Sharatettan : Pain Undiluted

C Sharatchandran, documentary filmmaker died in a tragic accident yesterday night. He was returning from a marriage function with his friend Sebastian who also succumbed to injuries.

One of his kind – That was Sharatettan! Passion for film-making combined with social causes, his voice was always one with the down-trodden.

In theatre, many a times a Sootradharan or Narrator carries forward the thread of the story. He may not be part of the story but his narration would have the power to bring about radical changes in it. C Sharatchandran was one such voice threading through the socio-political scene of Kerala.

Personally, you have been a Karanavar, an elder of our extended family. You have been an integral part of our lives. Both our childhoods, Gautham’s and mine, have been linked to you. We both share memories of ‘Kunjunni Maashum Kuttiyolum’. You were there at our marriage recording it for posterity.

Our little one misses out on knowing you. Maybe baby has already met you in that narrow zone between birth and death.

Last time we met, on another train journey, you talked about Chengara, Kanavu, future projects, and how you would one day soon come up to Sarang…

Your life was not yours, it was ours, the society’s. You leave behind many unfinished histories, a voice as powerful as yours is still needed.

Tears of anguish flow down my cheeks seeking some solace in the inevitability of death. But I remain angry and in pain… I seek the answer to only one question:
Karmam Thanne Lahariyayi Kondaadukil
Mattoru Lahariyenthinee Jeevithathil?

C Sharatchandran Filmography

* Save the Western Ghats March - The Kerala Experience (1987)
* No to Dams - A Pooyamkutty Tale (1988)
* Ellaam Asthamikkum Munpe (1989)
* Chaliyar the Final Struggle (1999, with P Baburaj)
* Kanavu (2001)
* Mareva - Narmada Song (2001, with K P Sasi)
* The Bitter Drink (2003, with P Baburaj)
* Neethiyil Ninnu Kudiyirakkappettavar (2003)
* Oru Mazhu Dooram Mathram (2005, with P Baburaj)
* Aayiram Dinangalum Oru Swapnavum (2006, with P Baburaj)
* Yours Truly John (2008)
* Bhoomiykku Vendiyulla Bali (2008)

De poëzie in de operaregie

Poetry in Opera Direction


He walked in... That's what the reception told me... A walk-in guest...
I mentally geared myself for a half an hour's encounter with a tourist just walking in to 'see' vijnana kalavedi... there's nothing to be seen here. The culture, the arts, the food, the people, all have to be felt...
But, no, this was no tourist...
It was an artist...exuding the fragrance of a satisfied life...
He was pure happiness and content just as his hair was pure white...
He vibrated such positive energy...such a radiance...and such love for all things beautiful...
He was a knowledge seeker, a lover of books...
When Gilbert Defloe talked about the many opera he had directed, his experiences came alive...
When he talked about witnessing a lunar eclipse in france...the hushed silence, the eerie light which he tried to recreate later on stage... you live in his memories...
He made the day special...
He walked in...and changed the very air i breathe...
I spent a marvellous day with him...

An Ode to a Friend!

I would like to tell you the story of a small friend whom I came across on my journey ever on. My friends’ name is Virali. Oh, that’s what her Tamil friends call her lovingly. Her official name is Dodonaea Viscosa (impressive, eh?).



She’s found the world over, from India to Africa to Middle East to Australia to America to South East Asia to Hawaii (a real world trouper!). No wonder, her fruits which are cream to red are winged, usually two-winged, but sometimes three or four winged!



She’s a flyer!
She’s a very hardy species and can re-sprout from the base. She has wide tolerance for different soils, winds and heat.



She's strong!
She can grow healthy in all kinds of soils, even in rocky, gravelly or limestone ground or on disturbed ground. She requires very less maintenance if you want to cultivate her. She’s drought and cold resistant. In Hawaii were for every occasion guests are garlanded with flower/fruit necklaces, a garland of dried Virali fruits would be a compliment to you for your resilient and hearty nature. In the Nilgiris, the indigenous community hangs the leaves of Virali from the thatches of their huts on auspicious occasions like a marriage. The tender leaves of Virali are succulent, analgesic (pain-killer!) and have mildly euphoric effect (stimulating was another word!) and slightly toxic in overdose, among numerous other medicinal properties. She favours areas that receive full sun (don’t ever be miserly with her in matters of love, give it fully!). Her kind is propagated through wind, when the pollen dances on the wind horse from flower to flower!



So if you find a faint whiff of a fragrance around you, ah! there she is…

She’s the best sort of friend you would want and keep. Resilient, hearty, loyal, winged, pretty, adventurous, and slightly intoxicating, one whose deep love for performing arts defines her very world!



For a dose of stimulation, please check out http://virali.wordpress.com