For folks who have known me for a while, watching movies is the most important task/hobby/pleasure activity that I indulge it. And I dont always go to the rather over priced, caramel infested multiplexes to get my celluloid dose.
Rarely is there a film or documentary that leaves a lasting impact on me and actually gets me inspired to do something. (Again for those who know me well, my faux nationalistic conscience is non existent & marked by cynicism).
Yet Burma VJ, 2010's Oscar winning documentary is one such very rare gem. Kuddos to the stuffed shirts at the Academy that this miniscule, South East Asian nation more or less forgotten by her big neighbours & the United Nations, inspired them to actually make a correct choice. The Oscar win stamp makes a whole lot of diffference to a documentary.
To cut a long story short, Burma VJ is entirely shot amidst Burma's 2007 peaceful uprisings by Buddhist monks & common people alongwith students. The protests that started off sporadically in the fear afflicted nation, which was still reeling from the massacre in Rangoon's streets when the junta killed over 3000 people within 4 days. Taking it's time to react to a sky rocketing leap in fuel prices, the monks in Burma, the only voice that the military regime fears for it's sheer force & spiritual control over the population, turned their begging bowls upside down & refused to take alms. They marched in thousands on the streets of the historic, mythical city of Rangoon, now stuck in an Eighties time warp.
The second day of protests is when, chanting prayers of peace & eradication of poverty, students, monks & common people formed human chains against the plainclothes military agents & policemen (One out of every 8 people on Burma's streets is a security spy.) They marched upto Aung San Syu Ki's home, and the barricades had to be lifted. Syu Kyi stepped out for 4 minutes, teary eyed at the gate, and folding her hands in humble prayer to the marching sea of orange.
The repression swiftly followed the next day. All of September, monasteries were raided, monks beaten up, rounded up & taken to secret locations. Others were left without treatment for their wounds. Secret police raided each & every home in the capital. Students were openly fired upon & those who escaped death, were fired at from close ranges to seal their fate. Finally, towards the end of September, the protests died out.
While this tale of a mediavally oppresive regime might not melt too many hearts here in urban, oh so cool, credit card charmed India, what might make some sit up & think, is that, ALL of this has been shot & photographed on cameras. The military junta doesnt allow cameras of the BBC, CNN or any news paper/ magazine or tv network in the country.
Amidst this, a collection of a dozen handy cam holding journalists photographed the September protests. Having to hide for their lives almost every day, and having to switch addresses every alternate day, the Democratic Voice of Burma is based in Thailand. These men have shot risking their lives every minute. On one or two occasions, the monks have included them in their marching folds, thereby ensuring their safety. But they also got immediately recognised by the secret police agents.
The visuals of the oppresion with ambient sound is like watching the classic apartheid movies of Attenborough. Only this time, they are real people being massacred by clubs, guns & tear gas shells, oozing real blood. A japanese tourist shooting in Burma was shot dead at close range. Even for me, who believes that institutionalized religion is mostly meant for financial gain & mental control of the masses, have to doff my hat to the Buddhist monks. Their march reminded me of Gandhi's Satyagraha & Civil Disobiedience. Their blood, splattered across the monasteries after night time raids, broke my heart. The cries of the students, who hit a dead end and are still being shot at, brings back chilling memories of Jalianwala Bagh. And all that we have seen are Hollywood films. Imagine,what does the real stuff look like!
Perhaps another factor driving me here is the close ties of my home state Assam to Burma. The 600 year old, longest surviving & most evolved monarchy of Assam is the Tai Ahom kingdom, a tribal kingship set up by Ahom immigrants of Burma. Even today, Sukapha is a cultural icon of many Assamese tribes. My hometown, Tinsukia, is a 3 hour drive from the Indo Myanmar border. Now completely quarantined by the Indian army, 'Myanmar' is a major trading port for Assam & Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, when you drive up towards the border, you will see the small towns peppered with girls who paint their faces a light-yellow brown with stretched eye liners above their small eyes. Those are Burmese girls married to North Eastern tribals, trying to build their lives away from their oppresive home land. Yet, the strange looking make up they use, makes them stand alone from the rest, a heart wrenching attempt by the 'Maan' girls to hold on to their identity. Besides the ULFA movement found it's impenetrable training grounds in the harsh forests of Kachin, Burma. Only recently has the Indian army managed to squeeze the Burmese Junta sufficiently for them to Not hide insurgents in their jungles.
I therefore, felt, a fear of proximity to such a cruel, mediaval regime. Post the stillwell road, Burma will be a smooth, two laned highway drive from my home town. But I dont plan to see the country anymore.
Meanwhile, by December 2007, the Democratic Voice of Burma had been flushed clean. Their offices have been raided & two of their reporters,arrested, now face life sentences. The others are in hiding and can't communicate mutually. So their head, Joshua, has returned to Burma from Thailand throught the risky routes of jungles. He plans to start from scratch.
This documentary is a tale of courage under fire. Its a tale of a forgotten mass screaming for the world to respond. Inspired by their reporters, the people of Burma tried all mediums of social media to reach out to the world during the devastating hurricane of 2008. (The junta had refused entry to UN Aid agencies & medical staff, for fear of seeing what their country really looks like. Its rumoured that nearly one sixth of Burma's population died or lost their homes. )
Its a small, lush, green country marked by centuries old monasteries & the most intricate lattice work on tie on skirts. Burma's glittering trade cities -Rangoon & Mandalay- have been backdrops of classic Colonial literature & many Assamese & Bengali books. My grandfather has toured Burma as a doctor. And its a 3 hour drive from my home today.
Yet, all of us have forgotten this little nation. Atleast, I am very guilty of this act. Facebook posts saying 'Free Burma's Political Prisoners' have always been deleted by me without opening them.
I intend to do something for the people of this historical neighbour of mine. I don't have an elaborate plan yet. I shall start by saying that I can give out this documentary to anyone who is interested on a pen drive. I haven't found a direct route for it in India. I had to take it from the internet.
If you have the time for this, please check it out on the internet. Burma VJ is an epitome of the perfect use of social media. And perhaps an inspiration for all of us who want to say something. And yes, this is one of the best uses of the video camera to date.
Rarely is there a film or documentary that leaves a lasting impact on me and actually gets me inspired to do something. (Again for those who know me well, my faux nationalistic conscience is non existent & marked by cynicism).
Yet Burma VJ, 2010's Oscar winning documentary is one such very rare gem. Kuddos to the stuffed shirts at the Academy that this miniscule, South East Asian nation more or less forgotten by her big neighbours & the United Nations, inspired them to actually make a correct choice. The Oscar win stamp makes a whole lot of diffference to a documentary.
To cut a long story short, Burma VJ is entirely shot amidst Burma's 2007 peaceful uprisings by Buddhist monks & common people alongwith students. The protests that started off sporadically in the fear afflicted nation, which was still reeling from the massacre in Rangoon's streets when the junta killed over 3000 people within 4 days. Taking it's time to react to a sky rocketing leap in fuel prices, the monks in Burma, the only voice that the military regime fears for it's sheer force & spiritual control over the population, turned their begging bowls upside down & refused to take alms. They marched in thousands on the streets of the historic, mythical city of Rangoon, now stuck in an Eighties time warp.
The second day of protests is when, chanting prayers of peace & eradication of poverty, students, monks & common people formed human chains against the plainclothes military agents & policemen (One out of every 8 people on Burma's streets is a security spy.) They marched upto Aung San Syu Ki's home, and the barricades had to be lifted. Syu Kyi stepped out for 4 minutes, teary eyed at the gate, and folding her hands in humble prayer to the marching sea of orange.
The repression swiftly followed the next day. All of September, monasteries were raided, monks beaten up, rounded up & taken to secret locations. Others were left without treatment for their wounds. Secret police raided each & every home in the capital. Students were openly fired upon & those who escaped death, were fired at from close ranges to seal their fate. Finally, towards the end of September, the protests died out.
While this tale of a mediavally oppresive regime might not melt too many hearts here in urban, oh so cool, credit card charmed India, what might make some sit up & think, is that, ALL of this has been shot & photographed on cameras. The military junta doesnt allow cameras of the BBC, CNN or any news paper/ magazine or tv network in the country.
Amidst this, a collection of a dozen handy cam holding journalists photographed the September protests. Having to hide for their lives almost every day, and having to switch addresses every alternate day, the Democratic Voice of Burma is based in Thailand. These men have shot risking their lives every minute. On one or two occasions, the monks have included them in their marching folds, thereby ensuring their safety. But they also got immediately recognised by the secret police agents.
The visuals of the oppresion with ambient sound is like watching the classic apartheid movies of Attenborough. Only this time, they are real people being massacred by clubs, guns & tear gas shells, oozing real blood. A japanese tourist shooting in Burma was shot dead at close range. Even for me, who believes that institutionalized religion is mostly meant for financial gain & mental control of the masses, have to doff my hat to the Buddhist monks. Their march reminded me of Gandhi's Satyagraha & Civil Disobiedience. Their blood, splattered across the monasteries after night time raids, broke my heart. The cries of the students, who hit a dead end and are still being shot at, brings back chilling memories of Jalianwala Bagh. And all that we have seen are Hollywood films. Imagine,what does the real stuff look like!
Perhaps another factor driving me here is the close ties of my home state Assam to Burma. The 600 year old, longest surviving & most evolved monarchy of Assam is the Tai Ahom kingdom, a tribal kingship set up by Ahom immigrants of Burma. Even today, Sukapha is a cultural icon of many Assamese tribes. My hometown, Tinsukia, is a 3 hour drive from the Indo Myanmar border. Now completely quarantined by the Indian army, 'Myanmar' is a major trading port for Assam & Arunachal Pradesh. In fact, when you drive up towards the border, you will see the small towns peppered with girls who paint their faces a light-yellow brown with stretched eye liners above their small eyes. Those are Burmese girls married to North Eastern tribals, trying to build their lives away from their oppresive home land. Yet, the strange looking make up they use, makes them stand alone from the rest, a heart wrenching attempt by the 'Maan' girls to hold on to their identity. Besides the ULFA movement found it's impenetrable training grounds in the harsh forests of Kachin, Burma. Only recently has the Indian army managed to squeeze the Burmese Junta sufficiently for them to Not hide insurgents in their jungles.
I therefore, felt, a fear of proximity to such a cruel, mediaval regime. Post the stillwell road, Burma will be a smooth, two laned highway drive from my home town. But I dont plan to see the country anymore.
Meanwhile, by December 2007, the Democratic Voice of Burma had been flushed clean. Their offices have been raided & two of their reporters,arrested, now face life sentences. The others are in hiding and can't communicate mutually. So their head, Joshua, has returned to Burma from Thailand throught the risky routes of jungles. He plans to start from scratch.
This documentary is a tale of courage under fire. Its a tale of a forgotten mass screaming for the world to respond. Inspired by their reporters, the people of Burma tried all mediums of social media to reach out to the world during the devastating hurricane of 2008. (The junta had refused entry to UN Aid agencies & medical staff, for fear of seeing what their country really looks like. Its rumoured that nearly one sixth of Burma's population died or lost their homes. )
Its a small, lush, green country marked by centuries old monasteries & the most intricate lattice work on tie on skirts. Burma's glittering trade cities -Rangoon & Mandalay- have been backdrops of classic Colonial literature & many Assamese & Bengali books. My grandfather has toured Burma as a doctor. And its a 3 hour drive from my home today.
Yet, all of us have forgotten this little nation. Atleast, I am very guilty of this act. Facebook posts saying 'Free Burma's Political Prisoners' have always been deleted by me without opening them.
I intend to do something for the people of this historical neighbour of mine. I don't have an elaborate plan yet. I shall start by saying that I can give out this documentary to anyone who is interested on a pen drive. I haven't found a direct route for it in India. I had to take it from the internet.
If you have the time for this, please check it out on the internet. Burma VJ is an epitome of the perfect use of social media. And perhaps an inspiration for all of us who want to say something. And yes, this is one of the best uses of the video camera to date.
wow ....i most certainly want to watch it.....moving archie....
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