Karkatrashi

I just finished watching a telefilm, “Karkatrashi”, or Cancerian.
No, this is not a critical analysis of the film that I want to write. Of course, Konkona Sen Sharma excels and exceeds herself in whatever piece of acting she does. With her expressive eyes, prolific acting and down to earth looks, she is the dream of any artiste. But the movie got my thoughts stirring. Thoughts I have always had, but looking for a confirmation.

Just to brief you on the background of the movie, its about this girl, Pori ( Angel ), who is destined to share her lonely mother’s agony of being a widowed and single parent, when her father, a pilot, dies in an aircrash while she is still very little. Pori’s mother did a fine job of bringing her up to become a very sensitive, helpful and jovial young woman. However Pori could always sense her mother’s loneliness and her tendency to blame herself for whatever goes wrong.

Things take a twist when Pori’s blood is detected with Cancer, ironic, given the fact that her mother was a staunch believer of horoscopes, and was convinced that Pori’s ideal match would be a Cancerian!

The movie ends with Pori dying, Pori’s mother gaining a companion in a teacher from her college. Pori’s Jethima( aunty ) befriending Pori’s silent admirer, who fills in the void created by her son, now living in US of A, married to a green card holder, and his Indian mother relegated to a thing of past.

Wonderful story, natural but underplayed acting, authentic settings and some good music from Rabindranath Tagore’s collection brought together by director Sohag Sen really got my mood rolling for this piece of write-up.

I was left asking myself, as I have been somewhat depressed off late, due to various reasons, is there any point in musing as to what future holds? Not that I’m a person who likes to plan and program everything for future! Still, I was left wondering, would I really want to see myself in a photo-frame adorned with flowers and garlands, near and dear ones mourning, and remembering all my good deeds? Knowing myself, and not surprisingly, I got the answer as “yes, I would like that”, provided I die happy and have at least given a few things to be remembered by, to this world. Rather to My world. I’m too small to consider the Whole Wide World. However I can, and do, make a difference to the People around me.

The movie made me think, about things that I already know and appreciate to some extent. It kind of even resembles, only to some extent, my Life. Why is it that parents, especially mothers, more accurately mothers who are not professionally engaged, believe that their life essentially revolves around their children? Spouses are there too, but it is the children on whom they largely depend for their emotional investments. I’m not a parent yet. So I guess I’m not qualified to answer this question. However, from my real life experiences, I strongly believe that every human being should have a space of their own, which is removed from all family attachments. Parents give birth to children. They nurture them. Want them to stand in their own two strong legs. But problem begins when they actually start doing just that! Insecurity sets in. A sense of being left out. Here, I think it is necessary to take a lesson from the animal kingdom, save homo-sapiens. They give birth to their off springs, nurture them, teach them catch prey, and let them go. Now I do agree and understand that EQ of human beings is higher and different from that of the rest of animals. However, it is necessary to remember that the older generation perishes first, and the younger ones must learn to fend for themselves. Failing which, survival of the fittest come into play, and the lesser mortals are vanquished. I’m sure then that no set of parents would want that!

Pori’s mother hankered about how her daughter's perfect match has to be a Cancerian. She got so obsessed with the idea, that she never noticed Pori missing out on her romance of youth that most others of her age were enjoying. And Pori, being the good daughter of her mother, never could give herself the space to recognize and appreciate the true love of Arko in her lifetime. Had Pori lived, instead of dying, would it have been more important to find her a Horoscopic match, or a real-life compatibility match? Would she really have been happy marrying a man just because her horoscope matched with his, or Arko, who would have made her happy, horoscope, or no horoscope! Wasn’t Pori’s Aunty happy, at least initially, to brag about how her son lived in the US of A, worked there and earned big bucks, to her friends and relatives? Is it no true that she looked down her nose at her friends’ or relatives’ children who were financially not so well off, however stayed back with their parents? Well, lets just get real! You can’t have your cake and eat it too!

Although at the same time I disagree with this notion that whoever leaves the country for a job forgets their parents. I have a whole lot of friends and acquaintances living abroad, making a good living, at the same time taking full responsibility of their parents. Lets not always act as moralists and denounce all progress and upliftment, social, financial or emotional.