180. Our Own Civilization. C E M Joad Essay Reintroduced By P S Remesh Chandran

180

Our Own Civilization. C E M Joad Essay Reintroduced

P. S. Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum

Article Title Image 1 By Stefan Keller-KellePics. Graphics: Adobe SP.

Our own civilization is not a very bad one. It is a flourishing civilization. British philosopher C. E. M. Joad discusses its merits and defects in his vivid and systematic analysis in his essay Our Own Civilization which is part of his famous book The Story of Civilization. He discusses our civilization’s encouraging as well as discouraging aspects. 

Cranes trains and typewriters were invented to do the works of arms, legs and brains.

Man invented machines to help him in his works. He expected to spend the excess time liberated through the engagement of machines on developing his civilization. But strangely the machines became his masters and now he is a slave to them. Modern man is far dependent on machines. He cannot now just live without them. Cranes trains and typewriters were invented to do the works of arms legs and brains. ‘Man seems very inventive and is not at all lazy.’ In fact man is the most restless and energetic of all living creatures. His intention in inventing machines was to spend the excess leisure time generated through machines on developing beneficial things for the world. 

Order and safety are as necessary to our civilization as the air we breathe is to our existence.

Our own civilization has many merits as well as a few defects. The order and safety it offers, the health conditions it provides, its habit of spreading, and the unity of the world it encourages are the merits. In the old world people decided things through fighting. But now we can go to the police station or a court of law for the redressal of our grievances and settling of things. ‘Thus in disputes between man and man, right has taken the place of might.’ Law guarantees order and safety in our society. Order and safety are things without which civilization would be impossible. They are as necessary to our civilization as the air we breathe is to our existence. We have now grown such used to them that we do not notice them anymore than we notice the air we breathe. 

Modern civilization succeeded in lowering death rate and elevating life span.

Modern European civilization also guarantees health to all. In the past diseases and death were common and people died in large numbers in every society. Modern civilization has succeeded in lowering the death rate among human beings and elevating their life span. Unless we have good health we cannot enjoy or achieve anything. Thanks to modern civilization men and women not only enjoy better health but live longer also now. 

Ancient civilizations were like oases in a surrounding desert of savagery. Soon or later the desert closed in.

What most differentiates modern civilization from earlier civilizations is its ability to spread. Earlier civilizations were contained within the boundaries of their local mountains or water bodies and spread nowhere. They were secluded and so, suffered brutal attacks from barbarians with no civilization at all. This was the fate of Babylon and Assyria and it happened over and over again in India and China. ‘It brought about the end of Greece and the fall of Rome.’ Ancient civilizations were like oases in a surrounding desert of savagery. Soon or later the desert closed in and the oasis was no more. But today it is the oasis that is spreading and the desert that is withdrawing. Today, civilization is surrounding and closing in on savagery. Modern civilization is spreading over Europe America and Australia, Asia and Africa. Joad is confident in saying that because of its ability to spread our civilization will exist. 

Even modern man’s meals are made up of things brought from different parts of the world.

Another encouraging aspect of modern civilization is it guarantees the unity of the world. Even modern man’s meals are made up of things brought from different parts of the world. Oranges from Brazil, dates from Africa, rice from India, tea from China and sugar from Cuba or other distant country of the world reach the modern European’s dining table. ‘Not even the great caliphs of Arabia, the eastern kings, not even Solomon in all his glory, could enjoy such a variety of eating pleasures from so many different and distant lands.’ So far as buying and selling is concerned the world is a unity already. 

Civilized means thinking freely, living rightly, and maintaining equal justice between man and man.

Machines save time and energy for us. ‘On the whole it must be admitted that we do very little.’ Almost all major and dangerous works are executed by the machines. With the time and energy they thus save for us we should try to become more civilized. Machines are not civilization but an aid to civilization. Civilized means making and liking beautiful things, thinking freely, living rightly, and maintaining equal justice between man and man. Our civilization is already great. But by making more beautiful things, by finding out more about the universe, by avoiding quarrels between nations, and by discovering how to prevent poverty, we can make our civilization the greatest. 

When we say our civilization is great it does not mean our civilization has not defects.

When we say our civilization is great it does not mean our civilization is devoid of defects. War and the threat from machines are its main drawbacks. Inequality and injustice in the distribution of wealth is another defect. The rich rules even democratic states. While some live in luxury most do not have enough to eat and drink and wear. In the great cities of the world millions of people live in unclean surroundings, in overcrowded congested rooms. ‘They live like this not for fun, but because they are too poor to afford another room.’ 

After an apocalyptic destruction, everything will have to be begun from the beginning.

The danger from war is another defect of our civilization. A Swiss historian, Jean Jacques Bebel, has recorded that ‘in the past five thousand years’ written history of the world, just thirty nine years were free of any kind of wars anywhere’. Since man learned how to split the atom he has been making atom bombs which would one day destroy the whole world. Dropping atom bombs on civilizations would be the most inhuman act man could do. Civilizations could be wiped out without a trace from the face of the earth. Someone once remarked that ‘in the next war men would be fighting with atom bombs but in the war next they will be fighting with bows and arrows and stones’. After an apocalyptic destruction, everything will have to be begun from the beginning. 

A time may come when machines rule us like we rule animals.

The threat to mankind and its civilization from machines is yet another defect of our civilization. Machines were meant to liberate man from heavy works. They were designed to serve him as servants but now they have become his masters. ‘And the machines are very stern masters.’ Most of man’s time is now consumed by them. The machines need on exact times coal to feed, petrol to drink and oil to wash in. They should be maintained at the right temperatures too. If they are not given these in time they refuse to work, burst and blow up, and spread ruin and destruction all around. Joad predicts that a time may come when machines rule us like we rule animals. 

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF C. E. M. JOAD.

A socialist suspicious of Marxism and against too much industrialization.

Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad 1891-1953 was an English philosopher and BBC broadcaster. His two books Guide to Modern Thought 1933 and Guide to Philosophy 1936 made him a prominent figure in philosophy. George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells were the two inspirations in his life. He was suspicious of Marxism as a philosophy even though he remained a socialist. Joad was against too much industrial exploitation of the English countryside and can be considered as one of the early naturists of England. 

Equal status as George Bernard Shaw and Bertrand Russell as philosopher.

Joad was born in Durham and studied at Oxford Preparatory School, Blundell's School, Devon and Balliol College, Oxford. He entered the civil service in 1914. In 1915 he married but separated in 1921 having had three children. In 1930, he became the Head of the Department of Philosophy and Psychology at Birkbeck College, University of London. Joad enjoyed equal status as George Bernard Shaw and Bertrand Russell in England as an intellectual and a philosopher. He died on 9 April 1953 at his home in London. 

Noted books written by C. E. M. Joad.

The most noted among C. E. M. Joad’s works are:

Mind and Matter 1925, The Future of Life 1928, Matter, Life and Value 1929, The Story of Civilization 1931, Essays in Common-Sense Philosophy 1933, Return to Philosophy 1935, Guide to Philosophy 1936, The Story of Indian Civilization 1936, Why War? 1939, For Civilization 1940, Journey Through the War Mind 1940, About Education 1945, Conditions of Survival 1946, Fewer and Better 1946, How Our Minds Work 1946, On No Longer Being A Rationalist 1946, A Year More or Less 1948, Decadence 1948, Turning-Points 1948, The Principles of Parliamentary Democracy 1949, The Pleasure of Being Oneself 1951, The Recovery of Belief 1952, Shaw and Society 1953. There were also many other books, essays and articles.

Article Title Image 2 By Stefan Keller-KellePics. Graphics: Adobe SP.

Written in: December 1994 

First published on: 08 December 2019
 

Tags:
 
Ancient Civilizations, Barbarians, British philosophers, CEM Joad, Eating Pleasures, Free Student Notes, Machine Masters, European Civilization, Order And Safety, Story Of Civilization, World Unity, 

About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:

00. Author Profile Of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives.

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/psremeshchandra.trivandrum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSRemeshChandra
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bloombooks/videos
Blog: http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/
Site: https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/
E-Mail: bloombookstvm@gmail.com

Post: P. S. Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum, Padmalayam, Nanniyode, Pacha Post, Trivandrum- 695562, Kerala State, South India.

179. On Not Answering The Telephone. William Plomer Essay Reintroduced By P S Remesh Chandran

179

On Not Answering The Telephone. William Plomer Essay Reintroduced

P. S. Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum

Article Title Image 1 By Şinasi Müldür. Graphics: Adobe SP.

William Plomer has written a fine article on not answering the telephone, in which he discusses the impact on his mind of telephone, typewriter and car. He used them reluctantly and was eager to avoid them as much as possible. When he often said he was not available on the telephone, people said it was inconvenient, unbelievable and foolish and called him mad. Plomer does not think that phone is essential because he can eat, breathe, sleep and play without it. 

Telephones create unnecessary anxiety, suspense and delay.
 

It creates unnecessary anxiety, suspense and delay and is a pest and time-waster. Public Telephone Booths are unventilated and smoky and people curse you on your back for taking too much time to finish speaking. It is a nuisance since it rings while you are eating, sleeping or bathing. All telephone numbers are wrong numbers since they ring idiotically at wrong hours in a house's privacy. Whatever news is there would reach you anyway, even without a telephone. Good news has begun to seem to be travelling just as fast as ill news. Truth will out anyway. 

Telephone directories invite strangers and criminals to engage you in conversation.
 

Saying Hello to a stranger on the line is unbearable to an Englishman. Printing names on the telephone directory invites strangers and criminals to engage you in conversation. One needn't own a telephone to do so, i.e. to engage you in conversation, since telephone calls can be made from anywhere. Once a well-known actor said that if he was left alone to live on a desert island and allowed to take just one luxury, he would take the telephone with him, for he would be happy that it would never ring in the desert and he would not have to answer it. In spite of its usefulness, dislike of telephone is a universal thing. Closing his article, William Plomer humorously says that his business with the use of words is about to stop as he is wanted on the telephone.

Typewriters ring at the end of each line and heavy traffic and innumerable rules make cars boring.

Plomer dislikes not only telephones, but typewriters and cars also. Typewriters ring at the end of each line. He is not mechanical-minded and does not like cleaning, oiling and mending them. Though he can type well, he enjoys the act of forming letters and words with a pen. Plomer learned to drive at the age of Seventeen in South Africa. He often drove very fast and soon the speedometer of his car was broken. Rock, mud and sand did not prevent him from driving carefully. He never injured or killed anyone anyway. But heavy traffic and the innumerable rules and regulations to be followed while driving made him bored. 

Whenever he touches machines, they tend to break down, catch fire or blow up.

Though he condemns telephones, typewriters and cars, Plomer says that he is not an escapist, crank or a simple-lifer who is trying to put the clock of modernity back. He just wishes not to be dominated by machines and avoids them wherever possible. He hates machines and the machines him. When he touches them, they tend to break down, catch fire or blow up. 

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF WILLIAM PLOMER.

The literary editor who recognized the James Bond series by Ian Fleming.

William Charles Franklyn Plomer 1903-1973 was a Transvaal-born South African novelist, poet, short story writer and literary editor who later left South Africa to live in Japan and then in England. He used the pseudonym Robert Pagan occasionally. In England Plomer worked as literary editor for the famous publishers Faber & Faber and Jonathan Cape. He was the first one to recognize the sales potential of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels and the first editor of this series, and Goldfinger is dedicated to him. Plomer was an active contributor to BBC also. 

Awards, honours and knighthood.

Plomer was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in1951, president of the Poetry Society in 1958, awarded honorary D. Litt. by the University of Durham in 1959, won the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 1963, and awarded the order Commander of the British Empire (CBE), the third highest in the order, in 1968. 

Novels, poems, short stories and autobiography written by William Plomer.

Turbott Wolfe, The Invaders, The Case Is Altered and Museum Pieces are the novels written by William Plomer. The Family Tree, The Fivefold Screen, Visiting The Caves, In A Bombed House, Taste And Remember and A Choice Of Ballads are his poetry collections. His short stories are compiled in I Speak Of Africa, Paper Houses, The Child Of Queen Victoria and Four Countries. Double Lives is his autobiography. His other works including essays were collected and published as Electric Delights in 1978 which included the essay, On Not Answering the Telephone.

Article Title Image 2 By ID 526663. Graphics: Adobe SP.

 
Written in: December 1995 

First published on: 07 December 2019 
 

Tags:
 
Answering Telephone, Driving, Escapist, Machine Domination, Mechanical Minded, Phone Directory, Saying Hallo, Telephone Booths, Telephone Ringing, Telephone Typewriter Car, William Plomer,

About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:

Author Profile Of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives.

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/psremeshchandra.trivandrum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSRemeshChandra
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bloombooks/videos
Blog: http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/
Site: https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/
E-Mail: bloombookstvm@gmail.com

Post: P. S. Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum, Padmalayam, Nanniyode, Pacha Post, Trivandrum- 695562, Kerala State, South India.

178. Childhood Memories. K A Abbas Essay Reintroduced By P S Remesh Chandran

178 

Childhood Memories. K A Abbas Essay Reintroduced

P. S. Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum

Article Title Image By Rita E. Graphics: Adobe SP.

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas once wrote about how he was brought up to become rude, rebellious and anti-establishment in character under the influence of his father. He cites three incidents from his childhood memories to illustrate how his father influenced him in the development of this kind of a personality. His literary and cinematographic life is a very colourful illustration of how much rude, rebellious and anti-establishment he was brought up. 

Arrival of the school inspector announced weeks earlier.

Experiences of a child in his school times will be remembered vividly forever by him. In today’s times, since school authorities fabricate the number of students admitted in each class so that the class strength won’t lower in statistics, divisions won’t fall and teachers won’t loose their jobs, inspection by higher authorities are conducted as a surprise. But in those fair old times, visit of the school inspector would be announced weeks earlier for the school authorities, teachers and students to begin preparations. The filthy coir mats would be washed, dried and re-spread. Slates and black boards would be repaired and scrubbed. New maps would be hung on the walls with the British India and the Princely India separately shown. Boys would come wearing clothes and shoes, duly starched and pressed. 

Blessings of the British Raj in India are roads, railways, schools, post offices, hospitals, and prisons.

When the school inspector came, he usually asked questions to test the intelligence of students in various classes. It looked, in the eyes of young Abbas, that the school inspector’s character and conduct were not suitable for a school inspector. He appeared to be easily irritated and excessively loyal to the British Regime. He asked Abbas which were the blessings of the British Raj in India. Abbas promptly answered roads, railways, schools, post offices and hospitals, along with prisons. Hearing prisons mentioned in the list, the inspector became furious. ‘Stand up,’ he bellowed and the boy stood up, his legs shaking and his heart beating fast. 

Coming from a house where Mahatma Gandhi was a regular visitor.

Circumstances compelled Abbas to further explain that he belonged to a house where Mahatma Gandhi was a regular visitor. This further angered the inspector. He walked out after giving Abbas a baleful stare, the class teacher following him with folded hands. When this incident was related to his father, he patted his son on the back and simply said “Sabash” which in English means “Well done.” Abbas thankfully remembers that perhaps that paternal pat on the back was an encouragement for him to later grow up rude, rebellious and anti-establishment. 

A child and a dog, if not beaten when needed, will receive one day all the beating from everyone in that street.

Abbas’ father wanted his son to consider all human beings as equal. Boys must not think of themselves as superior to others. Once Abbas called their servant’s little son ‘Ulloo ka pattha’ which meant ‘the son of an owl’. His father who overheard this decided to teach his son a lesson. Accordingly, Abbas was locked up in a room without food for six hours as punishment. He was released and given food only after apologizing to the servant’s boy and embracing him. It was the most important lesson- and the most significant gift- his father gave him in his life. 

A newspaper is supposed to be a window on the world, an eye opener for an intelligent child.

As a boy, Abbas liked all the exciting news about the great things that were happening in the country and the world around. He was familiar with an Urdu newspaper which his father brought home from Delhi. When he passed to the high school he was asked what he wanted as a present. Without hesitation he asked his father to present him with a regular subscription to this Urdu newspaper which he liked the most. His father agreed that it was an apt presentation for an intelligent boy. He said that a newspaper is supposed to be a window on the world. It was not surprising that Abbas later became a great newspaper man.

 Image 01. Dharti-ke-Lal 1946. Scene By Indian People's Theatre Association.

The Life and Works of Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.
  
Abbas’ family background was very rich in literature as well as in revolution.

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas was born in Panipat in Punjab in 1914. His birthplace went to Pakistan when India was divided in 1947. Mirza Ghalib’s student and the famous Urdu poet, Khwaja Altaf Hussain Hali, founded the family in which Abbas was born. Khwaja Gulam Abbas, who was a leader of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the first revolutionary to be blown out by the British cannons in Panipat, was his grandfather. His father Ghulam-Us-Sibtain was a scholar from the Aligarh Muslim University and a very successful businessman who was also a teacher to Indian princes. His mother Masroor Khatoon was the daughter of the famous Indian educationist Sajjad Husain. So Abbas’ family background was very rich in literature as well as in revolution. Abbas was a B.A. in English Literature and a LL.B. from the Aligarh Muslim University. 

‘The longest-running political column in the history of Indian journalism.’

Young Abbas started career as a journalist in National Call and continued through Aligarh Opinion, The Bombay Chronicle, The Blitz, and Mirror. His weekly column Last Page- ‘the longest-running political column in the history of Indian journalism for 52 years from 1935 to 1987’- was started in The Bombay Chronicle and after its expiry after 12 years was moved to The Blitz which continued there till his death. In this column he interpreted each week’s event and the column became such popular that throughout India people (including this writer) queued before news stalls every Thursday to get hold of a copy of Blitz which sold out no sooner than it arrived. 

What could a Prime Minister give a 71-year-old man except death?

His stories and columns often infuriated many like his story Sardarji infuriating the Sikhs in India and ending up in court. When Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi commissioned him for writing the history of the Indian National Congress for the government, he declined to unduly praise anyone and returned the money given to him. He was a very bold, courageous and principled man. When the same Prime Minister was angered by his questions in an interview, he later told a friend he was only testing the patience of the Prime Minister and what could a Prime Minister give a 71-year-old man except death. 

Interviewing world premiers, prime ministers and presidents.

As journalist, Abbas interviewed such personages as the Russian Prime Minister Khrushchov, American President Roosevelt, the world-renowned actor Charlie Chaplin, the Chinese Premier Mao-Tse-Tung, the first space traveller Yuri Gagarin and many other dignitaries in India and abroad. 

His first film was the story of missing bread and starving millions.

Image 02. Dharti-ke-Lal 1946. Usha Dutt and Shombhu Mitra By Indian People's Theatre Association.

His experiences during this period also as a film critic naturally led his way to the Indian film industry. His first contributions were screenplays for directors such as Chetan Anand and V. Shantaram, the pioneers of Indian cinema. His first film direction was Dharti Ke Lal 1945 (Son Of The Soil) about the 1943 Bengal famine. It was one of the first Indian cinemas to be shown in the Soviet Union and to gain overseas market. When we learn that the heroine in this film was ‘missing bread’ and the heroes in this film were ‘the starving millions’, we can guess how much rude, rebellious and anti-establishment K. A. Abbas grew in his intellectuality as a creator, what were the ‘progress’ he portrayed as achieved in the British India, and how much his views must have angered the British Indian authorities then. 

Films featuring the first double role, first foreign collaboration, and first foreign show.

In 1951, his own production company Naya Sansar (New World) was founded which produced a succession of fine films on the lives of poor people and workers. He produced 13 outstanding films and wrote the script for many more. Besides, almost all the films directed by Mr. Raj Kapoor carried his script. His film Anhonee of 1952 was the first Indian film featuring a double role. His Pardesi of 1957 was the first Indian film co-produced with foreign collaboration. His Saat Hindustani of 1969 was the film that introduced the famous actor-producer Amitabh Bachchan. But Abbas was a bad businessman unlike his father and never became rich in his career. It was rumored that the famous Raj Kapoor films paid him nothing for writing scripts for most of their films. But Blitz editor, the famous Rustom Khurshedji Karanjia (R. K. Karanjia), sustained him by paying him a monthly salary, though meager, for writing his column. We still do not know whether all of the publishers paid him royalties for his books. 

His character as a director and producer can be gauged from the two incidents of his dividing the cash award with twelve co-workers and the gold given to a house servant to marry his daughter away when his film Shehar Aur Sapna won the President’s Gold Medal. 

From Inquilab to The Naxalites- a cinematographer committed to the poor working class.

Even though Abbas had in August 1949 completed his long novel Inquilab (Revolution) based on communal violence, no Indian publisher was willing to print it for its volatile theme for one thing and its length for another. Considering this very volatile theme the communist Soviet Union came forward to publish it in Russia in 1954, the first run of which went to 90,000 copies! Subsequently Germany also published it in 1955. Then only was it published in India followed by Hindi and Urdu editions. 

Many of his books were translated into Russian, German, Italian, French and Arabic, besides many other Indian and foreign languages. It is interesting to note what he himself wrote about his writing career: ‘The novelists look down upon me as a short-story writer, while the short-story writers condemn me as nothing more than a scribe, while all of them together would contemptuously say that I am nothing more than a film-person.’ 

Books in English, Urdu and Hindi written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.

The seventy three books in English, Urdu and Hindi K. A. Abbas published during his active literary career of fifty years include: 

Outside India: The Adventures Of A Roving Reporter 1939, An Indian Looks At America 1943, Tomorrow Is Ours! 1943, Let India Fight For Freedom, 1943, Defeat For Death 1944, Invitation To Immortality 1944, Not All Lies, 1945, Blood And Stones 1947, Kashmir Fights For Freedom 1948, I Write As I Feel 1948, Cages Of Freedom 1952, China Can Make It 1952, In The Image Of Mao Tse-Tung 1953, Inquilab 1958, Face To Face With Khrushchov 1960, Till We Reach The Stars: The Story Of Yuri Gagarin 1961, The Black Sun 1963, Indira Gandhi: Return Of The Red Rose 1966, Divided Heart 1968, When Night Falls 1968, Mera Naam Joker (My Name Is Joker) 1970, Bobby 1973, That Woman: Her Seven Years In Power 1973, Jawaharlal Nehru: Portrait Of An Integrated Indian 1974, The Walls Of Glass 1977, Barrister-At-Law: The Early Life Of Mahatma Gandhi 1977, Mad, Mad, Mad World Of Indian Films 1977, I Am Not An Island: An Experiment In Autobiography 1977, The Naxalites 1979, The World Is My Village 1984, Bombay My Bombay 1987, and How Films Are Made 1999. 

Films directed, produced or supplied story, screenplay or dialogue by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.

The films directed by K. A. Abbas are the following. He was the screenwriter and producer of most of them: 

Dharti Ke Lal 1946, Aaj Aur Kal 1947, Anhonee 1952, Rahi 1953, Munna 1954, Pardesi 1957, Flight To Assam 1961, Shehar Aur Sapna 1964, Hamara Ghar 1964, Aasman Mahal 1965, Dharti Ki Pukaar 1967, Saat Hindustani 1969, Do Boond Pani 1971, The Naxalites 1980, and Ek Aadmi 1988. 

Also, he supplied the screenplay, story or dialogue or all to such films as: 

Naya Sansar 1941, Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani 1946, Neecha Nagar 1946, Awara 1951, Shree-420 1955, Jagte Raho 1956, Char Dil Char Rahen 1959, Mera Naam Joker 1970, Bobby 1973, Achanak 1973, Love In Goa 1983, Akanksha 1989, and Henna 1991. 

Always a sympathizer of the poor people and a patron of the proletariat.

Because of his unwavering sympathy to the poor people many believed, and also labeled, him as a communist which he was not. Indeed he was a radical and a patron of the proletariat like the Blitz’ Editor R. K. Karanjia. Karanjia who was a pro-Soviet writer in later years was disillusioned by communism and turned to Satya Sai Baba, the man of miracles. Even in K. A. Abbas’ time, the supposed love of communists for the proletariat had become only in theory, and wherever they were in power they were steadfastly supporting capitalists. So, the love of Abbas for the poor people shall not be mistaken as communism. He died in 1987.

Written in: November 1991
First published on: 04 December 2019
 
_______________________
Pictures Courtesy: Indian People's 
Theatre Association
_______________________


Tags:

Childhood Days, English Essays, Free Student Notes, Indian Film Industry, Indian Writers Novelists Journalists, K A Abbas, Kwaja Ahmed Abbas, Pre Independence British India, School Memoirs,


About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:

03. Author Profile Of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives.

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/psremeshchandra.trivandrum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSRemeshChandra
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bloombooks/videos
Blog: http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/
Site: https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/
E-Mail: bloombookstvm@gmail.com

Post: P. S. Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum, Padmalayam, Nanniyode, Pacha Post, Trivandrum- 695562, Kerala State, South India.

177. A Poison Tree. William Blake Poem Appreciation By P S Remesh Chandran

177

A Poison Tree. William Blake Poem Appreciation

P. S. Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum

Article Title Image By Chulmin Park. Graphics: Adobe SP.
 

We hold the conviction that nature is kind and benevolent to man. It is not. It is a fight, a constant struggle, to remain alive in this world. From the very moment he is born, man is fighting against extinction, against death, for his continued existence. It is for continuing this struggle effectively, and efficiently, that evil as well as goodness is incorporated in man. Man harbors good and evil in him. Circumstances and instincts decide which one of them is to dominate. 

Eighteenth century-science and philosophy beautifully merges in William Blake’s poems.
 

William Blake (England, 1757-1827) was primarily a painter whose poems have great symbolic significance. Eighteenth century-science and philosophy beautifully merges in his poems. Here, a man becomes angry with his friend, reveals his anger and his hatred end. But when he became angry with his enemy, he told it to no one and his hatred grew inside him. The wrath ended in one case and grew in the other. Such is the setting of human mind. The man nurses wickedness and it grows fully into an apple tree. As the tree was nourished and nutritioned by his wickedness, it grew into a poison tree. His grief and fear was water to the tree and his inferior cunning tricks, its sunshine. The poet's description of the growth of the poison tree is logical and scientific.

Nobody will believe an apple tree became poisonous enough to kill a man.

It grew well both day and night, till it bore an apple bright. Tempted by the richness and beauty of the fruit, one night, his enemy stole into the poet's garden, ate the fruit and died then and there. In the morning, the poet was only glad to see his enemy lying stretched out under the tree. He feels no regret for his act of wickedness. But a dead man lying in his garden may sure pose problems and cause him trouble. Nobody will believe an apple tree became poisonous enough to kill a man. 

William Blake was a very religious person. The bright apple mentioned here has strong reference to the apple in the Garden of Eden, the eating of which forbidden fruit brought Death into this World. 

Written in: February 1995
First published on: 03 December 2019
 

About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:

Author Profile Of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives.

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/psremeshchandra.trivandrum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSRemeshChandra
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bloombooks/videos
Blog: http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/
Site: https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/
E-Mail: bloombookstvm@gmail.com

Post: P. S. Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum, Padmalayam, Nanniyode, Pacha Post, Trivandrum- 695562, Kerala State, South India.

Tags:

Children’s Literature, Free Student Notes, English Essays Articles Literature, Good And Evil, Poem Appreciations, Survival Of Man, The Poison Tree, William Blake, 

176. The Child And The Snake. Mary Lamb Poem Appreciation By P S Remesh Chandran

176

The Child And The Snake. Mary Lamb Poem Appreciation

P. S. Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum

Article Title Image By Raphael. Graphics: Adobe SP.

Innocent children form fond relationships with birds and beasts and even snakes and play with, even embrace or sleep with them. It’s because children have no caprice. It is when children grow up and gain caprice that innocence leaves them. Dogs, dears, cows, buffaloes and even elephants have not been known to have harmed children going near them and playing with them. Perhaps they can see the halo surrounding children and recognize that it is green or blue, denoting calm, peace and loveliness. 

The fondness of children for other creations in nature established in literature.
 

It needs gentle-minded people, especially poets, to tell the tales of such ardent relationships between children and beasts. The fondness of children for other creations in nature has been a favourite subject for poetry, and poets in all ages have created such fine poems. Oscar Wilde’s story of the Child and the Beast is world famous. In William Blake’s poem The Night we see how nightly angels visit birds and animals and children and calm them in their sleep through soft whispers. Mary Lamb, the sister of the famous English writer Charles Lamb and noted for her fine pieces in children's literature, in her poem The Child And The Snake establishes that an innocent and friendly relationship is possible between a child and a snake. 

Henry’s smooth and soft-as-silk friend on the river bank.
  

Every morning Henry was fed with milk and bread by his fond mother which he always carried to the nearby river bank, to be shared with his friend- a bird. He was very proud of this friend of his and each day he came back from the river bank, talking and talking a lot about this pretty bird which came everyday to feed from him. ‘It loved him and his milk and it was as smooth and soft as silk.’ Anyone will wonder how a friend could be ‘as smooth and soft as silk’ unless it is a new born baby. His mother too had this doubt, but wait! He told its name was Gray Pate. In a child’s innocence, everything living will have a name, and they will communicate with children easily. In his eagerness to call his friend by a name, he had named it himself based on its colour.

The child and the snake actually enjoying each other’s company.
 01. Image By ScottsLM.

The anxious mother finally decided to meet Henry's friend in person. One day she secretly followed him to the river bank and stood behind a tree hiding. She was shocked to see that her son's friend was not a bird, but a snake. Indeed it was ‘as smooth and soft as silk’ and was a fine grey in colour. Henry was not exaggerating in his description of his friend. Her conscience told her not to shriek out of fear, for any small noise she may make would make the cunning snake afraid and wily and bite the boy. Therefore she stood still under the spreading tree, unable to speak or shriek, secretly watching the activities of the child and the snake. Soon she realized that there was no ground for fear since the pair actually seemed to be satisfied and friendly with each other. They even seemed to be enjoying each other’s company.

 
The danger was over and the mother’s fear changed to joy.
 02. Image By Nghang Vũ.

The mother secretly watching the child and the snake could see that they were sharing milk and bread. They were talking like familiar friends and once Henry was even seen tapping the snake on the head with his spoon to rebuke or reprimand over something. Even then the snake remained very polite and obedient to the playful child. It was only when the child rose and bid good-bye to his friend that the mother was finally really relieved of her anxiety. The danger was over and her fear changed to joy. Innocence is the basis of true friendship, whether it is man or bird or beast. 

The legendary Aztec god Quetzalcoatl was half bird and half snake.

03. Image By Youngku Lee.

We will ask why Henry described his friend as a bird when it was a snake. It was because of movements of snakes very much resembling the movements of birds, especially movements of the head and neck. Remember that the most ancient of birds originated from reptiles. Terra Dactyls were in fact crude huge reptiles with wings and feet and beak developed. In pre-historic times, birds had not differentiated much from reptiles. Still they share many common features like man sharing many common features with monkeys. The legendary Aztec god Quetzalcoatl was half bird and half snake, actually a plumed serpent. There indeed are plenty of snake birds in nature even today.

04. Image By Nel Botha.

Written in: Not known
First published on: 02 December 2019
 
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Pictures Courtesy: Pixabay
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Image Credits:

About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:

05. Author Profile Of P S Remesh Chandran By Sahyadri Archives.

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/psremeshchandra.trivandrum
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSRemeshChandra
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bloombooks/videos
Blog: http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/
Site: https://sites.google.com/site/timeuponmywindowsill/
E-Mail: bloombookstvm@gmail.com

Post: P. S. Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum, Padmalayam, Nanniyode, Pacha Post, Trivandrum- 695562, Kerala State, South India.

Tags:

Children’s Literature, Free Student Notes, English Essays Articles Literature, Man Bird Beast Relations, Mary Lamb, The Child And The Snake,