There will be very few people in this world
who can live without ever putting on a mask.
In order to conceal from others our natural instincts,
foibles, our sorrows and problems
we often need to don a mask.
Certain circumstances may well prompt us into doing so.
But what if life itself turns into a web of deceit?
Olappamanna, the Malayalam poet says to us,
'Could it be that We have no true face'
'That each mask we don is itself our face?'
They say the countryside overflows with goodness.
But MT shows us that this is not quite true.
Though he praises the beauty, the goodness of village life,
he proves to us through his story, ‘Shilalikhitham’ (Stone Inscriptions)
that it can also wear at times a very different face.
Wafting over the Thaannikkunnu hill
And over the banks of the silvery Nila river
O come to me, my lonely dreams
As you wander continually over my mindscapes
Wafting over the Thaannikkunnu hill
One,
the stone inscriptions in the Kalliyur Thura.
Two,
the tiger lairs on the Karakkulam Hill.
Three,
Buddhist and Jain religions in Kerala.
Didn’t you say you were going to your hometown tomorrow, Gopetta?
Yes.
We’ve sent people to start work.
When Uncle Raghavan came for Aunt’s eye surgery that day,
he spoke of a stone inscription.
I want to verify its authenticity.
The 11th century document in Alangattiri,
I was the first one to see it.
It was a mistake to have told the HOD about it.
Now, that’s in his name.
I can’t let it happen this time too.
Not a thing stays in the place where I kept it!
Since you’re going to Kerala, won’t you go and see Amma?
Yes, I'll be going.
The construction of our house keeps getting delayed.
With every year that passes, building costs keep going up.
You must remember that.
Thomas, the broker, said that there are two people from the Gulf
who are keen on buying the place.
We need to make a decision soon.
It doesn’t matter if you have to stay there a day or two,
just get Amma to murmur her consent.
Amma, can I too go with Father to Kerala?
He’s going on work.
Why do you want to tag along?
Let her come if she wants, Sarala.
Amma will be happy as well.
[Kerala lottery sales announcement] Kerala State lottery!
These tickets you see are beckoning you!
What’s happening?
Sorry, I’m a little late.
This is Rama Pisharoty, the university epigraphist.
This is Uzhuthra Variar, the manager of the temple.
His knowledge of Sanskrit and Astrology is profound.
‘The Nedumparayur landowner, Kodai Iravi’.
That’s it, right?
You’re an authority in deciphering
the Vattezhuthu script that’s a blend of Tamil and Malayalam.
Aren’t you? Do look.
Yes, that’s what it says.
That means...
it’s the king of this place who signed the Anjuvarnam Edict.
If that’s so, Kanakasabapathy’s conclusion is wrong
and Dr. Bernal’s theory is right.
Must be.
What do you think, Variar?
I don’t know much about history.
Renu!
Don’t go farther in there, it’s wild and overgrown.
Variar, have you ever wondered why this region is called Kalliyur Thura?
That’s certainly something one should think about.
‘Thura’ has to be ‘thuramukham’, a harbour.
But, how can there be a harbour here?
That river you see there,
maybe it used to flow this way long ago.
Correct, I think so too.
If you climb up that broken wall, it’s just 300 yards to the river.
The river that was so wide then probably shrank
and grew this narrow with the passage of time.
Variar, get the undergrowth here trimmed and cleaned.
A historical memorial is going to come up here very soon.
The Namboodiri who’s the temple trustee is very enthusiastic
but that’s not enough.
The villagers have formed a committee to collect funds
but they’re not really active.
Here’s a small contribution from me.
- I’ll come again next week. - Sure.
You must make all of them realize the seriousness of this matter.
Shall we all go our ways now?
Raju and Sharody, you’re going to Kozhikode, right?
Yes, yes.
I’ll go and see my mother before I go back.
- Okay, then I’ll… - Okay.
- Bye. - Sharody!
This time, the document will be in Professor P.K.G.Nair’s,
that is, in my name!
Is Kali’s breathlessness any better, Kurumba?
Not at all, Thamburatti.
Amma suffered a lot last night.
The nights are very misty, so maybe...
Isn’t that Gopa?
- Achamma, Grandmother! - Mole, little one!
How come, so suddenly?
I had a bit of research work in the Shiva temple here.
When Renu knew I was coming she said she wanted to come and see her grandmother.
Good! So I had a chance to see my child.
You could have brought Sarala and Babu as well.
What an idea!
Lock up the house and come just for a day!
Still…
That’s not all. They both have a lot of work to do there.
Young Thamburatti has become a big girl now!
Last time I saw you, you were this small.
It will take quite a while for lunch to be ready.
If I knew you were coming, we’d have made something special.
Whatever there is will do, Amma.
Kurumba, bring two banana leaves.
Kodai Iravi’s epoch,
9th century AD.
Krishna, Guruvayurappa!
Don’t pull up the wick that long,
the lamp will grow black and sooty.
Sit down, I’ll get the dosas.
Did Renu eat, Amma?
She made a pretence of eating. I saw her run that side.
Is this the way to draw water?
There used to be a pulley here.
That’s been damaged for ages.
I can’t find anyone to repair it.
This is the problem if you live in the countryside.
There are people who have nothing to do walking all over the place
but you can’t find a single workman if you need one!
How many times a day will you go on drawing water like this?
I should go and see Valiamma, your sister, shouldn’t I?
She’d have heard I’m here...
and if I don’t go, she’s sure to complain.
I'm glad you thought about it.
It’s good you’re going.
She’s old.
Who knows when and how...
Her hearing is quite bad too,
though she can hear things she’s not meant to quite well!
- One more dosa? - That’s enough.
Father, should I change?
Amma’s packed another dress.
It’s just next door, you don’t need to change.
- Please let me change. - Go and change, little one.
Malu Edathi, if there’s no tea, get me a glass of water.
Uncle Raghavan!
I’m hearing things I’ve never heard before!
Here.
Did you hear, Malu Edathi?
What?
Our Narayani’s daughter is lying unconscious.
Who?
Our Narayani’s daughter.
She’s lying unconscious in the brook.
- Eh? - Yes!
Who’s come?
Ah, Gopa is here.
I wondered who it could be when I saw the slippers outside.
Gopa, I’ve been wanting to see you.
Sarala’s come too, right?
No, that’s Renu.
What’s the matter, Uncle?
I want to get Bhargavikutty enrolled in a B.Ed course, Gopa.
We’ll have to wait till June.
I just wanted to tell you well in advance.
Raghava, what happened to Narayani’s daughter?
Did she have a seizure?
No, nothing like that.
People say she mixed something and drank it, in order to die.
Kunhikrishnan came to tell me at daybreak.
Now everyone is talking about it.
Some say she jumped into the brook to die.
Why would anyone jump into water that’s not even waist-high in order to die?
These calamities…
What made the girl think of doing such a thing?
Her character, of course!
Just like her mother’s!
Listen Malu Edathi.
Last night Kuttiraman asked Narayani,
‘Isn’t that your daughter, lying in the brook?’
Do you know what she replied?
‘If she’s dying, let her die!’
What a cruel heart!
A reckless mother’s daughter turns out to be a daredevil!
God!
I don’t know what more we’ll hear about these wretches.
I’m going to see Valiamma, Uncle.
I have to go back this evening to Kozhikode.
I’ll be around.
Kumaran is coming. I have to help him buy a room to set up a shop.
Look,
when I enquired, they said I’ll have to give 18 or 20.
For what?
The B.Ed admission.
They need a strong recommendation as well.
Who should we catch hold of for that?
I’ll find out.
- When did you come? - Yesterday.
So did you hear, Gopalankutty?
Raghavan Nair, didn’t you know about that girl, Narayani’s…
It seems she’s lying in the brook.
I heard, man.
That’s what we were talking about.
Go and get the umbrella.
What can one say? If her mother doesn’t want her to survive,
why would the villagers want her either?
Master,
you know something about medicines.
Would you be able to find out what that girl mixed and drank?
Malu Amma, she has to be taken to a doctor.
They have medicines to make her throw up.
Or else, they’ll give her an enema and empty her bowels.
That’s what has to be done.
So if it’s a doctor she needs,
why does no one arrange for her to see one, Raghava?
Malu Edathi, you’d better just sit down quietly somewhere.
Can anyone change what destiny has ordained?
Look, if we get involved, It means dealing with
the police, a post-mortem,
and, what’s it called?
An inquest.
That’s it. Did you hear?
- Renu... - It will be nothing but trouble!
That’s why everyone is keeping away.
Father! Where’s the umbrella?
Look in my leather bag.
Still, if a girl’s fallen down on the wayside,
someone should at least inform the police.
They did that.
But the police are still arguing about which police station
has jurisdiction over the spot she’s lying in.
They won’t turn up until they’ve made a decision on that!
That’s her fate.
Just imagine, it’s here to this house, that Narayani should have come as a bride.
We’re going…
Don’t stand here, raking up old stories.
Call those people.
Hey! Come here.
Father!
Why don’t they go and bring a doctor?
Are you still thinking of that?
Someone would have gone… Walk on…
Long ago, this place used to be full of rose apple trees.
See that river? My father’s house was beyond that.
In those days, we had to go all the way there to catch a bus.
I used to walk that distance and climb the hill, to get to school.
Six miles!
How easy it is for you!
The school bus stops at our gate.
There used to be a brook here that became like a waterfall in the rainy season.
We used to have our baths in it.
Let’s ask him.
Gopa, she’s lying in the brook, half her body is in the water.
Govindan and Hari went up to her, they said she’s breathing.
Hari says, if they can bring Hydrose’s bullock cart here
they could take her in it to Sivadasan Doctor.
We’ll do whatever you say, Gopalankutty Master.
What should we do?
What can I say?
She’s your great-uncle’s daughter’s daughter, isn’t she?
It’s not I who should decide.
It’s her family members, right?
I came here on university work and am leaving very soon.
All of you must discuss the matter and decide what to do.
- If you say that… - Come, Renu.
- What can we do now? - We’ll wait a little longer.
Renu!
Looks like even her family has given up on her.
Ah, Gopa!
When did you come?
I came on University work.
I’m going back this evening.
Renu is with you.
Come here. What class are you in?
The 6th.
Eh…?
- The 6th - 6th, 6th. Speak louder!
The older one? Why didn’t Babu come?
He’s having exams soon.
He’s in the 10th, isn’t he?
Why are you standing here? Come in and sit down.
I’m a little busy, Valiamma.
Before I leave this evening, I have a few things to do.
We just wanted to see you.
However busy you are, sit down for five minutes.
- Climb up. - All right.
Come.
Malathi...
Gopa and the child are here.
Tell them to make tea.
No, we’ll get late.
And anyway, Renu doesn’t drink tea.
Malathi, ask them to make a glass of tea and some Horlicks.
All right.
It won’t take that much time. Sit down there now.
Only Malathi and I are here.
Kuttan’s gone to Madras for a training course.
Balakrishnettan’s stiil in Palakkad?
Govindan comes every Saturday and Sunday to attend to affairs here.
Balakrishna Ettan?
He, Sarojini and the children are in Coimbatore.
I don’t think they’ll be coming here now.
You don’t have any ailments, do you, Valiamma?
I don’t sleep at night and cannot taste anything.
As for hearing, not at all.
My only prayer is that I don’t become disabled, and a problem for the children.
That savage cat is here again to steal something!
I heard you’re building a house In Kozhikode. How’s it going?
We haven’t started work on it.
Sarala had some land in town.
We’re just thinking of building a house there.
I must find the money for it.
The girl who works here said that something happened to Narayani’s daughter.
Did you know, Gopa?
I saw people gathered there.
I thought, let them decide what to do and came away.
When I said at that time, don’t go ahead with this marriage
even your mother was annoyed.
Now, don’t you think I was right to say that?
Are Sarala and Babu okay, Gopetta?
They’re all right.
It’s a while since I saw Sarala.
They’ll come after Babu’s exams.
I have work to do on some old documents for the university.
So I’ll be here for four or five days on my next visit.
I’ll come and spend more time with you then.
Okay.
Do you know why Amma and Babu Ettan don’t come here, Father?
Why?
They say Valiamma’s house is not clean at all...
and that there are huge cockroaches all over the place.
One morning, while having a bath,
they saw a spider this big on the bathroom roof!
When they told Achamma, she said,
‘It’s quite harmless. it will just sit there quietly!'
There’s no one to be seen here.
Father, would they have taken her to a doctor?
They must have.
Let me go and see.
Father!
Come here!
Father...
They haven’t taken her away. She’s still lying there.
Come on!
Come.
Look, Father.
She’s moving!
Shall we go down and have a look?
No, no! Come on.
Renu, I told you to come back.
What’s happened?
It’s so distressing, Gopa.
Everyone’s come here to talk about it.
Look Gopa, they’re saying the girl is four months pregnant.
Not four, Unni Menon, five!
No, no, not five. Can’t one see?
Two or three at the most.
Her stomach’s not that big!
Do you wat to hear, Narayanan etta?
There’s a group of young boys who live on the hillside.
Absolute good-for-nothing!
They’ve been going in and out of Narayani’s house constantly.
Yes!
What’s her condition now, Chathappa?
She’s in a terrible state.
You can hear her groans if you stand in the lane above.
Malu Amma, I have a feeling this areca nut is rotten.
Could it be a poisonous seed?
Or that pesticide they use now...
Folida…?
Folidol.
Some people drink that.
No, it can’t be Folidol.
If it was, she couldn’t have survived this long.
As far as I calculated, it’s been 18 hours now.
It must be datura,
or some other poisonous seed.
They are easy to get hold of.
- This is all I have. - That will do.
I had asked this girl of Narayani’s to come and work here a few days.
They are in such dire straits.
So I thought, let her at least eat three meals a day while she’s here with me.
She stayed all of three days!
I never saw her again.
Why talk of all that?
What of the excellent marriage proposal
that came for her from Kottilil Nani Amma’s son, Kunhunni?
Such a hard-working boy!
But this slut thought he was too well-bred for her!
It was good they abandoned that proposal.
At least she did not dishonour her family’s reputation.
That’s spoilt now anyway!
My goddess Bhagavathi!
I’m in a real fix now.
What am I going to do?
What happened?
Thankakutty’s wedding is fixed on the 15th.
If something happens to that creature, everyone in my wife’s family
will have to observe a 15-day period of mourning.
The wedding’s in Guruvayur.
What’s the problem? It will take place in a mantapam outside the temple after all.
Then there’s no problem?
What problem?
Those who are in mourning should not enter the temple, that’s all.
In any case, these are just outmoded customs, what else?
Parameswara, how is she now?
I came that way.
A loud sound like the bellowing of cattle. You can hear it from above!
The fruit of her karma!
Exactly.
The consequences of one’s actions in a previous birth.
No one can change them!
Uncle Ravunni lived in style!
And he’s our grandmother’s older sister’s son, right?
To think that such a disaster should have overtaken
Ravunni Uncle’s daughter and granddaughter.
- It’s a curse that’s befallen her! - Yes, that’s it!
Eroman Nair, don’t you remember Ravunni Uncle?
Of course! There’s his photo!
There was no place he couldn’t reach on his Raleigh cycle.
I see rain clouds.
If it rains as well at this time, we’ll be in deep trouble.
Great!
Bhagavathi, don’t let us down!
If things would settle down before the rain starts
what a comfort it would be.
Will it rain?
You can never tell, with rain.
Just as well Ravunni Uncle died. He doesn’t have to deal with this.
I wonder whether he’s alive somewhere…
They say Thyvalappil Kumaran Master’s younger brother once saw him in Madras.
Madras!
Both brothers are useless fellows!
They open their mouths only to tell lies!
Futile to blame him.
Would any man with dignity who saw something
that should never be seen as he entered his house
ever want to go on living in his village?
That’s not it.
He left the village because he was plunged in debt.
Didn’t they face hardships even when Narayani’s husband was alive?
How does that excuse him from throwing honour and self respect to the winds?
Narayani!
Yes!
It’s started to drizzle.
Take the clothes off the line.
Okay.
Get lost!
Why are you sitting here?
Why are you sitting in the dark?
It’s nothing.
What is it, Narayani?
I want to see Gopettan.
There’s something I need to tell him.
He’s inside. You didn’t see him?
No.
I’ll call him.
Narayani’s waiting in the portico.
Nhh…
She’s come to see you, Gopa.
I’m busy, tell her to come later.
They’re all in a miserable state in that house.
There are lots of people who are as miserable as they are.
I think she wants to see you alone and tell you something.
What?
Shall I tell her to come in?
No.
Then I’ll ask her what it is.
At that time, all of you decided that it was not going to happen.
What is there left now to ask or tell?
Maybe she thinks you’ll give her some help.
Here.
Only this much?
Here, give her this.
It’s all I have at the moment.
Don’t you want to have lunch? It’s ready.
What about the people who were sitting there?
There’s no one, they’ve all left.
Aren’t you eating, Amma?
I’ll eat with Renu.
Where is she?
She’s with Kurumba in the yard.
She said she’s not ready to eat.
I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something for a long time.
What is it?
Every time I come here, Sarala reminds me about it.
So tell me what it is.
The plan for the house in Kozhikode is ready.
You’ve already told me that.
But there’s a problem about money.
The fixed deposit and the provident fund together
will come to only one and half lakhs.
The engineer’s estimate is five lakhs.
It won’t stop at five, I know.
Sarala has been asking me if we can sell this house and compound.
I saw a couple of brokers recently.
They told me that some people in the Gulf are looking to buy land here.
Those people pay good prices. We’ll get ready cash as well.
You must give this matter serious thought, Amma.
Can’t you keep a clean towel here, Amma?
It was washed yesterday.
It smells really bad. Che!
- Will she scold us? - Doesn’t matter.
Where did you go?
I...
Nowhere.
Your clothes are wet!
Renu, come and eat.
I don’t want to eat, Achamma.
I waited, hoping you’d come.
You eat, Achamma, I don’t want to.
You can’t say that. Eat a handful, at least.
I’m not hungry.
Do you have a bad stomach?
The child hasn’t eaten a thing for lunch.
And she just pecked at her food this morning.
She’ll eat when she feels hungry.
Amma...
The matter I spoke of.
What’s the point of clinging to this house?
Why should you go on living here alone?
The doors, the lintels, even the girders on the roof,
they’ve all been attacked by termites, they’re rotten!
Let’s sell this house.
Mm...
And then?
You can stay with us, Amma.
There’s no hurry.
I told you so that you can start thinking about it.
Three or four generations have put down roots in this soil.
Are you telling me that I must forget that?
It’s not that, Amma.
That’s exactly what it is.
You want me to leave this house, this village, and go away.
This is my village too.
And I too love it.
But what does that mean?
If there’s an emergency, do you have a doctor nearby?
Don’t you have to go six, seven miles to find one?
A village indeed!
What’s the use of holding such a place close to your heart?
When a woman who’s dying...
Didn’t you change those wet clothes?
Go and change! We’re leaving.
Gopa!
Isn’t Gopa here?
Are you leaving?
Yes.
Gopa, don’t worry about the money.
We’ll give them whatever they ask.
This is about the B.Ed admission.
You forgot?
A vacancy will be coming up in the Thritthala school in two years’ time.
We can ask them to hold it for Bhargavikutty.
Gopa,
tell Amma to give me a glass of water.
Bring one glass of water, Amma.
It’s all over, Raghava.
So the girl’s suffering has ended.
Arumugam just came and told me.
O my goddess Bhagavathi!
Did you hear, Malu Edathi?
Yes, Kali’s come. She told me.
In a sense, this is really a blessing from God!
What harm to say it now? I was very worried.
The fear that consumed me was,
if she had lain like that till midnight, what if some jackal or boar had come and...
Don’t we have to inform her relatives? I’ll send Krishnan.
How hot it is!
It’s fate,
Narayani’s fate. What else can one say?
I can’t bear it.
What more is there to experience before this existence can end?
I’ll leave now…
Parameswaran and Krishnan have no common sense at all.
Being a young girl, it won’t be a cremation.
A burial will do.
That spot is very rocky.
We’ll need four strong men to dig a pit that’s deep enough, and a pickaxe as well.
We must arrange things now, or else they’ll all keep running
hither and thither aimlessly when the time comes.
If we don’t do this much, there will be people to say
that no one from the family did anything helpful.
I treated Narayani like my own daughter.
That such a disaster should have befallen her child!
Amma...
I’m leaving.
We didn’t put water on for tea.
- Careful. - Not now.
I’ll have tea when I get home.
Come, Renu.
I’ll go, Achamma.
Say ‘I’ll go and come,’ dear.
I’ll come.
Amma...
you must think of what I said...
about selling this place.
If you could tell me what you decide when I come here next week,
we could then go ahead with our plans.
Amma, why are you not saying anything?
Let me think about it, Gopa.
So Amma wants to think now!
The sooner she leaves this village, the better it will be.
What terrible people!
Someone lay dying and they would not even give her a drop of water!
Couldn’t you have given it, Father?
What?
Couldn’t you have given her some water?
Everything is ready, Gopa.
It will be over by dusk, the burial.
It’s been a lot of money, the police, the men who dug the soil and so on.
I can’t do it all by myself.
The members of the family have to share the expenses.
How much do you want?
Not now.
When you come next will do. I’ll give you the accounts.
Father!
I gave...
I gave her water.
I scooped up some from the brook.
She was screaming for water when I went up to her.
You…
in that brook…
Kurumba was with me.
Kurumba said…
What?
Nothing.
M.T VASUDEVAN NAIR (VOICE OVER): There was a time when the countryside
was filled with an abundance of goodness.
Now, what you see are people praying as they assist at funeral rituals,
‘May she die before it starts to rain.’
The nature of the village has changed, human beings have changed.
My village is taking on the responsibility
of gratifying some nameless person’s desires.
They are beginning to cremate the body,
with a sense of relief.