chanakya wanted to eliminate him by using Vishakanya named Vishaka.   Vishaka, undoubtedly was a celestial creature. Her utterly seductive hour glass body, translucent ivory complexion, her sensuous mouth, her full ruby lips, delicate pert nose and mischievous emerald eyes were partially covered by her cascading, silken, auburn hair. Her clove-and-cardamom scented breath set Paurus on fire.  An excited and aroused Paurus kissed Vishaka and experienced that his throat was burning with Sankhiya poison.  Vishakanyas are trained with poison intake from the age of puberty, and when they graduate from Chanakya’s institute they were asked to put their hands in a basket with deadly poisonous snakes.  The snakes bites Vishkanyas but by the time Vishkanyas becomes immune to snake poison and any man who cohabit with them would die.”

Once upon a time Chanakya said to one of the messenger of Seleucus  called Megasthenes that let us not discuss war but love, marriage and happiness. He continued that our King Chandragupta has already married the lovely lady Cornelia your master’s daughter via Gandharva Vivah.  He explained to him that in ordinary marriage the couple celebrate sex on “Suhaag Raat” or first night but in “Gandharva Vivah” they first enjoy sex and then the marriage takes place by garlanding each other and taking ceremonial oath of marriage without any witness.

The death of Alexander the Great

 “Alexander had spent a night drinking excessively at a banquet organized by his dear friend Medius of Larissa.  By the time the night was over, Alexander was shaking violently from tremors of malarial fever.  Alexander’s royal cup bearer, Iolla, knelt by Alexander’s side offered him the medicated water that had specially sent by Antipater – Alexander’s supreme commander of his European forces – to cure him of the fever.  What the divinity did not know was that this medicated water contained Hellebore and Strychnine  a deadly mixture  - that had been transported secretly to Babylon inside a Mule’s hoof  by Antipater’s son not to cure but to kill Alexander.  Thus, gradually Alexander the great met with his death due to poisoning.”

Alexander’s gravest of the mistake was his attitude and the damages he done to Zoroastrianism.

Ashwin Sanghi begin and ends with a mantra –

“Adi Shakti Namo Namah

Sarab Shakti Namo Namah

Pritum Bhagvati

Namo, Namah

Kundalini Mata Shakti,

Mata Shakti Namo Namah”

It’s an ancient Sanskrit mantra extolling the virtues of feminine energy.

Romantic Nuptial Knot - Swayamvar Or Gandharva Vivaha

Romantic Nuptial Knot - Swayamvar  Or   Gandharva Vivaha

                                         

                           

When we are in the month of International Woman’s Day, my heart goes out to dedicate one more post  to the woman’s lib or liberation of woman as I am increasingly realizes  that I am not a male chauvinist pig.  At the time of arranged marriages mostly decided by the parents, we can discuss woman’s role in choosing the bridegroom from the yester years’ prevalent customs in Sanskrit literature such as “Swayamvar” and “Gandharva Vivaha”.    An opportunity to decide life’s most crucial selection by the femme fatale and the prince charming volunteering as a suitor.

Sita Swayamvar

      King Janaka was the ruler of Videha.  Janaka was not only a brave King but was also very well-versed in Shastras and Vedas.  One day while a field was being ploughed in the presence of the King, he found a female child in deep furrow dug by the plough.  Janaka and his wife Sunayana were overjoyed by this discovery and adopted the little baby girl as their own.  The child was named as Sita, meaning ‘furrow’ in Sanskrit.  Thus, Sita is considered to be the daughter of Bhumi Devi (Mother Earth) since she was born or found in the earth.

Sita grew up to become an unparalleled beauty and charm and possessed the greatest of womanly virtues.  When Sita became of marriageable age, the King decided to have a “Swayamvara” which included a contest.  The King was in possession of an immensely heavy bow, presented to him by the God Shiva.  Whoever could wield the bow and string it, could marry Sita.

After the protection of Vishwamitra’s sacred ritual, on their way back to Ayodhya, Ram and Lakshmana traveled to Mithila, the capital of Videha.  Accompanied by Vishwamitra, they attended Sita’s “Swayamvara”.  Rama successfully broke Shiva’s bow as he picked it up and was examining the tautness of its bowstring. It must be noted here that the other contestants could not even move the bow a bit.  The young prince’s strength and courage perplexed all the attendees.  And with the breaking of the bow, Janaka proposed Sita to Rama in marriage.  Thus,  Sita and Rama’s Swayamvar happened.

The  Curse  of  Ahalya

A poetry tit bit by famous Mallu Poet, Vayalar Rama Varma.  This poet and lyricist influenced the writer to a greater extent from my teens  and was mersmerised by his ability to convert  synonyms or adjectives  tantalizingly  and alluringly beautiful.

“Sita Devi swayamvaram chaidhoru

Thretha yugathile sreeraman

Kaal viral kondunnu thottappol pandu

Kattile kalloru mohiniyaay.”

The Sreeram of Treta  Yug

Who married Sita in swayamvar

When touched a stone with his toe,

 in the forest, it turned an Apsara,

the celestial nymph.

Ahalya, in Hindu mythology is the wife of sage Gautama Maharishi. Ahalya is the most beautiful woman in the entire universe.  Lord Indra was fascinated by the beauty of Ahalya and comes to her home disguised as her husband sage Gautama Maharishi and enjoys sex with her. They were caught red-handed by the sage and an enraged saint Gautama Maharishi cursed both Indra and Ahalya.  Due to the curse she turned to become a stone.  Finally, when Lord Rama’s feet brushed against the stone while he was travelling through the forest site, and Ahalya was freed from the curse and turned from the stone into the beautiful maiden once again.

NALA  DAMAYANTHI   -  An  Epic  Love Story – (Swayamvar)


Another epic love story of Swayamvar is that of Nala and Damayanthi. 

Damayanthi was a princess of Vidharbha Kingdom, who was well known for her beauty and grace that even the Gods could not stop from admiring her.  Damayanthi is the beautiful daughter of King Bhima.  King Bhima arranged swayamvar of Damayanthi where many princes were gathered from whom Damayanthi could choose her husband.  Damayanthi heard about the enviable life of  Prince Nala and has fallen in love with him.  She sends a swan as messenger to Nala to attend her swayamvar.  Nala was attracted by her beauty and grace and knew even gods were to be present there to marry her.  Nala accepts Damayanthi’s invitation and reaches for the Swayamwar.  The contest for the suitors were to hit a moving fish’s eye hanged in a height.

The Nala won the competition but when Damayanthi to make her choice it appeared that there are five Nala’s to choose from.  Damayanthi identified the real Nala as the other four were gods and their eyelid did not bat.  Thus, the Swayamvar of Nala Damayanthi happened.


The famous Mallu Poet Vayalar Rama Varma  sang -

“Chumbikkan oru shalabhamundenile

Youvvanam surabhilamaagu, Poovinu

Youvvanam surablhilamaagu.”

To make the youth meaningful,

The flower must have a butterfly

To feast its honey.

Though the “Swayamvar” was arranged by the father of the bride with a contest to win for the suitors, the “Gandharva Vivaha” was one of the eight classical types of Hindu marriages, wherein the man and woman are mutually attracted to each other and marriage takes place without family and witnesses.  In “Gandharva Vivaha” the girl chose her husband.

 The eight types of marriage in Hinduism –

• Brahma marriage 
• Daiva marriage 
• Arsha marriage
• Prajapatya marriage  ·        
• Gandharva marriage  
• Asura marriage 
• Rakshasa marriage
• Paisacha marriage

Polygamy and Bigamy were prevalent in ancient Indian mythology like Draupati or Panchali having five husbands at a time and King  Dasaratha had 50,000 wives and Lord Krishna 10008 wives.

The epitome of virility and a celebrated manhood, you can guess the sexually potent genre and their machismo.  Sex is a joyful art presented to humans by god.

You can see in the nature various animals, birds and living beings procreates and copulates with their mates in the abundant splendor.   They primarily exists for the service and benefit of humans.

ABHIJNANASAKUNTALAM  -  A  GANDHARVA VIVAHA

 

The marriage of Dushyant and Sakuntala was a historically celebrated example of  “Gandharva Vivaha.”

The famous mallu poet Vayalar sang  about Sankuntala -

 “Pranaya lekhanam engine ezhuthanam

Muni kumarikayallo njan verumoru

Munikumarigayallo.”

“I do not know how to write a love letter, as I dwell in a hermitage.”

He further wrote –

“Swarnaththamarayithalil orangum

Kannvathapovana kanyake

Aarude anuragamalliga nee

Aarude swayamvara kanyaka nee…”

That hermitage virgin who sleeps

In the golden lotus petal

Oh!  Whose beautiful love bud you are,

Whose Swayamvar suitor you are.

The Recognition of Shakuntala written by the greatest of the ancient Indian playwright Kalidasa from the 5^th century offers a classic introduction to Indian theater and aesthetics.  A king encounters a lovely maiden by chance, and the course of their passionate love sweeps the audience from a forest hermitage to a dazzling palace to ethereal celestial realms.  Abhijanasakuntalam is the first Indian play ever to be translated into western languages.  It is for the very first time translated in English language by Sir William Jones in the year 1789. Later on, there were at least 46 translations of this play by Kalidasa in 12 different European languages.

The beautiful and innocent hermitage maiden Sakuntala in the company of her friends plays with deer and other pet animals and birds in the forest.  

Sakuntala's is a great story of  love and romance.

Long ago there was a powerful sage named Vishwamitra who lived a life of austerities, was drawn in a meditation.  The gods feared that he will even outshine them, Lord Indra sends one of his most gorgeous heavenly damsels Menaka to earth to disturb his devotions.  The first seduction game in the history of human race and Menaka succeeds in seducing Vishwamitra and a beautiful daughter is born to them. Infuriated at the loss of his chastity Vishwamitra turned down Menaka and her daughter.  Knowing that she cannot take her child to heaven, Menaka abandons the new born infant in the forest.

As fate would have it, Sage Kanava happened to pass by the forest and sees the baby girl surrounded by Shakunta birds.  He names her Sakuntala meaning one who fed by Sankunta bird.  Sakuntala grew up as a young beautiful maiden like her mother Menaka.  One day King Dushyant after a deer hunt happens to pass by Sage Kanava’s hermitage and meets Sakuntala.  Dushyant instantly falls for Sakuntala and they were both attracted to each other. They secretly wed in the ceremony of “Gandharva Vivaha” with only mother nature as witness and enters into blissful matrimony.

After few days King Dushyant comes to know about the unrest in his kingdom and head towards his country after presenting a signet ring to Sakuntala and promises to send an envoy to take her to the palace.

One day Sage Durvasav, infamous for his mercurial anger, stops by the hut for hospitality.  Lost in her romantic love thoughts Sakuntala fails to acknowledge his presence.  This infuriates the temperamental sage and he censures Sakuntala, cursing that the one whom she is thinking about will forget her.  Sakuntala begs for mercy and explains her situation.  On the plea of Sakuntala and her friends, the sage relents and says that if the King sees any significant souvenir that he gave her, he will remember everything.

After the months of waiting, when she fails to hear anything from the King, Sage Kanava arranges a visit by Sakuntala to the royal court of King Dushyant.  On her way, she stops to drink water from a lake and she loses her ring in the water and was swallowed by a fish.  She reaches the royal palace, but Dushyant fails to recognize her because of the curse.  A dejected Sakuntala returns to the forest.  After sometime an angler finds the ring in the stomach of a fish.  He immediately takes it to the King, who on seeing the ring recalls everything and rushes to bring Sakuntala to his palace from the hermitage.  Later, Sakuntala gives birth to a son and they named him Bharat after whom India got her name Bharat.

NJAN  GANDHARVAN

Njan Gandharvan   OR  “I am Gandharva “  is a 1991 Malayalam fantasy romance film.   The film depicts the life of Gandharvas and a beautiful young girl who falls for the Gandharva and their romantic fantasy love story directed by the renowned Malayalam Film Director, Late Padmarajan.  The Film has won many awards.

   













An interlude of romance takes place in “Gandharva Vivaha” which signifies the pre-marital enjoyment of romance in the offing in such a wedlock.  The Gandharvan seduce the beautiful young virgin girl of the earth and breed the seeds of romance in her.

God created man and also woman as his partner.  They loved and shared tender feelings and penetratingly infused soaking in deeper breath into each other.   In “Gandharva Vivaha” the girl rests the right to choose her husband.

Gandharvas are the subjects of Devalok (Heaven).  They sing songs to entertain the Gods and serve Amrut, an intoxicating beverage to the Gods of Indra sadas.  When a Gandharva commit a sin, he is cursed by the Gods and send to earth as punishment for a certain period.  A journey from heaven to hell.  After landing on the earth they seduce the most beautiful virgin girls and marries them in secret.  However, Gandharva can go back to heaven as soon as he is freed from the curse.

It is said that marriages take place in heaven.  In this case, the Gandharva from the heaven comes down to earth in search of his partner and secretly marries his chosen beautiful nymphet.

My pick of Romantic Hero of Hindi films is Rajesh Khanna and Romantic Director, the late Yash Chopra. The onscreen chemistry of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwaray Rai Bachchan is fantastic.

However, there is a role reversal in Sir Thomas More’s Utopia.  In Utopia, the bridegroom enter the boudoir of the bride and takes a view of her sleeping beauty without a twine on her body.  Thus, satisfied with a close look he makes up his mind for marriage.  Though this may seem primitive, and unrealistic such an exposure was envisaged by Sir Thomas More for bridal selection.

In the current context, all that is required is an ability to judge and make a selection foreseeing the unbreakable fortress of marriage.  The mutual attraction and desire to enter into a wedlock within the acceptable norms of the society with an assured financial security is seen as welcome sign.  The marriage with parental guidance seems to be the most befitting one for endurance. 

However, a couple with renewed vigor and steam passionately engaged in beautiful love can have an enviable marital bliss which lasts forever and requires lesser sacrifices and adjustments from both the partners as they are deeply in love for a prolonged period.

The romance conquers all alike in “Swayamvar”  and  “Gandharva Vivaha”