A review of the movie
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A movie that clearly shows how mountaineering has changed. Made in the year 2000 by Martin Campbell, the movie tells the story of an expedition to K2, a Himalayan peak, the second highest and one of the most treacherous mountains in the world.
At the base camp, Peter Garrett, a photographer, meets his sister Annie who has joined the expedition led by Elliot Vaughn. Vaughn, a rich industrialist, wants to reach the peak, at a particular time and date. He is launching an airline and plans to be on the summit when the first flight of his new airline passes overhead. As he waves from the peak at the aircraft, a photoshoot will ensure great publicity.
In earlier times every mountaineer approached a mountain with reverence. Before an expedition, he trained hard, refrained from smoking and drinking, and tried to be totally fit. This movie depicts how commercialisation has overtaken mountaineering. Before the expedition there is a late night party at base camp. There is drinking and dancing, instead of preparation for the great day.
The expedition starts well, but then a storm threatens. Vaughn is warned through communication with base camp. Tom Mclaren, the nominal leader of the expedition, wants to turn back, but Vaughn refuses. The weather gets worse, and three of the summitteers, Annie, Vaughn and Tom are swept into a crevice. They are alive, but trapped. They others seem to have died.
With new technology now available, even those in the crevice can be in touch with base camp. Peter learns that his sister Annie is alive, and is desperate to rescue her. Peter, once a mountaineer, stopped climbing after an accident on a mountain, in which his father died. Though there was nothing he could have done to save him, he felt responsible. Now he asks for volunteers to rescue the trapped summitteers, which everyone knows is almost a suicide mission. They obtain nitroglycerin from the Pakistan army camp, in case they need to blast the rocks. Peter and five others set off in pairs. An interesting character, Montgomery Wick, is part the rescue mission. Wick has lived on the mountain ever since his wife died in a previous expedition with Vaughn. He believes Vaughn is responsible for her death.
As the rescue mission proceeds, there are many climbing scenes with most of them gasping for breath. One wonders why, with all the technology available, they are not using oxygen? Was it too much to carry, as they were already carrying nitroglycerin? But even the trapped summitteers don’t seem to have any oxygen.
Wick finds his dead wife, frozen in a standing position. The find confirms his suspicion that Vaughn was responsible for her death. With her is an empty case of dexmethasone that climbers these days use in extreme situations. Vaughn had claimed they had none. Now he shows he’s a real murderer as in the crevice he kills the injured Tom, to give himself a better chance to survive.
In the end Peter brings his sister Annie back safely. Wick had planned to kill Vaughn, but finds himself unable to do so. Peter, he and Vaughn are roped together, and are being pulled out of the crevice, but with an impending disaster, he cuts the rope above him, enabling Peter to survive, while he and Vaughn plunge to their death. Annie has already been pulled up. Monique is the other survivor of the rescue team.
The film was a box office hit, yet it raises so many questions. To save Annie, four more people died, was it worth it? Weren’t their lives as precious? It also shows the deterioration of mountaineering as a great sport, the lack of repect for nature, and for the mountains.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Holi, A festival of colours
This year, 2011, Holi is on 20 March.
Every year there are interesting notices and items in the newspaper in the days before Holi. There are recipes for gujiyas, thandai and other delicious eats, offers of discounts on various goods, special Holi menus in restaurants, as well as notices from government departments. On the TV there are clips from old films, featuring Holi songs.
This year in the newspapers, we have, from the Department of Environment and Forests 'Say Happy Herbal Holi', with instructions below on making colours from plants and flowers.
From the Delhi police we have two, which give one an idea of how Holi is celebrated in the city.
One notice says:
'Respect the feelings of others while celebrating the festival of colours.
Don't play colours with unwilling persons.
Don't offend sensitivity of others.
Don't throw water or balloons on passers-by.
Don't throw dirt and chemicals on people.
Don't indulge in eve-teasing.
Don't drink and drive.'
Another notice is more ominous. It says:
'Celebrate Holi at home or behind bars: the choice is yours. Don't drink and drive. Drunken driving is punished with jail term, suspension of driving licence and fine.'
It goes on to give some statistics on numbers arrested and jailed this year, and says:
'Do Not:
Ride more than two on two-wheelers.
Ride without helmet.
Over speed.
Overcrowd in vehicles.
On Holi last year 5300 persons were challaned including 436 for drunken driving.' [a challan is a notice to pay a fine or appear in court].
----------------------------
Below is an extract on legends associated with Holi, modified from my book, Religions of India.
Holi
A Hindu festival usually celebrated in March. It is a spring and harvest festival, more popular in north India, and is celebrated on two days, the first by lighting bonfires, and the second by throwing coloured water and dry powdered colour on one another. According to some astrological calculations, the Hindu new year starts two days after the Holi fire is lit.
Several legends are associated with the festival, the most popular being that of Holika. Holika was the sister of Hiranyakashipu, whose son Prahlad was devoted to the god Vishnu. She joined her brother in trying to kill Prahlad because of this devotion. She took Prahlad on her lap and entered a fire, as she believed she was beyond harm, but she was consumed by the fire, whereas Prahlad emerged unharmed because of his worship of Vishnu. Thus, the night before Holi, fires are lit, symbolising the burning of Holika and the triumph of good over evil.
Another legend links Holi with the defeat of Kama, the god of love, by Shiva, while according to another story it is a celebration of the marriage of Shiva and Parvati.
The festival has a special significance in Mathura, where Holi is celebrated for several days, and associated with the god Krishna. According to local tradition, Krishna used to throw spring flowers of different colours on the gopis, and thus the practice of throwing coloured water on one another, started. In this area, ‘Lath Mar’ Holi is also celebrated, where women attempt to hit men with sticks, thus establishing their dominance for at least one day in the year. In Barmer in Rajasthan, groups throw stones at each other, and in Meera Ghat in Varanasi, they attack each other with sticks. Wrestling and boxing matches also take place.
In rural areas Holi remains linked with the harvest, and the harvested sheaves are roasted and offered to deities. In some regions, Holi dances are performed.
Special delicacies are made on Holi. Malpua, a sweet of bread and sugar syrup, gujiya, another sweet, and papri, made of corn flour are popular in north India. In Maharashtra, puranpori, a kind of flat bread stuffed with sweet lentils is common, and in Gujarat, flat millet bread. Traditionally bhang, an intoxicant, is also used, leading at times to wild behaviour.
Holi is thus not only a spring festival, heralding spring with colour and song, but a time when conventions are broken, in a spirit of freedom.
Every year there are interesting notices and items in the newspaper in the days before Holi. There are recipes for gujiyas, thandai and other delicious eats, offers of discounts on various goods, special Holi menus in restaurants, as well as notices from government departments. On the TV there are clips from old films, featuring Holi songs.
This year in the newspapers, we have, from the Department of Environment and Forests 'Say Happy Herbal Holi', with instructions below on making colours from plants and flowers.
From the Delhi police we have two, which give one an idea of how Holi is celebrated in the city.
One notice says:
'Respect the feelings of others while celebrating the festival of colours.
Don't play colours with unwilling persons.
Don't offend sensitivity of others.
Don't throw water or balloons on passers-by.
Don't throw dirt and chemicals on people.
Don't indulge in eve-teasing.
Don't drink and drive.'
Another notice is more ominous. It says:
'Celebrate Holi at home or behind bars: the choice is yours. Don't drink and drive. Drunken driving is punished with jail term, suspension of driving licence and fine.'
It goes on to give some statistics on numbers arrested and jailed this year, and says:
'Do Not:
Ride more than two on two-wheelers.
Ride without helmet.
Over speed.
Overcrowd in vehicles.
On Holi last year 5300 persons were challaned including 436 for drunken driving.' [a challan is a notice to pay a fine or appear in court].
----------------------------
Below is an extract on legends associated with Holi, modified from my book, Religions of India.
Holi
A Hindu festival usually celebrated in March. It is a spring and harvest festival, more popular in north India, and is celebrated on two days, the first by lighting bonfires, and the second by throwing coloured water and dry powdered colour on one another. According to some astrological calculations, the Hindu new year starts two days after the Holi fire is lit.
Several legends are associated with the festival, the most popular being that of Holika. Holika was the sister of Hiranyakashipu, whose son Prahlad was devoted to the god Vishnu. She joined her brother in trying to kill Prahlad because of this devotion. She took Prahlad on her lap and entered a fire, as she believed she was beyond harm, but she was consumed by the fire, whereas Prahlad emerged unharmed because of his worship of Vishnu. Thus, the night before Holi, fires are lit, symbolising the burning of Holika and the triumph of good over evil.
Another legend links Holi with the defeat of Kama, the god of love, by Shiva, while according to another story it is a celebration of the marriage of Shiva and Parvati.
The festival has a special significance in Mathura, where Holi is celebrated for several days, and associated with the god Krishna. According to local tradition, Krishna used to throw spring flowers of different colours on the gopis, and thus the practice of throwing coloured water on one another, started. In this area, ‘Lath Mar’ Holi is also celebrated, where women attempt to hit men with sticks, thus establishing their dominance for at least one day in the year. In Barmer in Rajasthan, groups throw stones at each other, and in Meera Ghat in Varanasi, they attack each other with sticks. Wrestling and boxing matches also take place.
In rural areas Holi remains linked with the harvest, and the harvested sheaves are roasted and offered to deities. In some regions, Holi dances are performed.
Special delicacies are made on Holi. Malpua, a sweet of bread and sugar syrup, gujiya, another sweet, and papri, made of corn flour are popular in north India. In Maharashtra, puranpori, a kind of flat bread stuffed with sweet lentils is common, and in Gujarat, flat millet bread. Traditionally bhang, an intoxicant, is also used, leading at times to wild behaviour.
Holi is thus not only a spring festival, heralding spring with colour and song, but a time when conventions are broken, in a spirit of freedom.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Buddha’s Bowl
One may compare Manimekhalai’s magic bowl, with the story of the Buddha’s bowl.
According to the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hsien, who was in India from 399-414 CE, a king of the Yeuh-shi [possibly Kanishka, the Kushana king of the first or second century CE] attempted to take the bowl away. But, no matter what he tried, the bowl would not leave the country.
‘The king knew that the time for an association between himself and the bowl had not yet arrived, and was sad and deeply ashamed with himself.’ He, therefore, built a stupa and a monastery where the bowl was kept. It was brought out at midday and in the evening. Fa-Hsien records : ‘Its thickness is about the fifth of an inch, and it has a bright and glossy lustre. When poor people throw into it a few flowers, it becomes immediately full, while some very rich people … might not stop till they had thrown in hundreds, thousands and myriads of bushels [of flowers] and yet would be unable to fill it.’
According to the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hsien, who was in India from 399-414 CE, a king of the Yeuh-shi [possibly Kanishka, the Kushana king of the first or second century CE] attempted to take the bowl away. But, no matter what he tried, the bowl would not leave the country.
‘The king knew that the time for an association between himself and the bowl had not yet arrived, and was sad and deeply ashamed with himself.’ He, therefore, built a stupa and a monastery where the bowl was kept. It was brought out at midday and in the evening. Fa-Hsien records : ‘Its thickness is about the fifth of an inch, and it has a bright and glossy lustre. When poor people throw into it a few flowers, it becomes immediately full, while some very rich people … might not stop till they had thrown in hundreds, thousands and myriads of bushels [of flowers] and yet would be unable to fill it.’
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