The contents of an article published in Orissa Diary is reproduced hereunder :-
Report by Orissa Diary bureau; New Delhi :
“The Last Post” a short film made by Anil Dhir on the Dak Tonga of Jeypore, Koraput has bagged the Gold medal at the SINE 2010 held in New Delhi from the 10th to 12th December. The Film had earlier got the Silver Medal in Indepex 2009 at Chennai.
The film is based on the life story of Nila Nayak, his two horses Budhhu and Sania, and the rickety mail cart in which he carries the mailbags for the Post Office in the picturesque town of Jeypore in Odisha. It is a story of a small town man, caught up in the agony of existence, his own and his family’s, a man who has sacrificed his present and his future for the sake of the past.
Nila Nayak belonged to the breed of maverick individuals, for whom the quote “the meek shall inherit the earth” was very appropriate. The film is his story, the story of a man, who in spite of all adversities still maintains a family tradition that was set by his great grandfather, and in spite of all odds, he still trudges through and ekes out a meager living from a job that he and his family have being doing since his living memory.
The film encompasses the lives of Nila, his wife Chanchala, his son Padmanabh, the postal department and the people of the small town of Jeypore. This is the story of how, in spite of the radical changes that have happened in a century, Nila’s small microcosmic world remains unchanged, unaffected and pristine.
Why does Nila still do a job that is not remunerative? Why has he passed on the baton to his son and convinced him that his future too lay in carrying the mail? Why does the Post office, which boasts of modernising all its services, still carry the mail in the horse Tonga? These are the questions, which intrigued the film maker, and made him journey into Nila’s world. What Anil learnt has culminated in this short film.
This is not a story of man animal relationship, tradition versus modernity, modern postal history or of crumbling family and social values, but it is rather a human interest story which speaks of one mans determination to live life on a path set by his forefathers, his frustrations at the metamorphosing world where his mettle remains unchanged, the bleak uncertainness and chill penury which has driven him to drunkenness and despair, and a state where there is no silver lining behind the dark clouds that loom on his life’s horizon.
The proceeds and earnings of the film all went to the cart puller, with the abject intention that he and his mail cart keeps rolling, uphill and downhill, carrying the mail as has been done for nearly a century.
Postscript: Nila Nayak died on the 2nd of January 2008 , just two weeks after this film on him was completed. They say that he died of alcoholism, but by what all he shared with Anil during his short friendship, he says that he died of a broken heart. Unfortunately, he never got to see the film that was shot on him.
India Post, after viewing the film was kind enough to enhance his daily allowance from Rs 90/- to Rs 250/- and there is hope that it will be further increased soon. For Nila, it was too little and too late.
Nila’s son Padmanabh now runs the mail cart as has been done since the last eight decades. Just recently two of his horses died, he has just one horse left. The Mail Tonga, a tradition that has lasted nearly a century will come to an end if the horse is not replaced. Anil Dhir is trying to get him a pair of horses. It would be nice if the government or the public help him in this cause.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
