The magic of three witches...

Review of In thunder, lightning and rain a documentary by Rajesh James

In the clamorous noise of carnival, the glimpse of three smiles catch the eyes of viewers that tell a long threshold of stories. The documentary, In thunder, lightning and rain, an excellent work by the Kochi based documentary maker and film researcher Rajesh James, takes the audience to a different arena of life. The documentary takes you to the lives of three women who fought the odds of their life with valour and will. Seena C.V the footballer, Ammini Amma the fisher and Selina Michael the cremator, tell their story and the camera captures it beautifully and responsibly.

The film starts from the shot of Kochi new year carnival where the three women came to witness and be part of it. They express their joy to share the vast space of celebration, joy and togetherness that is contradictory to their lives and circumstances. The women unveil their story in the form of answers to the questions asked by the crew. The realistic portrayal of the life and emotions of the three, who fought to create a space of their own, in the society which always ridiculed the unique persons, makes the film a genuinely skilled work.

The narrative sequence begins with section Thunder that shows Seena C. V the only woman football coach in Kochi. The determination sparked in her narration attracts the audience. The second section named Rain shows Ammini Amma, a fisher and folksinger who talks in Universities about agriculture, farming and folk culture. Lightning, the third section introduces Selina Michel, the cremator of thrikkakkara crematorium who had cremated near 4000 dead bodies.

All the three are unique and special in stereotypical world of humans and that's why the film compare them to the witches in Shakespearean drama. They represent the desire to live life inspite of any adversity. Their perspective towards life and simplicity in living an unusual life deserve appreciation from hearts. The film captures real smiles, real worries and real strength of these women who fight and survive their obstacles will courage and determination. The documentary returns to the carnival in the end as the three women witness the burning of Pappanji and welcome a newyear.

The way of presentation and selection of concept deserve appreciation but the gem of the matter is that the film never forces any of the viewer to realize or appreciate the three. They are heros, it is not to be said, but felt. The viewer feels the struggle, the gains, the loses, the smiles, the sadness and the pride of the three immensely strong willed women. 

The film was produced by Preeya Nair and K.C Abraham. Jibin Jose did a fantastic work in cinematography and Lithin Paul was the editor. The documentary was premiered at Ppeloponnisos International Documentary Festival at Kalamata, Greece on January 24, 2018.

Thank you. 

BIOGRAPHY OF DR. V. SHANTA

    BIOGRAPHY OF DR. V. SHANTA

Dr. V. Shanta is an Indian oncologist who is best known for her efforts towards making quality and affordable cancer treatment accessible to all patients in the country. She dedicated her life to the research on the prevention and care of cancer and organizing care for cancer patients.

Dr. V. Shanta was born on 11th March 1927 at Mylapore, Chennai. She did her schooling from National Girls High School (now P. S Sivswamy Higher Secondary School). Despite the fact that she comes from a family of scientists and Nobel laureates - S. Chandrasekhar (her maternal uncle) and Dr. C. V. Raman (her grand uncle ) - Dr. Shanta decided to become a doctor, inspired by Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, the first woman medical graduate in the country.

She completed her graduation (M. B. B. S) from the Madras Medical College in 1949. She specialised in Gynaecology and obstetrics with a diploma in 1952 and a MD in 1955. In 1950, she had interned briefly with the Cancer Unit of the Government General Hospital.

In 1955, Post - MD, she decided the offer of a Post of Asst. Surgeon in the Women and Children's Hospital, Madras, to which she had been selected by the Madras Public Service Commission. In April that year, she joined Adyar Cancer Institute, established in 1954 by the Women's Indian Association Cancer Relief Fund as its Resident Medical Officer. Since then she has lived in an austere flat on the first floor of the Institute. In 1956-57, she trained in oncology in Toronto and in 1968, studied marrow transplantation in UK.

Dr. V. Shanta is at present chairperson of the Cancer Institute, Chennai. She has played an important role in the development of the institute from a cottage hospital of 12 beds to a major comprehensive Cancer Centre of national and international stature. Today, the Institute has 423 beds, of which 297 are free. Generally, 66% of patients get free or subsidised treatment. She is also credited for developing India's first programme for early detection of cancer in rural areas. She shas trained hundreds of village nurses to screen rural women to cervical cancer.

She has been Chairman of the I DO - US Collaborative group on Lymphoid Neoplasias (Indian chapter), member of many ICMR committees, member of the ICMR task force on Registries and president of the Indian Society of Oncology (88 - 90). She was the president of the Asian and Pacific Federation of Organisations for Cancer Control (97 - 99), President of the 15th Asian and Pacific Cancer Conference (1999) and member of the syndicate of the Anna University. She has participated in a number of scientific International Collaborative Programmes.

She was the recipient of major National and International Awards along with the awards from public and official organisations. In 1986, she was awarded with Padmashri and IARC Award - work for Development of Registries in India in 1997 and Dsc from Shri Venkateswara University for the contribution in the field of medicine in 1998. She received Dsc Tamil Nadu from Dr. M.G.R Medical University and Nazli - Gad - El - Mawla Award for cancer control in a resource poor country, Brussels in 2002.

In 2005, she was conferred with the Ramon Magsaysay Award, better known as the Nobel Prize of Asia and in 2006, Indian government feted her with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian awardin in the land. She was honoured with Avvaiyar Award by Government of Tamil Nadu, D. Sc from both Dr. NTR University of Health sciences and Sathyabhama University for Life Time Achievement in 2013. She was conferred Padma Vibhusan in 2016.

She has published over 95 papers in national and international journals, contributed chapters in oncology books, delivered many prestigious orations and participated in many international and national conferences.