Once upon a time we went for a cinema clandestinely!!!

Once upon a time we went for a cinema clandestinely!!!

We were children then.  Used to go to School.  Play with school fellows and classmates.  Did not have a care in the world.  Father and Mother did everything for us.  Elder brothers and sisters used to over see us when they were around.There was no chance of turning here and there.

One of the activities we were to undergo was to go for Sunday catechism which was separately set up at two in the afternoon in the church one to one and a half kilometres away.  On the way to the church, just about to reach it was the 'cinema kottayi'.  This was considered to be a bad place unless went with elders that too on special occasions only.  It is not that it is a good place to go with elders, but it was just allowed.

We looked at it as if it is the forbidden fruit!  There would be cute colour pictures of women and men with captions of cinema names under them in colour. Cinemas themselves used to be in black and white.  There was nothing interesting in the catechism classes as we simply went to the dry class rooms in the hot climate and sat there listening to the teaching of a teacher from a catechism book for one hour and at the end of the hour ran off at the striking of a bell somewhere in a corner.  We normally did walk up and down and spent almost two to three hours to part take in this class of one hour.  It was so at that time and to lose the class, we could not think of.  The bell was very shrill, so there is no question of anybody missing it.

Most of the clever children knew the time almost, but the ones who were not very clever and the ones who slowly lost in the lessons had to hear the bell itself.  Teachers normally did not stay after the bell and allowed us to leave.  It was one of the classes like this we bunked conveniently to go for the cinema in the 'cinema kottayi' once.

The kottayi was a huge building hall covered on all sides with wide door gates at even distances.  The whole building had a front side with a tall facade and the emblem of an elephant on an oval design.  Below the design, on the first floor level was the projector room to which there were flights of steps from both sides reaching to the same level of the room.  There was an entry door to the projector room at a height, where sometimes a man stood looking out and smoking.  They were big people.  The whole building had a courtyard and the courtyard was covered with a compound wall with grill designs on them.  In an entry corner was two small lanes made with three tall walls side by side making the two small lanes.   These lanes went to the inner side of the courtyard, but just before entering the courtyard was a room which had a small window cum pigeon hole through which a man dispensed tickets of One Ana and Two Anas.

The one ana ticket allowed one through a front area door to an area just in front of the white cloth screen.  This was called 'thara'  Thara meant floor and literally it was the bare floor it meant.  All those who bought a one ana ticket can sit on the thara and watch the cinema when it is played on the white screen.The two anas allowed one to another space just behind the thara called 'bench'.  This was class above and those who really wanted to make it in a convenient way and lose money only went there, or so we thought.  This was luxury and non sense to lose hard earned money, if it was earned at all.  In those days we never saw any other reason for it.  Our parents and elders never saw any reason for going to a cinema at all!!  This was sheer waste and only those who did not have any meaningful thing to do will waste money and time on these flimsy things!

But this great thought  was never understood by us properly.  We always thought of this place as a fascinating place to see something very interesting at times objectionable, which made it all the more interesting.  The time of the starting of the cinema was two forty five in the afternoon and for this a song or film music would be played out from a loud speaker set up on the top of facade of the cinema house.  Normally it was a song praying to St. Mary to bless us all as the cinema house belonged to a Christian gentleman.  Even if we did not hear any song from the church, the cinema house song we could hear from our house on a clear day.  The sound waves used to waft out and come in the breeze through and over the paddy fields which was there for long stretches.


Among such temptations, once we could get two anas and me and my brother made the secret plan to visit the cinema kottayi instead of going and attending the catechism class.  We would go diligently with our head held low, as if we are going to the chruch catechism and at the last point when the cinema house came will suddenly barge into the by-lane tube like way for the one ana ticket and further entry into the cinema kottayi compound or courtyard from where we will not be seen from out side.  All these cinema houses had tall compound walls so that those outside may not see the wares being shown inside which increased the urge of the outsiders to get in and see what is inside.

After our long walk through the paddy fields and roads just about and near the church (may be three furlongs before) we suddenly did our great act of getting into the hole like by lane for the one ana ticket.  The first feeling is of breathlessness inside, a kind of trauma, but we could look up and see the sky, so we would not die of lack of air, that much was assured.  There were other more anxious boys in front of us and some joined behind us.  We reached the pigeon hole with the big man inside and we extended our hard secured two anas through the pigeon hole.  I was afraid that if ever this huge man cought hold of my hand and all, I would certainly die of fright.  But  instead, as soon as I opened my hand the two anas just went out of my hand and a piece of paper was pushed into my sweating hand.  Both of us came out of the tunnel and were in the cinema kottayi compound in front of a small wooden shop with ground nuts and other little sweet meats and also copies of the booklet with the songs of the cinema then playing.   The song book sales was very important in those days.

When we reached near the entry door it was open and we could see through to the white screen.   The man who looked like a ruffian took the small ticket in green colour from us and allowed us inside.  We entered the cubicle of the hall in the extreme front and stood there mesmerized.  There were the pictures of stag with huge horns with branches looking up as if it is going to take off in a run, a peacock in another picture and many other pictures. Different kinds of lights were burning including a few tube lights.  We could see different columns for different category of people and in some columns there were hefty people, some looking like bad people, and some very good people.  The ladies cubicles were different and there were ladies and children in those.  In the extreme end at the back were chairs with cushions and these had men and women inter mingled and there seemed to be some families in them including children.  

On the back wall was a number of square slot openings through which we could see the light in the projector room and from time to time someone was bringing his face close to the slot and looking into the inside of the hall.  The hall was half empty, this being a matinee show, that is a show done during the afternoon times which is considered not for the real people, but for those who can't make it for the star show which is the first show  in the evening.

There was a long bell and the major lights went off.  A huge ray of light came from the slot and through the smoke which was rising from those who smoked in the benches and chairs behind it came and fell on the screen in front which showed the Malayalam words 'Namasthe'  The show had started.  We were jubilant.  Wow!  Then came the 'News'.  "Assamil vellappokkam"  which meant that there is havoc due to floods in Assam followed by Nehru's visit to the flooded places in the State.  In those days news were a pre requisite for any film.   The Films Division of New Delhi Doordarshan Kendra made them and I don't know how these were incorporated to films to be shown before each cinema.

A few months back we had been taken to a cinema by one of the family elders that being a very good family cinema, then also there was news saying "Assamil Vellappokkam"  In fact every rare time we got to see a cinema, there was floods in Assam and almost all the time Nehru ji visited the sites.  That was fantastic.  We watched the moving pictures.  As small children what else were we supposed to do.  The floods in assam came from a different slot on the back wall than the one from which the cinema came.

In a short while the flood news ended and the cinema started.  We could not understand the theme of the story.  We only wanted to see the moving pictures, the great dresses the characters wore, the beautiful young ladies, such of which are not seen in our every day life, and of course the great and nicely dressed hero who was always well dressed and knew all tricks to go with the heroine and operated all kinds of vehicles available in those days and very fashionably smoked cigarettes.

There was a lot of hissings and cat calls and whistles when the young hero went near the heroine at times and there was a lot of shouts when the villain was confronted by the hero.  I also wanted to become a hero and beat up all the villains in the world!  It should be feeling great.  But alas in the real world, most of the people imbibed the smoking and drinking qualities of the hero and ended up as villains.  That is another story.  Some goodness was in any case passed on through them to the young minds.

In between there were scenes where the too good heroine is put to too much trouble and most of the ladies and children cried!!  The suiccess of a film mostly depended in those days, how much it was able to make the audience cry.  Some men also had moistened eyes and a couple of times my eyes also got wet.  At times, I wanted the hero to come quickly to the rescue of the heroine.  But nay, he took his own time, but the saving grace was he always won the fight with the villain and saved tghe heroine!!

By this time, the hall was full of smoke, acrid beedi and cigarette smoke!  Intermission was announced and a fellow wearing only a mundu (a piece of long white cloth usually drawn and fixed at the waist in Kerala) without any shirt or accompaniment was shouting chai...chai..and another couple of them were shouting kappalandiei, kadalei etc. meaning ground nuts and bengal gram etc.  They said it or shouted it with a mannerism or special pull of their lips to one side which made a difference in the sound!  It was manly to buy any of these during such an interval and also if one is man enough should smoke!  We being children and since could not afford any, we just watched the others in the audience doing all these and their further mannerisms!

In a while the lights went off and among a lot of cat calls and whistles the cinema restarted.  We sat through and the end came with the ultimate defeat of the villain and the hero and heroine getting married and all the actors coming together for a group photo!  We all became happy through and through and came out of the smoky hall to the cool fresh air of the outside were the evening breeze was very pleasant.  Once outside, to our dismay, who do we find?  There stands in front of us, our neighbour and close known fellow Kumaran with an evil smile!  We knew our simple idea of telling home that we were at the catechism class will be punctured by this friend of ours ! The only thing which we did not know was when!!  That was the story of a cinema which we went without house permission in those days of old!