Self-expression can take two different paths...
It can draw pictures with words
or tell stories through pictures.
And what if these paths fuse?
This is a story like no other.
Written in 1971, it does not have the setting of a family.
It's theme is the ethereal, often magical bond between nature and man.
Aristotle has said,
‘In all things of nature, there is something of the marvellous’.
Nature has certain rules, certain modes and customs.
Whatever we may achieve, however high we may soar,
we must always come back to nature.
If nature is a mother, it is to her lap that we must return.
This story gifted me a completely unique experience.
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
Here we come, riding the waves that crash against the shore
With stories that never end, pushing our way through
the whirlpools of love beneath the ocean
Here we come, riding the waves that crash against the shore
With stories that never end, pushing our way through
the whirlpools of love beneath the ocean
From faraway, unknown places by many ways
Thro’ many paths, trying to reach the shore
From faraway, unknown places by many ways
Thro’ many paths, trying to reach the shore
Here we come, riding the waves that crash against the shore
With stories that never end, pushing our way through
the whirlpools of love beneath the ocean
There it goes!
Now my turn, it's always you playing.
Oh, no...
You didn't strike that one either!
[Indistinct chattering of kids]
Oye! Oye! Oye! Oye!
My turn...
Got it!
Oye! Oye! Oye! Oye!
That's twice in a row!
[Indistinct chattering continues]
You played twice and lost twice!
Let me play.
Half the Vrischikam month is over. The Northeast monsoon is so late!
He keeps losing.
Play, it's your turn.
Who's that?
Look.
Hey, hey!
It’s some stranger...
Who are you?
Come over here.
Where are you going?
No more buses today.
I want a place.
For outsiders to stay…
No hotels here, it’s not a town.
There’s a travellers’ bungalow four miles from here.
I... I went there. There’s no room.
What can we do now?
I want to rent a place.
For how many days?
That’s something I can’t decide on my own.
You didn’t tell us what your occupation is?
Well…
What about your things?
He might be a Salt Inspector. We’d better tell Kothamma.
No, he must be a C.I.D. That other case…
He’s an outsider, can’t trust him. These days, artful robbers…
Would robbers come so boldly?
Let’s go and ask…
Yes, let's ask. Come.
Let's see...
Do you insist on a house? If it’s just for a day or two…
I want a house, its walls around me and a floor to sleep on.
Above me, the sky and below it, a small roof.
There’s only Yemaan’s, the Master’s house free.
His manager just left.
Who is Yemaan?
You don’t know him? Dharman Mudalali!
Unbelievable!
You must have heard of him.
There’s no one who hasn’t!
Do sit down. We’ll arrange something.
Hey, ask the Mudalali’s manager to come to the teashop.
Let's go and sit there as well.
It’s a disgrace. No hotels here for outsiders to eat or sleep in.
And the travellers’ bungalow is always filled with
government servants and revenue officers.
As for buses, there’s Anita, but she’s never on time a single day!
Are you on duty now, Inspector?
Go away, dog!
He’s coming. The manager is on his way.
Aren’t you going to meet Yemaan?
I will... Later.
I’ve got the key.
We knew you’re the only person who could have got it from him.
Exactly...
After the village headman left he locked it up and said no more tenants.
So many people asked for it
but he wouldn’t hear of it!
What about your things?
- They’ll come. - Will come.
Bats, rats and bandicoots must have made a mess upstairs.
Downstairs, it’s not that bad.
A small space will do for just one person.
Look, when your things arrive, will the coolies know the way?
We’ll tell the shopkeeper to direct them.
Thanks.
Okay then. You go ahead.
Wait. There must be a lantern somewhere inside.
I’ll go and look.
Want to go upstairs? It’s two years since anyone stayed here.
No, this is quite enough for me.
The well is right there and the bucket is next to it.
I’ll come tomorrow.
We’ll discuss the rent then.
I have some urgent work.
- All right, then. - Okay.
I have found a refuge at last.
An end to days of wandering.
None of those who used to be here are here now.
New names, new people.
Everything has changed.
Yemaan’s house...
All I want is a little space in it.
I won’t drive away the toddy cats and bandicoots who live here.
After all, they too have a right to this house and this soil.
All I need is a small space to lay my head down.
Let them keep the rest.
'From darkness into darkness, From one wasteland to another'
'This pitiful thirst in my heart, Wanders through many aeons'
What do you want?
Mammad, give me one tea.
So, what happened?
I thought he’d haggle about the rent
but he didn’t.
Said he didn’t want to be in debt and paid rent in advance!
That’s great news! Paying rent in advance!
Didn’t I tell you? He’s no ordinary type.
He's a loner, no trouble at all.
But Yemaan has different manias at different moments.
Sometimes he says, I don’t want tenants.
Sometimes he wants to demolish and rebuild.
That’s how Yemaan always is!
Isn't it?
This man asked me to send workmen to clean the house.
I’ll send Damu.
We need to set a trap upstairs, It’s full of bats and bandicoots.
We’ll see to it.
Have your things arrived?
Yes, they have.
A rat!
Don’t harm it, let it go.
Coming!
- All well? - Yes.
No problems, I hope…
Nothing.
Why did you spend so much on cleaning the house and yard?
It’s someone else’s house.
If he tells you to vacate, you’ll have to leave at once.
So don’t waste your money.
Yemaan’s a capricious man. He keeps changing his mind.
I’m off then.
I thought of Ammini today.
I saw a girl with a face like hers.
I’m not sure if it was a dream or if I really saw her.
If Ammini had a daughter, she would have looked like this girl.
I’ve forgotten the ways I walked, the sights I saw.
Ammini...
I would have forgotten her as well...
But...
[Woman singing lullaby] O little one,
my golden child, with beautiful eyes
You are crimson as new paddy
Like a bud that has flowered
O little one,
my golden child, With beautiful eyes
Want some tapioca?
I heard Yemaan has a tenant now.
It’s good tapioca. Shall I give you some?
From where are you?
From some distance away.
Will you stay here for a while?
I haven’t decided.
Someone told me that you’re an Inspector.
If you need anything from across the river, tell me.
I go to the market every week.
You are the child I longed for
Even when I was very young
You are dusky-hued, Like storm clouds
O deer-eyed one
'O star that shines above me, tell me, is there a morning up there?'
'Open the tent of the sky and see if there is a morning up there'
'Some vibrant pond where waves of incomparable love circle and flow'
The pigeons on the rooftop cooed and cried
Daylight faded by midday, enveloped in dark clouds
The ayini tree on the south of the shed was felled
The courtyard filled with those who came hearing the news
A plantain leaf was spread out in the western storeroom
The head facing east
At her head, the flames of the wicks flickered, flared, rose high
Scooping up rice grains, they drew a pattern all around her
A wet towel was placed over her head
As she walked past, she muttered something
Wanted to come yesterday, but couldn’t.
Isn’t it better you vacate the house before the rains?
Yemaan says he’s not going to get the roof thatched.
Let the rains come,
Here…
Two weeks at the most and the rains will start.
Don’t pay rent needlessly.
It’s better you leave.
Let the rains come when they will. Just take this.
Yemaan said not to accept rent.
Please take it.
All well?
Have you decided how long you need the house?
I am not leaving.
But they said the beams have all rotted.
So, they’ll have to demolish and rebuild the house.
A place that no one wanted.
Now someone’s living there and look at Yemaan being high-handed!
Rain is coming! Run!
Run!
'A singer with a face sweet as the music of flutes'
'Will come and call me.'
'And I will go…'
'without closing the door'
'And I will go...'
'without closing the door'
Vasu...
Take these palm leaves.
Move that branch from there!
Make it fast.
I… I was getting that leak plugged.
Look, Yemaan said you have to vacate the house.
Here, take back this money that he owes you.
Oh, no...
It’s not my fault.
That’s Yemaan’s nature.
He doesn’t listen to anyone.
Oh... I'll...
I’ll make sure the house does not collapse.
I’m not leaving.
It’s best you leave.
If Yemaan has decided you must leave. What can you do?
No one has ever defied Yemaan.
He’s sending people to throw everything out and evict you.
I don't know anything.
I’m going now.
Who’s there?
Yemaan’s workmen.
Move away.
We’ve nothing against you.
We’re just obeying Yemaan’s orders.
First, we’ll tear the roof down, then bring down those walls.
We’ll knock down the walls of the room you are in only last of all.
Wait there till Yemaan comes.
Will Yemaan come?
Certainly, if he said he will.
Pick that up and throw it away.
'The heart’s core is bereft now of the tiniest drop of tenderness'
'Bereft now of the tiniest drop of tenderness'
He came masked, astride a buffalo, hid in fields of long grass
Came many times, in many guises, waited patiently and steadily
The Kali yuga, the age of darkness arrived as he reached the shore
A black shadow fell across the sun
The Kali yuga, the age of darkness arrived as he reached the shore
A black shadow fell across the sun
Not weeping, not faltering, with the strength of steel
Like a shard of burning coal came the time of Yama Dharma
He came masked, astride a buffalo, hid in fields of long grass
Came many times, in many guises, waited patiently and steadily
What if Yemaan changes his mind?
I’ll call him Yejumanan, Master.
I’ll prostrate myself before him.
Look, give me back my refuge.
At least this refuge that I finally found.
I can’t bear to go back to those waiting rooms…
filled with the reek of sweat
and of those bundles of dirty clothes that travellers carry.
Or to cold benches…
or to that place that exudes the odour of burning clay.
I cannot, I cannot go back…
I have been waiting.
Come, Yejumanan.
Come...
Here we come, riding the waves that crash against the shore
With stories that never end, pushing our way through
the whirlpools of love beneath the ocean
Here we come, riding the waves that crash against the shore
With stories that never end, pushing our way through
the whirlpools of love beneath the ocean
From faraway, unknown places by many ways
Thro’ many paths, trying to reach the shore
From faraway, unknown places by many ways
Thro’ many paths, trying to reach the shore
Here we come, riding the waves that crash against the shore
With stories that never end, pushing our way through
the whirlpools of love beneath the ocean