Government High School, Ameerpet - Response to GHS

There is a Government High School close to the Ameerpet Playground. For many years since my school days, say 1982 onwards, I have been going to the Ameerpet playground for practice, fitness and sometimes to coach young kids in summers. I never noticed this school until this year though. It sits in the corner, a prime place on the Dharam Karam Road.

Government High School, Ameerpet, view from Dharam Karam Road, near Foodworld

Ever since I decided to do motivational sessions for free in schools I had set my sights on this school. In fact I noted it down as one of the things to do in one of my recent lists. I never got down to doing that what with one thing or another and many times I felt guilty as I passed it. So, the other day, on the 25th January, 2011, when I was passing this GHS I suddenly thought that it would be even better for the kids to watch the movie than attend a lecture by me which would probably say the same things and not half as convincingly. I stopped the car and walked in, met the acting Principal for the day Ms. Geeta, and told her that if the kids wanted to watch the movie 'Golconda High School', I would, at my personal cost, send them to watch it at Satyam. She instantly agreed. 100 children went that same evening from the 9th and 10th class, to Satyam theatre which is walking distance, that very evening and watched GHS along with some 15 teachers. I spoke to Ms. Geeta, a couple o f days later. She said that everyone was inspired by it, especially the students. What's more, the Principal got motivated to get them a set of bats and balls to play in the afternoons. All this in 3 days!

Another view of GHS

I was thrilled to hear this and asked her is it was possible to get some reactions from these kids - maybe a line or two and she said she would ask them to write. And when I went to pick them I found that they had not written a line or two, they all wrote about a page to two! In wonderful Telugu, clear in thought, mature and wonderful responses to what the movie meant to them. I will translate a few responses but they were almost all on the same lines. What they liked in the movie, what they did not, how impacted them, a congratulatory message, a plea to forgive any mistakes. In lovely Telugu, well written, margins drawn, bullet points made, sub headings given. Ahh, childhood!

Geeta madam and some of her wards

 I met a few of them when I went to pick up the responses and they were so happy and effusive that it was wonderful to see the twinkle in their eyes. And it does not escape one's notice that they are also from families that are financially backward. Their clothes, shoes (some do not have any footwear) screamed of their lack. Their coarse skins as they shook my hand hiding and protecting their innocence. Many sitting on the floor. But the smiles, their happiness were as genuine and heartwarming as any. If anyone needs an affirmation that they are not less than anyone, that they can dream big and do what anyone else can, these kids do. And from their responses I think they pretty much got it. I have also signed in to do a lecture with them sometime this week.
Going by their response, I do hope that more children from the Government High Schools are shown this movie. As we know a lot of privileged schools have  taken their children to watch this movie. Hopefully more kids from the Government High Schools get to watch it too.

GHS boys and me

I found the Principal and the staff very committed to the cause of their students. They took the decision to send the children in minutes unlike most other schools which took days and weeks - knowing that the kids would benefit from the experience. They asked me if I could speak to the children and motivate them. They asked me to motivate their new PD as well. They asked me if I could get more eminent speakers to their school as well. They asked me if I would also donate something to the school in their drive to raise money (they want to raise Rs. 3 lakh) and improve the school. I said, I would do everything that I could, in whichever way I can. We fixed up this week for a lecture to begin with. I am looking forward to that especially after reading some of the responses, excerpts of which are shown below, translated from Telugu to English (best I could).

Responses from the children of the Government High School, Ameerpet on watching Golconda High School (translated from Telugu):

1)      1) Ever since I saw Golconda High School I realized that even I must have a goal. And that I should and will achieve my goal at any cost. –A. Bharathi, 10^th class

2)       

2)   2) After watching Golconda High School I realized that we could also excel in our studies and make our parents proud of us. - M. Ramya, 10^th class

3)       

      3) After watching Golconda High School I have decided that I will not only pass in all subjects but I will come first. I will also come first in games. – V. Vijayadurga, 10^th class

4)       

      4) Please make more movies like GHS which are useful for students. – R. Archana, 10^th class

Responses from the students, 32 of them, from which these excerpts are taken

5)       

      5) The people who made this movie (Golconda High School) are good people. Because whenever any friend asks me to come to play, my father says - ‘Stop playing all the time, study’. If my father sees this movie he might allow me to play once in a while. After this movie, our teachers also gave us a bat and a ball and gave us permission to play for one hour every afternoon. – Chandrasekhar, 9^th class

6)        

     6) I never expected that anyone would make a movie like this in these times. Thank you for making this movie. I liked the message that it’s not just academics, sports are equally important. I also felt, after watching this movie, that nothing is impossible for anyone. – P. Bhagyalaxmi, 10^th class

7)     

          7)  After watching GHS I have written down all the mistakes I made in a match and made sure that I did not repeat them again in the next match. I also have the confidence now that however strong the opposition, I can beat them. – Mohd. Riazuddin, 10^th class

8)       

      8) These days no one is making movies for children. I am happy you made a movie like Golconda High School for the first time. - K. Vishali, 10^th class

9)       

      9) By the end of the movie, the parents of the children understand their children’s dreams and hopes and encourage them to follow the path. if we want more parents to encourage their children on the path of their dreams and hopes, you must make more such movies. – P. Renuka, 10^th class

      

      10)   As long as our teachers support us in our studies and in our games and sports, we children can achieve anything. – Murali, 9^th class

Golconda High School - Review in Wow Hyderabad

This is a review of GHS by S. Sridhar in Wow Hyderabad's February 2011 edition.

"In an era of story-starved hits in Tollywood, this is a refreshing film combining cricket, human nature and a commentary on today's educational system. A school Principal is pressurised to sell the school cricket ground for some badly needed real estate gains, but things change for the school and the students when an ex-student promises to help his alma mater win a cricket championship.


How good is it?
The script is based on a well written novel The Men Within by Harimohan Paruvu (a seasoned Ranji cricketer). The narration is gripping and the performances are fresh and convincing. Without sounding didactic, the movie makes a few points on our educational system in crisp scenes, packs a few good songs and achieves a magical climax in just 13 reels! It's a miracle for Tollywood and a refreshing experiment that will be talked about for a long time. (Sumanth couldn't have hoped for a better movie to resurrect his sagging career.) Immensely watchable - go with your buddies."


I agree with almost everything Sridhar says. The only bit where I have a problem is where he calls me a seasoned Ranji cricketer. I only played seven games for Hyderabad - too short to be seasoned - but I take great pride that I played a few games and was in the squad of 18 that won the Ranji Trophy for Hyderabad in 1986-87. But coming to the movie, for the nth time, Mohana Krishna Indraganti, take a bow - "It's a miracle for Tollywood and a refreshing experiment that will be talked about for a long time."

Article in the Indian Express - February 6, 2011

The following article appeared in my Sunday column 'Un Intended' in the New Indian Express.

Bring Back Black Money 

Harimohan Paruvu

I have been ecstatic ever since I heard that they are bringing back all our black money from Switzerland. Apart from planning our retirement, we must not forget the heroic efforts of all the visionary people who thoughtfully saved up money over all these years (since 1947 apparently) so the rest of us lazies could use it on a rainy day. Tomorrow, when our black money returns, we can all sit back, enjoy it and live happily ever after. Thanks to these great souls our entire nation will be drenched in prosperity.

One of the greatest things about this wonderful bunch of altruists is that they do not want their names to be made public. This is the true sign of greatness; that you do great deeds but take no credit for it. But though we may not ever know their names, we must put on record what they have done for our society, our country.

Firstly they took the trouble of accumulating as much as Rs. 70 lakh crore since 1947. When the average Joe has not been able to save even a few thousands, these great men have accumulated such a staggering amount – all for us! Secondly, they saved this money against all temptation to enjoy this wealth themselves. They displayed an iron will, resisted all temptation and quietly towed it to Switzerland so we could benefit later.  Thirdly, they took the trouble to keep this operation quiet for all these years so we would not go and bring it back for every small crisis like rising onion prices or something like that. And then, they waited until the Swiss declared India as No.1. (Apparently we top the list of moneys stashed in Swiss banks with some $1500 billion while the next four countries together have only some $ 1100 billion haha). Today, if we get this humongous amount of money back (how they will get it back is a mystery to me – trains, trucks?), we will rise from being a measly developing nation to being one of the top 5 nations in the world. All credit for our rise goes entirely to these visionary savers!

Their selfless behavior, strategic vision, sense of responsibility, team spirit, leadership and such stellar qualities must be made public so future generations know about them. But since we may never ever know who these noble men are, the least we can all do is to say a collective thank you. One of the ways would be to erect a memorial. I suggest a large statue of a lone man carrying a huge bag of cash and heading off in the direction of the Swiss Banks in every village. Another way of recognizing their contribution would be by giving awards (bigger than awards that everyone is getting these days) to empty seats like they did for the Nobel Prize, because what they have done is huge. Imagine how much they would have toiled to build a parallel economy that makes us strong enough to be in the top 5 overnight. Undoubtedly this is the greatest achievement by a group of people for our country and no reward is too great for them. I demand that a significant chunk of the black money that is returning (after my cheque is given to me), be earmarked for these memorials and rewards. The only thing I want to know is this – how did they paint so much money black, and which paint company supplied so much black paint to them! If we know that, we can use the same paint to paint the memorial black as well.

Cartoon strip on 'Reviewing the reviewers'

Here's a link to a really fine cartoon strip made by Dhruv. Do check it out.

7 Types of Film Reviewers" http://blog.dhruvatejvemula.com/2011/02/7-types-of-film-reviewers.html

It is a cartoon strip based on some of the stuff I wrote in my Sunday column in The New Indian Express. But Dhruv has made it a lot more funnier and added a lot more content to it. I really liked it and hope Dhruv makes more cartoons on a more regular basis.

In fact there is another cartoon strip he has made on his blog right next to the above link. Check that out too. Thanks Dhruv, for the smiles and laughs.

Anil Ekbote - A Sensitive Writer Is No More

I met Anil Ekbote almost twelve years ago for the first time. I was invited by my good friend Sunil Jyoti's father, the late Shri J.R. Jyoti, to meet his classmates at the IGNOU's course on creative writing. I had told Jyoti saab, an avid ghazal writer and also a very funny middles writer, that I had just attempted and completed writing my first novel 'The Misfit' and even gave him the manuscript. He was pretty excited then after reading a bit and asked me to share the experience with his class. I missed my appointment a couple of Sundays due to my cricketing commitments but I made it on the third and was fortunate to meet some of the finest people who are still some of my best friends.

The biggest find of that class to me was Vinod Ekbote (who is no relation to Anil Ekbote saab) and we instantly hit it off with each other, having a chai at the corner Irani cafe on the Srinagar Colony road. Major Kiran was another great find, the irrepressible B.S.Murthy garu is another. The teacher of that Creative Writing class Shri Anil Ekbote, a frail, soft spoken gentleman who humoured a new writer like me in his class. I spoke about my experience in writing the book and soon everyone started talking about this and that and we had great fun.

I kept meeting them once in a while whenever they invited me to their get togethers which they organised even after the course was over. Vinod and I met often otherwise but at these get togethers I got to know them more.. Anil Ekbote would quietly make a point about writing, or some new avenue of writing, a new publisher, a new publication that was looking for writers etc. He seemed to have an enormous knowledge of stuff that was going on. Then employed with the APSEB, he was an avid writer and write everything from middles to short stories to children's stories to movie reviews and other stuff. He was active on Sulekha as well. It was during one such meeting that he gave me the address of Dahlia Publishers, which had offered me the first lifeline as a writer by signing a contract for my collection of children's stories. Dahlia finally never published mine, because I did not renew the contract but I hope they published him because his book was in a far more advanced stage than mine. We kept in touch over phone or email and the occasional meeting which was always enriched by some new information from his side that translated into some writing work for me. I valued all his advise highly.

When I invited him for the launch of 'The Men Within' he made the time to come from across the city. I was very glad to see him, Vinod, Kiran, B.S.Murthy in that little gathering of friends and family. Jyoti saab was no more - but he had published his book of middles 'When day Is Night' by then, later published again by Jaico. We all celebrated the event. Anil Ekbote and I kept in touch  and discussed the progress of the book and my other works as well. He retired from service sometime and settled down at his home in Kacheguda.

The last time Vinod and I met him was a couple of years ago when his wife passed away. He appeared completely shattered and we were deeply disturbed. Anil Ekbote was a sensitive person, too fragile it appeared for this world and its harsh realities. He loved his writing and would have happily written away forever if he had his way. His sensibilities were soft and mellow as well as he shied away from writing anything harsh, overly dramatic, and always wrote in an amused, gentle tone. I will always remember him as the poet, because he possessed the soul of one, gentle, removed from this world, yet doing what he loved. His daughter Aparna writes as well, for newspapers and other publications, and it was she who sent a mail ten days ago informing me of Anil Ekbote's demise.

I shall miss his presence as I am sure all others in the group do. I would have loved to have taken him to watch Golconda High School and get his critique on that - because despite his soft nature, he was pretty clear with his opinion on creative works. But for all that he has done and been to me, a huge thank you for Anil Ekbote. May his soul rest in peace.

An Evening Out With the GHS team

A promise made long ago - almost a year ago to the boys of the GHS team was fulfilled yesterday. I had promised them all that since, to me, the key to the movie lies in how well they perform both in the acting and in the cricket, if they manage to pull them both off convincingly I will host a dinner for them. Enthusiastic and confident they were then, last April, and we moved on, shooting the movie over the better part of last year.

Standing - Sangeet (Varun), Sriraj (Nissar), Suraj (Vikas), Sumanth, Lalith (Rajinder), Vasudev (Ramesh), Bharath (Kaleem), Nikhil (Karthik), Mahadev and kneeling Rohan, Santosh (Gautam), Neelima, Shaurya, Sai Srinivas (Siddhanth) and Sudhir (Sanjay)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shameem's dour and dogged approach, Karthik's mercurial approach, Siddhanth and his stylish and confident manner, Gautam's resolute, never say die and responsible presence, Mikey's raw aggression and untamed belligerence, Ramesh's amiable but reliable presence, Ashish's presence of mind, Varun's sheer pluck, Noel's optimism and spirit, Nissar's unpredictable but  penetrative ways, Vikas's loyal and steadfast approach, Kaleem and Sanjay providing the stability on the bench were imprinted in my mind from the book. The urgency and the unflagging desire to win needed to be shown by the young GHS team, in their acts, their words, and this, to me was the key. Everglades, the other finalist was not only superior in skill but they were also a team used to winning so they would not give an inch. If GHS has to win they would have to get up every time they fell, conquer all doubts, walk into the Everglades den and walk out with the trophy. This is a final that tests their character, their desire and pushes them to the limit. This had to come through, and by God the kids did it.

Senthil, Sagar and Mohan discussing a point

I have seen the movie 14 times or 15 till date on the big screen. And each time I see the run chase I can feel the urgency, the desire, the desperation. In Ramesh's innings at the top I see a calm foil to Mikey's aggression, as he accumulates ones and twos with the deftness of a businessman. Mikey is felled, in a scene that makes my skin crawl each time, in the unnatural way that his frail frame hits the ground, motionless. But the way he gets up, ear bleeding and sends off the helmet to the dressing room sends the signal loud and clear. GHS is down but it will get up each time. Many of my astute cricketer friends who have watched the movie have commented on how resolute, responsible and mature Gautam looks all through the run chase, knowing he will pull it off if there is a sliver of a chance. His running, his batting, his calling, even the way he looks around the ground is picture perfect. That to me was the biggest takeaway from the final as the captain holds it all together. In that final scene when he for a moment thinks that they have lost it all, I find my eyes moistening each time. Phenomenal job. Rajinder, the cricketer that he is, made that partnership scale up a few notches with picture perfect shots, good enough for any cricketer to be proud. And the kid has not even played league cricket. His reluctance, his unhappiness at being sent out for what seems an unfair decision is unforgettable. He looks so real, so much that he wants to go and finish the game for GHS. And each time I see it I think of Abhimanyu, young and frail and full of idealism and hope, being trapped by those corrupted by the thought of winning, over fighting fairly. Somewhere there the Everglades team loses an inch just as the Kauravas did.

Me and Skipper Gautam

Nissar's unfortunate dismissal tests GHS further and his reluctance to leave the field, to leave his captain fighting alone for the trophy comes across superbly. The highly talented Varun does his bit to accelerate the score and it is just as I visualised when I wrote, that this stocky boy who is not really a cricketer, gets every move right - from looking at his favourite direction as he takes guard and slogging the speedy Parvez for two brilliant hoicks over midwicket before losing his off stump. Everything that Varun did in his stay at the middle was so genuine that I wonder how this kid did it - even taking his helmet off and walking dejectedly. Shameem and Karthik are challenged by the pace of Parvez, one of the quickest and the tides turn completely in favour of Everglades. Their surprise at losing their wickets and their reluctance at having to leave before achieving their dream is so obvious, but they have been beaten by a better player. Ashish comes in at a time when there are 27 runs more to get and in such situations, it is normal for any team to relax for a moment and Everglades does that, especially when you know that one player is out of action as Siddhanth is with a split webbing. Ashish adding 15 runs with Gautam was again so real, slogs, desperate running, the odd boundary and the increasing tension as they get close to the target. Ashish's fall was something we practised, that shot he plays over to thirdman and it looked really good to me just as that last boundary that Gautam smashes to cover point, going down on his knee. And then the arrival of Siddhanth, braving a finger with split webbing, pain and further injury, for a cause he believes in as do all his mates, and as do most people at the ground, is as dramatic as one would expect. Every time I see him fall clutching his injured finger (Everglades attacking his weakness) I wince again and one of my favourite scenes in the movie is the look on Gautam's face when Sid refuses help. Gautam almost looks like, :now we are through buddy, you just stay with me and we'll see it through". The way he offers his hand to Sid and pulls him to his feet is wonderful. If I were an Everglades player I would start feeling that something big was happening, something was slipping out. And then Sid pulls off what is an expected but hard fought win, over an opponent that did not yield an inch, that did no favours and in fact tried every trick in the book to win. That is the kind of a win that I wanted to see on the screen and I saw it. I must also mention, in the same breath, that the Everglades team did a fine job as well - Rayan, Imran, Pervez and Rohan taking up much of their screen time and each one doing a superb job. They are all trained cricketers who are playing league cricket, some like Rayan playing for the state as well. But they sat through the shoot patiently and did their parts commendably well.

Anjali, me, Siddhanth, Nissar, Rajinder, Karthik, Ramesh and Sudhir

And so it was that the boys richly deserved their day out at Sailing Club which was hosted readily by my good friend Kiran Prakash and his family, Anita, his lovely wife and Shreya and Rohan. All the kids were there except Shameem who was appearing for some exam in his college in Vijayawada. Mohana Krishna, Uma and Neelima, Senthil, Ruhee and little Rayan, Shobha, Anjali, Sheila, Vajra, Shaurya were there to celebrate the moment and meet the heroes. Coach Sumanth came too and spent time chilling out with the lads just as Sagar and Mallik were there. A pleasant addition to the party was Mahadev, Vasu's brother and a good time was had by all. I gave all the kids who did not have a copy of The Men Within a signed copy, we all had fun, dinner and split at 1030. Well done boys, you deserve much more for your splendid job!

Golconda High School Released on the Internet - Pay Per View Link

Here is the pay per view link for the 'Golconda High School' movie. The movie released on the internet a couple of days ago. Hopefully this will counter piracy (pirated CDs and downloads from the internet)

http://www.rajshritelugu.com/Movie/Golconda-High-School

The price on the link is $1.99. Watch it. I am certain you will enjoy it.