Sadho@Goa: Sun, Sand, Sea & Sadho

SADHO SCREENING AT SUNAPARANTA

Text: Nandan Saxena

Pix: Nandan Saxena, Kavita Bahl

The Prelude

It started with a post on a mailing group for documentary makers- one of those heart-felt pen on paper moments that moved me to write back. Cecil shot back a reply: “Are you a film-maker?” to which I responded with a cryptic “Yes”.

Several such monosyllabic mails later, a conversation did flow. Cecil asked me what kind of documentaries I made. I offered to send him a couple. “For free?” came the typically Cecilian response. “Yes”, I wrote back.

I sent him two recent films which he liked watching (I’ll take his word for that).

When we were planning to take the Sadho Poetry Film Fest to the western coast, we wrote to friends and film-lovers in four cities. Some responded, some did not. Goa was total silence.

Then I forwarded the mail to Cecil. He was prompt: “I am not into organising festivals but I can get you in touch with the right people.” He put us in touch with Apoorva Kulkarni, the Director-Programmes @ Sunaparanta.

A few mails and some telephonic conversations later, we found ourselves at Goa.

The Goa connection

Of the films we screen at the Sadho Poetry Film Fest, two have a Goa connection.

Anjali Monteiro, who makes films with her painter-cinematographer husband KP Jayasankar, hails from Goa.

So does Rosy Singh, who has animated the delightful film ‘Apni Bitiya kay liye ek Kavita’ directed by hubby Siddharth Pratap Singh.

Most of our core team members love the sun, sand, fish and feni and keep returning to Goa after long detours to Delhi and mundane life.

Sadho Poetry Film Fest @ Goa

Date: 14 March, 2009

Host: Apoorva Kulkarni

Venue: Sunaparanta, Panjim

The Fest

It was a warm day but clouds flirted with the sun and the breeze was refreshing.

It was the perfect setting for a festival of poetry films.

The scene was set. The festival flex had been positioned at the entrance to the hall. Inside, the projector and sound system were in place. We added some mattresses to absorb early reflections and reduce the hollowness of the sound. The ‘multi-purpose hall’ of Sunaparanta – walls lined with paintings – had been transformed into a theatre.

As Sidharth, our 12-year-old Projectionist for the day- took his place at the controls, Apoorva tried hard to mask his surprise. Watching Sidharth check and re-wire the connections put him at ease. The clock hands inched towards six.

With Shigmo floats jostling with vehicles on the streets of Panjim, our hosts wondered how many people shall turn up on time! Then, it was a Saturday evening…

I utilised my time playing with my new toy – a Nikon D-700. As I framed Apoorva greeting the guests, I found a gentleman approaching me. “You must be Nandan Saxena.” I smiled and responded with “Cecil?” A warm handshake followed with the gift of a rare original edition of Mario Miranda’s ‘Goa with love’, and a book titled ‘Domnic’s Goa’ published by Cecil.

Apoorva did not try to hide his surprise this time. “You’ve never met?” he exclaimed. “No we haven’t” we replied in unison.

This is the magic of being a part of things greater than our mundane bread-n-butter routines. We make friends and things just happen.

It is time

6 o’ clock and people started trickling in.

The young projectionist did not want to punish those that had arrived on time. He started with the films. In another 10 minutes, almost all chairs had been occupied.

By the time we entered the hall, he had already screened ‘Prithvi’ by Rajiv Mudgal and ‘Breasts’ by Anjali and Jayasankar. Sidharth ran away with my script on the Goa connection.

The audience was a mix of artists, film and poetry lovers, and students (as we later discovered during our interaction).

Apoorva welcomed the guests and invited Kavita – Sadho Trustee and film-maker. She briefly introduced the Sadho movement and how the audience could connect with the organisation.

There were three people who had told me that they would need to leave mid-way, to attend to other engagements. At the outset, I warned these friends that I was going to make their job difficult.

We started the screening with an animation exploring the relationship between water and life. It was followed by four very short animated poetry films- each offering a different flavour.

In the next sixty minutes, we had taken the audience to three continents- exploring a unique cinematic genre: from the Haiku of Japanese poets to the poetry of American Poet Laureate Billy Collins, the poetry of Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai besides others.

We had decided to screen about ten films. I had already screened nine (not counting Sidharth’s bonus screening). But the audience betrayed no signs of satiation. No restless fidgety movements, no bored murmurs. I was encouraged to dig into our repertoire for three more.

As we returned to terra firma after our flight of poesy, we were glad to find that the people who had warned us of their prior commitments and threatened of early departures were still with us.

A repeat

As we distributed Sadho bookmarks to the audience, Aruna Vasudev, who missed the film ‘Breasts’ at the beginning of the evening, asked us if it was possible to screen it again. Though most of them had seen this film, the audience did not move.

Our day was made.

Sayonara but not Adieu yet

Sadho left its footprint on the sands of Goa. The Goans are known to be connoisseurs of the good things in life. They wanted more.

SADHO POETRY FILMS WORKSHOP: Orientation lecture-cum-screening

Date: 26 March, 2009

Venue: Goa International Centre, Dona Paula.

Host: Shrikant Vinayak Barve

Pix: Jitendra Rampraksh, Arjun Harlarnkar

Shrikant Barve, who was in the audience at Sunaparanta called us to enquire how he could organise the Poetry Films Workshop that we had talked about during the screening. We asked him to visit the Sadho website for details. He checked it out and was back with more questions. I realised that he was serious.

Jitendra Ramprakash, the curator of Sadho Poetry Film Fest is on a road-trip of the Indian peninsula. He was to cross Goa on his way to the South. The pieces of the jigsaw were beginning to fall in place.

On the 24^th of March, as Jitendra and Shrikant discussed Poetry and Chess, their respective passions, while polishing off the pomfret on a moonlit beach at Calangute, the warp and weft of the workshop took shape. A viewer had just turned into an organiser for another screening.

As the prelude to the workshop, an orientation lecture-screening was planned. The event was organised by the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula and Taleigao Chess Academy Sports Club. 

There were poets, filmmakers, academics and social activists – lovers of film and of poetry.

Dr. Meenakshi Martins, who welcomed the audience, had checked out the Sadho website in great detail. She asked those present to visit the Kids Corner and expressed her admiration for the young poets published on the site. This was music to Jitendra’s ears.

Jitendra initiated the audience on what made a poetry film. He touched upon the various sub-genres. Nine films, punctuated with comments, exploring the nuances of style and technique and the trends in Poetry Film-making opened a new window for the audience. As a lovely postscript to the screening, and to Jitendra’s delight two short poetry films made by a Goan Filmmaker on the poems by Amrita Pritam, were also shown. The screening was followed by an open house discussion.

“These are difficult films to watch” commented a gentleman who has 45 films by Ozu in his private collection. “They must be very difficult to make…” commented a young lady who we later discovered was a film-maker.

There were many who connected with the philosophy of Sadho. We discovered kindred souls and made new friends. Dr. Martins – a psychiatrist by profession who works with orphans wants Sadho to screen poetry films for the children. Goa International Centre management and others offered their support for the future endeavours and the proposed workshop.

Mandovi Monogatari

After the screening, Jitendra was invited to a dinner by the River Mandovi, against the backdrop of brilliantly lit cruise boats. There was a lot of warmth in the conversation that flowed that night, on the banks of the gentle Mandovi. The curator was delighted to discuss among other things with Daulat Havaldar – his collection of films by Ozu .

Of Chess and Poetry…

The next night: another dinner invitation. This time, at an art gallery at the border of Calangute and Candolim. Friends of Sadho drove down from Panjim. Satish Sonak recited an ode to the much loved local drink Urak and a lady composed and recited a poem. Jitendra recited a sonnet by Trilochan.

Filmmaker Dharmanand Vernekar, who came for both the evenings said to Jitendra, as he saw him off to the car, “This is a movement you guys have started.”

And before that Jitendra had been telling Shrikant,”I must lose a game of chess to you before I leave Goa.” They could not find the time for the game but Shrikant slipped a CD with some Chess-training software into Jitendra’s hands before they parted.

Poetry finds some unique reciprocations indeed.