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To all of you in London who have to wait till October to see this exhibition, here is a little preview.
Stimulated through sounds, decor, and exhibits, it is easy, with a touch of imagination, to travel over 3,000 years back in time. This was the golden age of the pharaohs. 130 artifacts from that era have been transported all the way from Egypt and are on display in Philadelphia till the end of September.
I entered an opulent Egyptian temple. Numerous objects used by the priests during the process of mummification were on display. Looking at the exhibited jars, one could not help the feeling of ‘being there’, surrounded with priests chanting, while the Head Priest with the mask of the jackal god Anubis performed the ritual of the opening of the mouth. With the hook in the most beautiful opal blue, which also was on the display, he would extract the brain. Other internal organs, such as liver, stomach, intestine, lungs would be carefully placed in separate jars. Some had simple lines carved in alabaster, and some were inlaid with semi precious stones. The heart was always left in the body, so that it could be weight against the feather of Maat. If the deceased was a good person and his spiritual heart was lighter than the feather, the deceased would meet Osiris.
From the surrounds of the temple, I moved into the darkness of the tomb. This is the closest one could ever get to experience what Howard Carter must have felt in 1922 when he discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun.
I looked with fascination at the hieroglyphic carvings on the golden sarcophagus of the queen Tuyu, great grandmother of Tutankhamun. Intricately carved scarab beetles symbolising the rebirth, the key of life and many other hieroglyphs adorned the sarcophagus.
There were numerous beautifully carved shabti, figurines placed in the tomb to perform manual tasks for the pharaoh or the queen in their afterlife.
I felt the great excitement when I entered the chamber I thought was the one before the last. Five objects that were buried with the body of Tutankhamun were on display, including the gold crown with a cobra and a vulture placed on Tutankhamun’s head. The dagger was also wrapped in the sheets of the mummy to protect it in the afterlife. On the floor, the lines marked five coffins that, like a Russian doll, contained five sarcophagi and a mummified body of 19 year old pharaoh Tutankhamun.
I moved like in trance anticipating the next room to contain the one object worthy of a grand finale – Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus. Instead, I found myself in the gift shop. I felt a momentary disappointment, which soon dissipated as I remembered the dramatic and spectacular exhibition I have just witnessed.
The Namesake is a film directed by Mira Nair that juxtaposes well two cultures, the modern American and the traditional Indian. It follows the lives of a beautiful, artistic Ashima and Ashoke, her professor husband from an arranged marriage. Ashima’s expectations differed from those of her Western counterparts, as she was conditioned by the society she grew up in to marry the ‘best of the lot’ who came knocking on her parents’ door, and not for love.
With the marriage she replaces the colorful, warm, though overpopulated Calcutta with the bleakness and isolation of New York City in search of Ashoke’s dream. Through all the ups and downs that life presents them with, they stay true to their values and to each other.
The film moves on to the next generation of the Ganguli family, born and raised in the U.S., with their different perspectives on life and different values. The story centres around Gogol, or Nick, as he prefers to be called when he becomes a teenager. One of the central themes of the film is Gogol’s dilemma which name to embrace. Is it going to be the name given to him by his father, inspired by the writer Nikolai Gogol as well as an important past event that changed Ashoke’s life, or Nikhil which in Nick form could easily blend with the American culture.
The film also examines the possibilities of immigrant’s children mingling with the elite of their birth country. It raises the issue whether the modern relationships based on the same ‘roots’ have more potential to succeed than those of the chance encounters.
Where, in my opinion, the movie fails to deliver is by trying to pack in too much without going deeper into the characters. At one point a director concentrates on showing that the Bengali culture and traditions are alive and well in New York’s suburbia, with immigrant families closely knit together. At the other, the protagonist is left isolated and alone in times of a major life crisis. I somehow felt that one would preclude the other.
The director likes to use flashbacks, which I felt did not always serve the purpose. Rather than seeing the crucial past event again in this form, it may have been more original to view it from some other perspective entering deeper into the psychology of the character.
My rating would be four out of five.
I have a penchant for small, independent, art movies. They could be quirky like ‘Amelie’, or realistic like ‘Squid and a Whale’, or documentaries like ‘What the Bleep Do We Know’, but there is one thing they have in common – they keep those grey cells ticking by raising ethical and moral questions and they stir various emotions. The discussion that ensues could be lively, provocative, and controversial. With the right person(s) over a glass of red wine, it could turn out to be as enjoyable as the movie.
Tonight I saw Breaking and Entering, Anthony Minghella’s movie with a strong cast (Jude Law, Juliette Binoche) which, with the exception of the few, got average reviews by the critics. Perhaps a story of two people growing apart, a man wrapped up in his career as an architect and a woman who gave up her career to raise her troubled daughter, resonated with me more than it did with the majority of critics. I could see a certain dose of realism in the man who, unknown even to himself , was searching for excitement and risking ‘love of his life’ relationship. But, this was not a triangle of your average affair. Strong social connotations are brought into play. The lifestyle of a whole new generation of Bosnian war refugees living in a crime ridden area of London is brought to life. Characters reminiscent of E. Zola novels, prostitutes, thieves, as well as honest hard working people who have been dealt a rough card, enter the stage. Racial stereotyping raises its head when the possible suspects in a break in are questioned.
I think you should see this excellent movie, providing that Hollywood box office block busters are not your idea of art. Of course, I would love to hear what you think of the film.
