CINEPHILE CLUB’S EASTER TREAT: `The gospel According to St Matthew ‘ (1964), directed by Pier Paolo Pasoline this Italian neo-realist black and white film shot without a script, uses simple Bible text to tell the story of the remarkable “son of God” Jesus Christ whom millions pray to and adore the world over.
WITH Easter in the air the ESG’s Cinephile Club which screens mostly only films worth viewing for the first time or the umpteenth time — sorry, lately I’ve been missing most of them, I hummed and hawed to go see what I consider the best of the bouquet of Christianity films! Namely, “Gospel According to St Matthew.” There are so many films narrating various versions of the sad Jesus Christ story and some of them come with a lot of melodrama woven in, mirch-masala if you with.
Actually, I thought I was going to see the film titled “The Passion of the Christ” directed by Mel Gibson. But it turned out to be the “Gospel According to St Matthew” and I dare say this is the best film of them all and I rather liked it for its stark simplicity which recounts the story of a remarkable man — Mary’s son – reportedly his father was the carpenter Joseph, but it sounds like there was a common version which described Jesus as “David’s son” too. It all depends on how much faith you have in buying the “virgin birth” if it isn’t too farfetched.
When it comes to faith we are really required to be utterly, humbly blind; no questions please. Don’t know about you but very often I find stories of a religious nature gobbledygook. For example, no amount of stretching the imagination can make me accept that Lord Krishna lifted Govardhan mountain on his finger to shelter the people in a violent storm! Of course, in the realm of belief many of us will suspend rationality and believe in anything…that is also there.
THE truth has many facets to it and when it comes to historical contexts, the truth may come dressed in many garbs and it is up to us to make what we will out of it …and we can try to make sense of it with a pinch of salt and a lot of faith and charity! Anyway, there’s really no accounting for any religion and its fidelity to the truth because it has been recounted so many times by so many contemporary eye-witnesses, and much of it dates back to the mists of largely undocumented times and oral history written down only much later on, closer to our contemporary times.
Here most of us know the basic story of how a man called Jesus Christ lived during Roman Empire conquest times, he spoke out about the misery of his people’s life in slavery situations…earned the enmity of his own people wallowing in riches and hypocrisy! For the chief Pharisees of the Jewish Council Jesus was a troublemaker inciting working class people to revolt and fight for justice, he led them…hence they sought to trap him for what was considered “blasphemy” – got the reluctant Roman Pontius Pilate to grant permission to crucify him, like criminals were routinely crucified in those time nailed on wooden crosses.
And after they had finished crucifying the visionary Jesus of Nazareth, Christianity blossomed like never before far and wide, his 12 apostles or disciples saw to it with the exception of Judas Iscariot who hanged himself in remorse for betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver given to him by the Jewish Council, for revealing where Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane for strength to bear the agony of his suffering, on behalf of the people of Jewish origin…enslaved variously by the Egyptian and Roman empires which lived off the people they took prisoner as slaves in wars.
The “Gospel According to Matthew” is a brilliantly stark film where every face stands out, nothing can match a black and white masterpiece. As far as I am concerned this is the film to see for it very simply outlines how a remarkable man lived his life upfront, healed the sick and poor, won the hearts of women and children – and died to free his people and instil in them the virtues of the ten commandments of prophet Moses.
Frankly, the ten commandments of leading a righteous life are there more or less in every religion, but how many of us practice them! That’s another story of yesterday, today and tomorrow presumably. If we practice them we are happy and live in peace in the mind at least I imagine if not in real life.
This is to say if you want to cheer up and want to see a film on the life and times of a remarkable revolutionary who is “son of God” for Christians this season of Lent and Easter, catch up with `Gospel According to Matthew’ – it’s a memorable narrative and I dare say comes closest to the truth of who Jesus was and why he won so many hearts and why Christianity is a great religion, like every other religion in its essential avatar – if only we studied all religions and respected them equally!
And also practiced them not so much in absurd blind rituality but in practical, sensible ways as in caring for Mother Earth and one another…as in can we stop crucifying one another in our lives in mind and body, heart and soul? Otherwise in my view religious diktat is just another tyranny, especially if it is politicised to divide the people of the world. As it has happened throughout history and is happening to this day, no?
Let’s not monetise religion, any religion, religion is best practised in the spirit of its evergreen moral values – and not to the letter of dogmatic beliefs which stretch faith and imagination beyond credibility…if you know what I mean! Very often I think I would rather hug a tree and worship it and that’s my religion!
THIS is the season to remember many stories of the historical or semi-historical religious kind as we celebrate Easter and along with it the religious festivals of the sub-continent as in new year joys anew of Lori, Sankranti, Pongal, Ugadi, Gudi Padwa and so on. India is a superlatively glorious modern-day melting pot of civilisation, waxing and waning in time…the more it stays united in diversity, devoted to the spirit of “atithi devo bhava” the more it will flourish!
READ SUBHASH VELINKAR’S `LONTANGAN’!
THE cover picture alone of former RSS chief Subhash Velinkar’s new book “Lotangan” (meaning “surrender”) on the history of RSS history in Goa should make some bells ring in alarm! Since I agree with some of what Subhash bab says about growing up first by studying in one’s mother tongue, I went to the grand release function of his new book “Lotangan” (meaning “Surrender” at the Institute Menezes Braganza Hall on Sunday, April 2, 2023.
On stage were chief guests of distinction Madhav Kamat (renowned senior educationist) and Gurudas Sawal (senior journalist, ex-president of Gomantak Marathi Academy), also Nitin Ramesh Faldesai (president Shrividya Pratishthan which has published the hardcover). The hall was packed with niz Goenkars, friends, family, well-wishers and admirers of Subhash bab and share with him the belief that mother language should be the medium of primary education – and not colonial language English! After all we are all living in a free motherland of India. The world over children learn in their mother tongue first and then only other languages.
India’s 28 official states offer a dazzling number of languages to study – the dictum in all sensibility should be we study our mother tongue first, followed by home state language and a national and a national and international language….alas, because of our colonial history we have lost touch with our own cultural moorings of a history dating back over 5,000 years (seeing how colonial history in the sub-continent with both Muslim and European conquests impacting our life and times over a span of at least a 1,000 years)…in the state of Goa during Portuguese colonial rule education was in Portuguese if you wanted to get on in life, later education in Marathi was allowed because it had a more developed script, oral Konkani mother tongue was considered backward although all that has changed since Liberation of 1961.
Former RSS chief Subhash Velinkar who has lived a distinguished life as a teacher in various schools believes in mother tongue first. Marathi still counts for something in the history of education in Goa for during the Portuguese colonial rule of over 500 years the Portugal eventually permitted education in Marathi (seeing how Konkani was largely only orally spoken and did not have a formal script).
I find Subhash bab as always very eloquent and persuasive while reiterating his views, but his new book “Lotangan” traces the history of the RSS and the BJP in Goa and of course his falling out with the late chief minister Manohar Parrikar over the matter of granting funds to English-medium primary schools. He is a most eloquent speaker and has a fine sense of sarcasm and irony. It is widely known that it was he who groomed, even found the finances for Manohar Parrikar to contest elections and be the first RSS-BJP chief minister of Goa. Later the two fell out with differences of opinion over medium of instruction in primary schools in Goa and that led to a major split in the RSS, most of the cadres are still devoted to Subhash Bhasker Velingker.
According to Velingker, the RSS took a very, unfortunate, “disgustful U-turn on MOI issue and abruptly withdrew itself in August 2016 from Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch Agitation…but it has been fully actively supporting right since 2011-12, initially against Congress and later against the BJP government.” It is true that 95% of the major section of the RSS is made up of disillusioned workers who were forced to quit the organisation to retain and reaffirm loyalty and support for the mother tongue which was an issue of contention with the BBSM…and the entire raison d’tat is detailed in his book “Lotangan” which he has written in Marathi, but he hopes it will be translated in several languages including English.
The big massive divide in the RSS took place for the first time in its 91 years lifetime, says Subhash bab, since its birth and this has attracted attention and columns have been written not only in national but also international media…“Lotangan” details, reviews and analysis the historical divide and is full of so far many unrevealed underlying events. If you love and care about Goa you would want to read this book!
Needless to say Subhash Velinkar is a man worth listening to even if he fell out with Manohar Parrikar, because he was not willing to be flexible; while Parrikar was willing to do any number of U-turns to hold on to power…a matter of how you read it. See how corrupted the RSS-BJP combo in the state has become, so totally adulterated with monetised defections! Subhash bab is right: It is disgusting. The cover of his book alone should prick the conscience of true blue RSS and BJP bhakt.
ON that note it’s avjo, selamat datang, poiteverem, au revoir, arrivedecci, hasta la vista and vachun yeta here for now.
—Mme Butterfly