The Ministry of External Affairs lifted the ban from the film in 2010 and with the Art and Culture Trust of Sikkim having the copyrights of the film, some of us got extremely lucky on the 6th of April 2010 when the film was screened for the first time in the world at Gangtok, Sikkim.
The film starts slowly... Images of people, the flora and fauna of the land cover the screen for more than five long minutes and no, I am not complaining. It's beautiful. It's like as if the images are telling you stories and Ray has managed to capture that poetic ambience whether It's a shot of the ropeway or the flowers or the Sikkimese people just staring right into the camera, expressionless.
Ray shows the simple life of the Sikkimese people in the 70's. The market scene, the schools, the agricultural life etc. One would find it hard to imagine that around the time when the film was being made, Sikkim was facing political differences and threats from other nations because the people in the film, the real people seem so calm and without a hint of despair!
The Pang Lhabsol (a festival celebrated by the Sikkimese to commemorate the conservation of Mount Kanchendzonga, which is unique to her people and who is also her guardian deity) celebration at the Palace Ground has been captured with patience. Right from the preparation to the events of the day, starting with singing the nation's anthem and hoisting the Sikkimese flag, to the parade and cultural activities have been captured elaborately. The common people busy in their activities and celebration while the ***Achar (masked dancers who move and jump around comically) are so real that at times when you are watching the film, you are likely to feel that time hasn't moved.
One striking fact that Ray has managed to capture about Sikkim is the reality of the land. No CGIs or edited images...exact images of the beautiful waterfalls, the lush vegetation, the simple people, the tolerant people, who watch a Christian preacher giving sermons on a Sunday in a market place with much amusement and respect at the same time! Ray has somehow captured it all in that 60 minute clip. Truly, he is the Master of such poetic cinema!
This documentary may seem boring and irrelevant to many people but for every Sikkimese like me, this film is something that traces our origin, gives us an identity and something that we all should be grateful to Satyajit Ray for creating it because It is about our land; It is of our people; It is for our people! This power of Cinema that crosses borders and brings people together to tell a story is the amazing power that can change the world.
In the closing scenes, Ray captures the smiling faces of happy children, amused at the camera, giggling, laughing and smoking. When the film finishes and the end credit rolls, every Sikkimese watching it will feel a sense of pride, sweeping over like a strong gust of wind, making you a completely new person, making you a blessed child of the land.
NOTE:***Achar: The term actually originated from the word, Acharays who tried to preach and spread Hindusim in Sikkim and Tibet. However, Hinduism did not gain the same popularity as Buddhism. This form of dance was introduced to actually poke fun at the Acharayas. [from "The Sacred Summit" by Pema Wangchuk and Mita Zulca]
