Earthquake- a natural calamity...women....a commodity

Today when I was sipping nice hot coffee and scanning the newspapers a small girl with beady eyes caught my eye. What was more devastating was the fact that the girl was sitting with death in the background. A situation where everything she possessed had been snatched from under her nose. Her family, relatives and close ones all lost to one big calamity- the earthquake that happened in Pakistan.

The look on her face was one of being abandoned. Every year a natural calamity strikes hundreds go homeless. This time around it's the children who are being left alone. Innocent children who are yet to see the world yet are exposed to so much pain and loss at such a young age. Whether they are able to confront and battle their emotions is something I will never know. Photojournalism surely knows how to create an impact and disturb human minds. It definitely defies the fact that only words can move humans.

The photo I saw of the girl spoke loads. What will happen to her? Who would provide her the financial security? Were some of the questions that flooded my mind. But what I forgot is that money does not neccessarily solve all the problems in life. By providing such financial security to people, you can never compensate for the family they lost.

I saw this movie early this year called "KAIZHA" a Malayalam one which centers around a boy who is orphaned during the earthquake that happens in Gujarat. As the story progresses we see how the boy some how reaches Kerala and bumps into this man who runs a business of showing films to the public and earns his living. The man who played this part was none other than the great versatile actor Mamooty who plays his role in a dignified manner. Poor as he is Mamooty decides to take the boy into his fold.

Though the beginning the boy irritates him a great deal we see how eventually mamooty develops a sense of compassion for the boy and ultimately takes him home where everybody treats him like family. The boy is happy as he has found a new family. But a certain incident gains people's attention. The boy rescues Mamooty's daughter from drowning and becomes a hero overnight. Politicians who are vying for attention go along with the media to not only get photographed with the boy but also start questioning the where a bout of the boy.
The separation which happens following that and how Mamooty tries to adopt the boy with the full consent of the family has been depicted realistically. The director of the film even received an award for this thought provoking film.

The obstacles that come in the way of adoption form the second part of the story. How the bodies of the boy's parents are not missing and how it stands in the way of Mamooty who is willing to adopt the boy is filmed with great sensitivity. Finally he has to take the boy back to Gujarat even though it pains him and his family greatly. We see how the boy dreams of being re-united with the family and the eagerness with which he agrees to go back only to meet them. The little broken Malayalam he picks up while staying with Mamooty's family shows how assimilation takes place in a child’s mind at such a young age and how cheerful the boy remains amidst all sorrow. The last scene was the most memorable scene as it just crushes the audience to see how the officer crumples the piece of paper which Mamooty writes his address in and throws it into the dustbin. Though Mamooty hopes to adopt the boy if his parents are not found, we see how authorities crush all the hope of the living.

When I saw the picture of the girl today it was not very difficult for me to understand the situation. I will not say I know fully the extent of her pain, but I know the insecurity the kid might be feeling. With hundreds going homeless there seems to be a drastic increase in the number of girl children who are sent to Middle East for prostitution. When I read such articles it pains me to see that a loss can take such a toll on a girl's life and change her destiny....Is it not enough that the girl has lost her family and Identity she had...does she need to lose her honour too. Several essays question how women have been uprooted over the years. Women are not only robbed of their identity but also their dignity. They get killed several times over.

History has been mentioning only his story...when will her story ever come out?