Caste System and Gender: “Gainda” & Salaam Bombay
Salaam Bombay
Migrant populations flock to the outskirts of citiesto find work. (source)
India (2)
OutlineI. General Background & Questions II. “Gainda”III. Salaam Bombay Background (1): Mira Nair and the Children Background (2):
Bombay & Bollywood Colonial Influences Religion
Questions Salaam Bombay
Related News & Documentaries Caste and Language (last week) Slum 世界那麼大 :達拉維 Dharavi 2010 11:52;
18:00; 36:12
Bollywood: Lonely Planet-Six Degrees 4:33; 11:19
「消失」的女孩 印度重男輕女的可怕 (2015年05月31日) http://hottopic.chinatimes.com/20150531001229-260804 Reason: prejudice, expensive dowry Consequence: foetus/infant killing (losing 10 million
female), selling (female orphan), and serious gender imbalance ( one school w/ boys 3 times that of girls). Next slide
Gender Imbalance
Girl in an OrphanageGood Sheperd學校,有133名男子和45名女孩上學。(圖/取自光明網)
http://hottopic.chinatimes.com/20150531001229-260804
Lahore
Locations of “Gainda,” Salaam Bombay and Earth.
Ismat Chughtai (1911-1991)
” Born to a "liberal" Muslim family of comfortable affluence, Chughtai was a child of modernity, or to borrow from Minault, a "daughter" of reform.”
A very controversial writer and filmmaker Writing in Urdu
source
Hindi words associated with women and wedding Dulhan = bride
Sindoor/bindi, attar (perfume) Lehnga (long skirt) vs. salwar
(baggy trousers) Ghunghat (veil), razai (quilt) Ghungroos (43) 串鈴
Dupatta: shawl Burqua 一種遮住身體和臉的
印度婦女服裝
“Gainda”: Plot
The story in 5 parts: 1. The narrator plays with Gainda before her
marriage; 2. The narrator plays with her after G is a widow; 3. The narrator is distanced from G, who gets
closer to Bhaiyya; she asks Mewa to marry her. 4. Turning point. The narrator tries to attract
Mewa’s attention again.5. The narrator gets rebellious. After leaving for
two years, she came back to find G with a baby.
Discussion Questions ❶: General
Compare & Contrast: differences and similarities, and what do you make of them? What different childhood desires are
expressed respectively in “Gainda” (by the narrator) and in Salaam Bombay (by Krishna, Manju and the other kids)?
How do they grow beyond these desires, and why?
Discussion Questions ❷: “Gainda”: Class & Gender1) The narrator & Gainda: Ivy, Milla
-- How do the narrator relate to Gainda differently at different stages of their lives? Why does Gainda, who is actually a servant, “hold [the narrator] in contempt” after she is married? p. 43, 46.
-- How do we tell the class difference between the narrator and Gainda? p. 46
-- What is revealed in their game of “Dulhan-Dulhan”and the make-up ritual? pp. 42; 44.
Discussion Questions ❷: Gainda’sand the narrator’s growth2) “Society” (Bhayiyya, Bahu, Mewa) – CarolWhat role does Bhaiyya play in distancing G and the narrator? And Mewa? pp. 43; 45 (Franny: Is he simply a character that is opposite to the narrator? [Married])3) Growth? Ginger How does Gainda adjust to the changes in her life?
Will Bhaiyya go back to her? Does the narrator grow up? Does she remain
envious of Gainda at the end? Ginger: Does she accept the baby out of sympathy or was it because she finally felt that she is, in some ways, more superior than Gainda?
“Gainda”: Gainda’s and the narrator’s growthGainda – Though not getting a lot of respect or resources, she is active in life and her desire, playing the roles of wife, widow, mistress and mother. The narrator’s growing process: Feeling envious; p. 43 Still treated a kid; p. 44; In need of attention. 48 Revengeful; p. 46; 49 Different from the social judgment of Gainda, she
accepts Gainda’s baby.
Mira Nair and Salaam Bombay
Context ❶: Mira Nair Born in Bhubaneshwar,
Orissa in 1957 (middle class family)
Attended the University of New Delhi (Sociology and Theater)
Went to Harvard in 1976 (Sociology) (source)
Salaam Bombay (1988) Mississippi Masala (1991) –
Indian immigrants in relations to Afro-Americans
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love(1997) based on an Indian classic
Monsoon Wedding (2001) Indians and immigrants
[Vanity Fair (2004) ] The Namesake (2006) Indian
immigrants The Reluctant Fundamentalist
(2012)
Salaam Bombay!
Awards: the New Director's Award at the Cannes Film
Festival in 1988 an Academy Award nomination for best foreign film in 1989
Neo-Realism; A departure from Bollywood Musical.
Salaam Bombay! History of Production
1. Interviews of street kids in Bombay.2. Out of these interviews emerged a screenplay
that was a composite of several lives. 3. “Then many [24 out of 150] of the children were
enlisted for weeks in a daily workshop, not to teach them "acting" (for that they already knew from hundreds of overacted Indian film melodramas), but to teach them how to behave naturally in front of the camera.” (source)
What happened to the children? 1. "Our whole attitude was to meet them halfway and
help them realize their own self-worth and dignity," said Nair in a … interview with The Christian Science Monitor (12 Oct 1988, p.19). "[We] wanted to help them create opportunities they want for themselves." Responding to this respectful approach, some children entered school, some returned home to their villages, some got jobs, and some have stayed on the streets.
2. Nair uses proceeds from the film to open learning centers for street children in both Bombay and Delhi. (source)
3. The film’s interviews
The Kids after Salaam Bombay
What Will Happen to Slumdog's Child Stars? Hansa Vithal – married Shafiq Syed – jobless, 3 suicidal attempts,
until trying a new direction as auto-rickshaw driver or camera man. (ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkIb1xdGW18 )
One contracting AIDS, and died of car accident.
Context ❷: The Role of Bollywood“come back a movie star.”
Context ❸: Traces of Colonial Influences
Traces of Colonial Influencesbackground
Tourist & journalist
Context ❹: Traces of Religion?
Traces of Religion? Parade of Ganesh
Questions
A. migrant kids in a city: Christopher, Evelyn What is Krishna’s first experience of Bombay? (clip 1)
Is there a pattern in his life there? Does he “grow” in the film?
Money, drugs vs. Friends: [Why do Chillum & Krishna go to Bombay? What do they each want? Are they real friends? How about the other kids (Manju, the other kids) 1) Gateway of India & Graveyard scene
Street kids and migrants in a city: How does Krishna relate to the people he meets in Bombay? (e.g. Manju, Sweet 16, Manju’s mother, Chillum & the other street kids.) e.g. Why does Krishna fall in love with Sweet Sixteen?
Questions Riley, Sharon, Eunice, Simon Language, the Government, Religion, Culture : --[Annie]Neither Sweet Sixteen nor the foreign
reporter can understand Hindi. What does this suggest?
-- government (the chiller room): [Sun] Why did Murtaza run away when he had the chance to get out of the detention center? [Harris] Why does Keera (Baba's daughter) remain silent ever since she is taken to the children center?
-- How do Bollywood musical, religion and the government influence the kids in the film?
Cinematography & Symbols e.g. [Franny] The train station appears many times in the film, do you think that it has any special meaning or symbol?
Ending: Growth?
[Vivienne] Does the final scene suggest that Krishna finally "understands" Chillum? Will the hope of returning home still inspires Krishna to live, or he will lose his faith and commit suicide?
Major Themes
Major Theme 1: Migrants in the city Major Theme 2: comradeship and betrayal Major Theme 3: Other Social factors
(Language Differences and Illiteracy; slums in Bombay, government inefficiency; Colonialism/tourism -- in the background)
(1) Migrant identity in Salaam Bombay Migrant identity: people drifted to the
metropolis, lost in the crowd, e.g. shots of the train station-- Chaipau: his name (Krishna); no home address-- Chillum: completely lost Mixture of language
& illterate -- the sweet 16: no name, no language
Krishna vs. Sweet 16: as mother, sister, lover?
Salaam Bombay: survival
How do Krishna and the other kids survive? clean chicken coops; skin chicken, keeps a
sense of beauty and love (after being fired) rob an old man, (after losing his money) serve in a rich man’swedding party
Major Themes in Salaam BombayDesire for home –Lost Family
e.g. Krishna-- tries to write home-- needs 500 rupees so that he can go home-- forms a “family” in Bombay (Chillum, the
other children). What about Manju’s
family?
Salaam Bombay: The migrants in a city (2)
Manju’s family— Baba – child-abuser and pimp (chaps 12, 15 ) Mother –loving but cannot help (happy moments
when the father is not around—very short) Manju– lonely and in desperate need of love. (e.g.
chap 13, 14)
Happy Moments
Manju – reaching out in her own ways
Krishna’s Happy Moments: With Chillum
Salaam Bombay: a series of betrays
Chillum
Baba His wife & Manju
Krishna
The Sweet Sixteen The circus
boss
The other street kids
Sweet 16
Major Themes (2): Vicious Circle? Comradeship, betrayal and rebellion/survival-- Pattern
of Repetition: Drug-dealing: the death of the previous drug dealer, Chillum
and then another Chillum. Cheating: Manju’s mother cheated, The Sweet Sixteen
Some are self-destructive and some, surviving Chillum – has no friend; cheats Krishna with his “bank.” Krishna’s setting fire as a way of rebellion against his
brother, and then against the whorehouse
Major Themes 3: Social Factors
Why are Baba and his wife not named? Why do people call Krishna “Chaipau”? What roles do Ganesh and cricket game
play in this film? And the “Chiller room”? (clip 20, 22)
Who sends the two kids to Chiller room? How is the chiller room presented?
Bollywood & Mixture
hybrid culture and identity (e.g. Chillum, Manju’s dance—clip 3; Ms. Hawaii in the movie clip 6/chap 4, 6 21:00 )
Salaam Bombay: social factors
State intervention: Chiller Room (Children’s Home)
drug, prostitution and Bollywood traces of colonial influence: cricket, tourists, statues, movies
Religion: helpless. E.g. Ganesh (ending)
The Role of the Government
Disciplines only to lead to violence, indifference of the guards and endless procrastination in bureaucracies
Self-righteous intervention of Manju’s family.
Patterns in Krishna’s Life: survival, fun, betrayal.
Fun with the Spinning Top
Left Behind …
The Street
Chulum vs. Krishna
The Ending?
Left alone, running Weeping Spinning top Looking up at the
camera --calm
References:
Roger Elbert. SALAAM BOMBAY!
Next week: stories of 3 girls and a young woman During the time of partition -- in Earth; Over the issue of marriage in “Gainda”
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