For me, the constraints of judicial office have fortunately not come in the way of pursuit of other interests, one of which is compulsive movie watching. I stumbled upon the movie titled Manjummel Boys on an OTT platform some days ago. I was told by my intern, who hails from Kerala, that it is a must-watch movie.
The story is of a group of friends going on a trip to Kodaikanal. The impulses of youth soon take over, and they go to a prohibited area called the Devil’s Kitchen (popularly known as Guna Cave). One of them accidentally slips into the cave. The others quickly swing into a daring rescue mission to save him from a perilously deep pit from which nobody has ever returned alive.
The most striking aspect of this movie is its revelation of “true friendship”. I am reminded of the famous saying of Aristotle, “What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.” I was also reminded of an incident which I had almost forgotten. When I was in the first or second form, I had a very close friend, Sathyanarayanan. We were playing near a pond behind an old temple, and I accidentally got into the deeper part of the waters and was sinking. My dear friend, who was of my age, instantaneously got into the pond and pulled me out even without thinking twice about his life and safety. This incident, stored somewhere deep inside my subconscious mind, popped out and brought tears to my eyes while watching the film. I have lost contact with him and was wondering how I could have forgotten someone who saved my life. I hope that I will meet him at some stage and thank him for his selfless act. Without Manjummel Boys, this memory would not have surfaced and probably would have perished with me.
I remember reading somewhere these beautiful and soulful words: “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”
We are living in an era where no deeper meanings are ascribed to relationships. Today, relationships are all about having fun. When we are stressed out or face a difficult situation in life, we are no longer turning to relationships for solace. We have started turning to the device and social media for temporary solace, apart from hitting the watering holes. The millennials and Gen Z children are growing up as an anxious generation with growing impatience. This is proving to be a stumbling block for sustained relationships. Like jumping from one job to another or from one place to another, unfortunately, we have also started jumping from one relationship to another. A long-term relationship is a meandering and long-drawn process. Many are under the impression that they have thousands of friends and followers on social media without understanding that it is a mirage. In reality, how many true friends are there with deeper relationships is an important question to be answered by each one of us.
I happened to hear a TED talk by Robert Waldinger on what makes a good and satisfied life? What keeps us healthy and happy as we go through life? Where would you put your time and energy to achieve it? He talks about a study conducted from 1938 by Harvard University of 724 men from teenage to old age year after year for about 75 years. Nearly 60 out of the 724 are still alive. The important lesson that was learnt was “Good relationships keep us happier and healthier”. Period.
Cry of agony
In the film, one of the friends falls into a deep pit and from somewhere deep down, the others are able to hear the cry of agony. That was enough for them to stay put and fight against all odds and ultimately one of them dares to get into that dangerous tunnel and pull out his badly bruised friend alive. This miracle can happen only in true deep relationships, not those struck on social media. The best a social media friend can do is send messages such as “Oh, I am shocked” and “Praying for safe rescue”. Or probably someone will take a video of the rescue operation and post it with the message “Forward as much as possible” and ultimately end it up with an “RIP”. This movie is a reiteration of what a true relationship is all about.
The local people tell the anxious friends that the specific area was off-limits to people for a reason and that so far 13 people had fallen into that hole and no one was ever recovered, dead or alive. Scared even more, the friends reach the local police station, where they are beaten; the police are bent upon registering an FIR against them for entering a restricted area. They are also accused of murdering Subhash (the one who falls into the pit) and giving false complaints, and no help is offered. Finally after being convinced and fearing a backlash from the local people for failing to help, one of the police officers agrees to go with them to the cave. On the way, he tells the friends that the last person who fell into the hole was the nephew of a former Union Minister around 10 years ago and all the strings were pulled to rescue him, but those efforts went in vain.
The police officer, after inspecting the hole, suggests that they leave Subhash as he probably is no longer alive. They try lowering a rope, for Subhash to hold on but are sceptical that he may not be in a situation to do so after a deep fall. The fire department and more police officers are called to the scene, but they are scared to go inside the hole to retrieve him. Seeing this, one of the friends, Siju David, decides to go down. The police officers are initially reluctant, but finally agree after being convinced by the friends and the local people. Siju is lowered into the hole, but along the way, the rope runs out, and the police are worried that it is unsafe to go any lower as there might be low oxygen levels and they are not willing to risk Siju’s life as well. However, Siju puts his foot down and makes it clear that he cannot leave Subash in the pit. The police arrange for more rope and at about 120 feet, Siju can see Subash barely lying on a ledge covered in blood and muddy rainwater. Siju is able to retrieve him and the rest of the friends pull them up together successfully. Not to forget that this is a real incident made into a movie.
No parallel
One question which kept ringing in my ears was, “Would I assume the role of Siju to rescue my friend whom I know is alive but to rescue him, I must get into that perilously deep pit?” I don’t want to be a hypocrite and with utmost honesty, I must state that I would not have willingly assumed the role of Siju. It was a revelation.
The movie also portrays the level of conditioning of mind prevalent in the system, particularly in the police force. I realised that if one doesn’t keep introspecting oneself and stay humane, a human life or his sufferings will be taken for granted and we will not hesitate to close the case routinely. Human rights, life, and liberty are all not empty words and everyone involved in public service has to internalise it and treat every case/file with a human touch.
You might get the impression that it is unusual for a judge to share his experience about a movie. It is not so. A judge is expected to keep his eyes and ears open to everything that happens around him. You never know from where you will get the revelation or inspiration.
The author is a judge of the Madras High Court
