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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
SHORT CUT TO NIRVANA: KUMBH MELA
Legend has it that many, many years ago, the Gods and the demons were
churning the oceans for the coveted holy nectar of immortality. Their
churning finally lifted an urn of nectar from the depths of the waters and
in the tussle that followed, four drops of the sacred nectar fell upon the
earth. The locations that were honored with this unexpected blessing have
become holy sites. Once every three years, one of the four Indian cities of
Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik becomes the site of a pilgrimage for
Hindus around the world. With tens of millions attending, the Kumbh Mela has become the
largest gathering of
humanity today. The event is sacred, and Hindus come from far
and wide to wash away their sins with a dip in the scared river waters.
The documentary of the 2001 Kumbh Mela at Allahabad, A Shortcut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela,
scratches gingerly on the
surface of this celebration. Using a novice, Swami Krishnanand, as
its guide, the film treats the event more as a
freak show than as a religious pilgrimage. Instead of trying to understand
the significance of the gathering to pilgrims and gurus, it focuses
mostly on interviews with Westermers coming to the gathering as spectators. While elephants,
eye doctors, dread-locked babas and naked saints shock and
awe the visitors, the symbolic value of these elements has escaped the
filmmakers. The film gawks at the sights as if they were circus acts. Much
of the content has been diluted by the soundtrack consisting of lounge music
with Hindi lyrics. The sequence with a particular guru singing devotional
music while a girl spins in a trance has been sped up and portrayed as if it
were at a psychedelic trance party, and the camera gapes at another swami
who has continually held one of his arms up for several years.
Though the film has clips of the Dalai Lama's visit and captures a Hindu religious leader walking
through the site, it
doesn't include interviews with the two men. While the film is
commendable in that it has brought information about this hugely significant
gathering to a Western audience, it doesn't do justice to the scale or
significance of the event. Preeti Mankar
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