Monday, March 5, 2012

"S" on film....(edited to add translation)


"S" is my household help, and has been coming to our house for the last 25 years(and counting). I have written several blogposts dedicated to her "life and times" so to speak, and many readers of my blog Gappa even ask about her.

Recently, I had an opportunity to film her, thanks to an overenthusiastic photographer daughter, and I also recorded what she had to say about her life.

 In honor of Womens' Day, March 8, 2012, there is a short film competition, on our campus,  and  this,  my maiden effort at making a film :-) ,  was my entry in the category of Women's Empowerment.

I am not sure it can be even called a film as such. I just find it unbelievable that it got done at all. Given the fact that I was unable to upload it from where I stay behind firewalls of the e-type. However, the Internet came to my rescue , and I was able to transfer this huge file to my son, via a site, who told him to download it from an address, and he uploaded it on YouTube for me.

Things have come full circle..... as I download it and upload it on this blog post.

( Although like me, a resident of an educational campus, my son, does not live behind firewalls. I guess we are like that only .....)

(Translation from marathi, scrolls independently horizontally below video. Click arrow on video as soon as it loads completely to roughly sync with the translation. On occasions, translation may carry on beyond video. I apologize, but sometimes technology defeats me.)






..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................I was 14 years old , and my parents got me married . I was from a rural area, didn't know how to adjust in urban environs, and the husband was a heavy drinker.By the time I was 21, I had 4 children, and hardly any support from the husband.I was collecting cow dung, selling it by the basket, and supporting the kids on the meagre earnings. He even opposed that. He would drive us out of the house,lock the door and go away. I couldn't stand that, we would break the lock somehow and get inside. My father realized all this,and said " Enough. You need to leave this and return home; " . He took me and my four small children back home with him. He NEVER ever said, "once she is married, she is DEAD to us" .The children went to the local school.Today, my children have studied till Class X. I worked houses, saved in chit funds, took loans and with the help of my brothers,got my own tenement.Today my 3 sons and I go off to our daily work from there. My daughter,got married, but was cheated, the fellow was a fraud, and I brought her back home & stand firmly behind her. She works,and now I, my three sons, three daughters-in-law, 4 grandsons and 1 daughter, live together in my little house.My eldest daughter-in-law,a XIIth class pass, did a computer course, a library assistant's course, and works. Today, my father is no more. I handle my own work,and visit offices and courts, and sign with my thumbprint. I am illiterate, but I want my children to study, my grandchildren to get good education. My sons' offices have computers, my daughter-in-law works in a office with computers, and my employers have computers at home. I've learned that one find lots of useful information on computers. When my 2nd daughter-in-law was pregnant, there was some confusion about an eclipse. I decided not to listen to assorted ladies and neighbors hearsay, and called up my Ma'am and asked her to ask the computer ! She found out and told me the timings , and we were able to figure out our movements for the day. See, I never went to school. But i dearly wish that grandsons can get good education, and that he should go to a good school and become well educated. You know, I have four grandsons. My only remaining wish is that I may soon have a granddaughter !

33 comments:

  1. This is just awesome. Though I could not understand the language she is talking, the essence is clear. Education doesn't matter when one is determined to change the circumstances. I feel so glad to know you :-)

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    1. Sangeeta, thank you ! It's a kind of slap dash way of making the film, lots of scope for learning and improvement, but I've been wanting to introduce her to my blogworld for a long time ! Windows moviemaker helped :-))

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    1. Kavita, thank you for appreciating ! Re-Pranams back to you.....:-)

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  3. Errr... where did my comment go? *baffled*
    Anyways, awesome, awesome awesome! I don't know the language, but got the gist :)

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    1. Shail, thank you ! You can check out the posts I've linked to , for details of her travails....

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    2. Suranga, Thanks for the links and the translation of the video :)

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  4. Wonderful Suranga. A great lady indeed.

    She says in the beginning that her father brought her home as one's own, and not someone else's person- that should be a lesson to those who consider their daughters 'paraya dhan.'

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    1. This was almost 28 years ago, and was an amazing way for her parents to act, given how we see thoughtless behaviour from parents of girls, pressurized by society even today. She had excellent role models; and now, so do her kids....

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  5. Bravo! Hats off to both- to your subject and to you!

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    1. Thanks, Manju ! had a lot of fun doing this, and you should have seen how comfortable she was with headphones and stuff...

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  6. I have been a fan of your blog but commenting here for the first time. It was good to finally see and hear "S" in her own words. Pass on my good wishes to her.

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  7. Awesome Idea ... Very inspiring story... nice to hear that kamwali bai marathi after long time ... keep uploading such videos...

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  8. Brilliant. Loved this one. I would luv to know what she has said, I could just guess here and there :)

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    1. Swaram, thank you. You know I did some fiddling with WMM to put subtitles. And it writes the words all over the lower part of the picture, and not, say, scrolling left to right etc at the very bottom. Maybe there is a better way, and I haven't found it yet. Lets see.

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  9. wonderful!!!! another feather in your cap!

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    1. Anuradha, Thank you ! Heard from Sudha you were at the KGAF, the same time we were, but missed you somehow!

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  10. this was just awesome. I have been a regular reader of your blogs for a long time and am a great fan of yours. You rock and so does 'S'!!

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    1. Thank you ! (looks around, searching)..I wish I knew who you were :-) And yes, S does rock, though I myself, might have to refrain out of consideration for the neighbors :-))

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  11. WOw!! Finally we see and hear S!! Loved the film! Love how you managed to do all this!! How did you add the sound after recording it? Shared it on G+ :)

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    1. IHM, there was sound before too. Wonder why you couldnt hear it. I just added the english scrolling translation today. While doing this movie, Recorded the sound using Audacity, saved in .wav and added it in pieces in WMM. The daughter filmed entirely on her own, and i did my stuff independently. The combination is a bit in beginner style, but its OK, we're learning :-) ...Thanks for sharing it !

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  12. Family like S's will change India! Great film Suranga and thank you for introducing S to us. I remember reading about the daughter in law going to computer class too.

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    1. I hope you were finally able to open the video ! Thank you .

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  13. First of Suranga, my comment is not about empowerment. It is not about teaching you the art of cinematography either: an INR 245.oo book would do better. Yet, as an avid home-film-maker,
    I just want to say 3 things:

    1. Get a tripod. Yes, the cheapest one will do. You can skip even that if you devise stationary perches for the camera at the shoot.

    2. Cut down on the zoom in and zoom out.
    3. And yes, cut the scene often.

    I know you are fuming. But a good friend is one who tries to help you out.

    Finally, that was a nice visual storyline.

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    1. USP, Thanks for this very constructive advice. This was a kind of spur-of-the-moment thing , where the daughter did the videos although she really does stills mostly. (And i then went snip snip, click click in Windows Movie maker, in a sort of tentative way. ) .....But I have the pleasure of passing on your useful suggestions to her.

      And no, I am not fuming at all. I'm getting to dabble in all this exciting stuff in my old age, and sometimes one gets carried away simply knowing that there was actually a result of the efforts. And I do expect all my friends to come out with the truth and nothing but the truth, however unpalatable, so I can learn more.

      I hope to do more such video posts, and look forward to more comments from you.

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  14. Loved it. Good luck with the contest :)

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    1. Neha, Thank you ! Keep fingers crossed. result today !

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  15. I saw this a while ago- now I probably had a senior moment and forgot to comment! Awesome, simply awesome!

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  16. Dipali, Thank you ! I must have made this film in one of MY senior moments, I guess ! :-))

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  17. Excellent choice! I'm so glad that you introduced her to the blog world. Secondly, it is so inspiring to hear her story! Great job, Surangatai! :)

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  18. Bravo! An inspiring story of an enlightened woman by another! :)

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