TSUNAMI PRAYERS A Hindu Wedding Tx Date: 4th August 2005 This script was made from audio tape – any inaccuracies are due to voices being unclear or inaudible 10.00.00 Music 10.00.15 Title Page TSUNAMI PRAYERS 10.00.20 Music 10.00.22 Narrator This is Maha; she’s nineteen and she’s preparing to get married. 10.00.26 Music 10.00.28 Narrator Maha is a Hindu. For generations her family’s lived in the small fishing village of Akkarapatei in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 10.00.38 Music 10.00.40 Narrator Maha’s brother Ramamurthy is twenty-two. Since the death of their mother he’s taking responsibility as head of the family. 10.00.47 Music 10.00.52 Narrator Pernita, Maha’s widowed older cousin, has come to help. 10.00.56 Music 10.01.01 Narrator She’s teaching Maha that marriage is the time when a Hindu woman comes of age. 10.01.06 Music 10.01.10 Narrator Pernita’s taking on the role of a mother, dressing Maha in traditional jewellery and adornments for her right of passage to enter womanhood. 10.01.21 Narrator She will soon leave her close extended family of aunties, cousins, brothers and sisters for the last time to become a daughter in the home of her new husband Sackvavil. He’s twenty-five and lives five miles away. He met Maha through his friend, her brother. 10.01.39 Music 10.01.42 Sackvavil Voice over I saw her and liked her and told them at home. My mum said; I’ve seen a girl for you in another place but I didn’t tell you. I said; I’m compelled, I’ll marry only her. I love her; my heart is hers. Even if she wasn’t a Hindu I would have told them at home. They’re from a similar village so I know she’s from our community so I’m getting married. 10.02.09 Narrator But Maha’s feeling pressured. She’s still grieving the loss of her mother, who arranged this union with Sackvavil’s family last year. She just doesn’t feel ready. 10.02.23 Maha Voice over It would have been better to delay it. It’s only two months since my mother was killed by the Tsunami, it’s too soon. 10.02.32 Pernita Voice over It’s our Tamil culture, we can’t abandon it. 10.02.36 Music 10.02.43 Title Page A Hindu Wedding 10.02.52 Narrator Hindu’s believe in a single God. 10.02.54 Music 10.02.56 Narrator A God who is idolised in many forms. 10.02.59 Music 10.03.01 Narrator A God that is present everywhere, in everything and everyone. 10.03.05 Music 10.03.07 Narrator Three lords rule the world. Brahman the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer. 10.03.14 Music 10.03.17 Narrator The ocean is said to flow from Shiva’s head. 10.03.19 Music 10.03.22 Narrator As master of all elements, Shiva controls the ocean’s power to create and destroy life. 10.03.28 Music 10.03.34 Narrator Akkarapatei’s Hindu fishermen lived from the sea and they worshipped Shiva through it. 10.03.43 Pernita Voice over The relationship between God and us fisher folk is that we live by what the sea provides. Only when we get our feet wet in the sea is our livelihood assured. To us God and the ocean are the same. We start each day by looking at the sea with reverence, even a small child looks at the ocean, all our community does the same. 10.04.04 Music 10.04.07 Narrator Each year at the start of the fishing season thousands of villagers worship Shiva at a day long festival, the Masai Margam (phon). 10.04.14 Music 10.04.16 Narrator Maha’s cousin Pernita hasn’t missed it for fifteen years. 10.04.20 Music 10.04.25 Narrator Along with other widows and single women from the village she believes she has become possessed by God. 10.04.31 Ceremony 10.04.35 Narrator The belief is that Lord Shiva is in the ocean. 10.04.41 Narrator Dressed up as sea nymphs in yellow saris the women immerse themselves in the water to get closer to God. 10.04.48 Ceremony 10.04.51 Narrator In past years thousands of villagers would have joined in this festival revering Shiva’s power to give and destroy life. 10.04.58 Music 10.05.05 Narrator But only a few hundred people are at today’s festival. 10.05.10 Narrator The community’s faith has been tested. 10.05.15 Maha Voice over When my mother died I started hating the sea. Those who go fishing may like it again and they’ll start earning. But for me, since my mother’s dead, I don’t like the sea. I don’t think of God because my mother has died. My mother was very religious and I used to go to the temples before the Tsunami, even so she was not saved by God. Why think of God? 10.05.55 Narrator Akkarapatei is now known as India’s Ground Zero. Nearly a quarter of the villagers lost their lives. Maha was at home on the morning of the Tsunami. 10.06.10 Maha Voice over My mother left home at six am. Sometimes she gave my younger sisters money to buy breakfast. As I was sleeping inside she didn’t wake me up that day. She gave twenty rupees to my sister so I didn’t even see her face that day. My mother would have died thinking about us. 10.06.36 Narrator It was just after nine o’clock on the twenty-sixth of December that the first Tsunami wave struck the Indian mainland. It was captured here by a cameraman who had come to film a wedding. 10.06.51 Narrator In the Nagapattinam District alone the force of the water killed over six thousand people, injured almost two thousand and left one hundred and ninety-six thousand homeless. 10.07.05 Maha Voice over We were watching TV, then some boys playing in front of my house starting running. Before we knew it the water was in the hall. 10.07.15 Narrator Everyone inside the house escaped before it collapsed but Maha’s mother was out trading fish on the beach. Maha never saw her again. 10.07.25 Ramamurthy Voice over My mother used to sit here. This is our kitchen. The kitchen was here, they used to cook food here. This was the prayer room, we slept inside as well. 10.07.47 Music 10.07.50 Narrator Everything the village took for granted went in the torrent. 10.07.53 Music 10.07.55 Narrator Lives ruined, property wrecked, fishing boats destroyed. Ramamurthy worked as a labourer on this deep sea fishing boat but the Tsunami’s force smashed it and the others in the harbour, now it’s not safe and Ramamurthy and all the other fishermen from the village are out of a job. 10.08.19 Ramamurthy Voice over This is Vitrival’s boat. I worked on it with six others. We would go to sea for three days or more at a time, we mostly lived on the sea. That day only ten boats went fishing, the others were on shore. If the boats had been at sea they would have been safe but as they were in the harbour they were badly damaged. 10.08.45 Narrator The boats are now being dredged from the harbour; this district lost a total of eleven thousand fishing vessels. 10.08.55 Ramamurthy Voice over We worked hard and kept jewels and money in the house. But what can we do now that the house has disappeared. I have no idea where our things could have gone. The Tsunami took everything away. 10.09.16 Ramamurthy Voice over My sister’s wedding still has to happen; it’s hard to imagine it but we’d normally celebrate a wedding on a grand scale. The Tsunami has ruined everything. The wedding will have to be simple. 10.09.32 Music 10.09.35 Narrator But an engagement had been made. 10.09.37 Music 10.09.40 Ramamurthy Voice over This Sunday is my sister’s marriage in Manaji Temple. It’s going to be very simple; will you come? 10.09.45 Music 10.09.46 Narrator The marriage must go ahead to preserve the family’s honour. 10.09.49 Music 10.09.55 Narrator Despite the Tsunami, Ramamurthy wants to keep up appearances; a big wedding is a sign of social success. 10.10.02 Music/horns 10.10.17 Narrator The Tsunami washed away everything; wedding invitations, special saris, cash and jewels but the family was given twelve hundred pounds in government compensation for their mother’s death. Most of it will be spent on Maha’s wedding. 10.10.33 Girl Subtitle Which one shall we get? 10.10.33 Ramamurthy Subtitle This green one looks nice. 10.10.38 Narrator Over the years Maha’s mother had painstakingly saved up for the dowry; an essential if illegal transaction in Indian weddings, it’s all gone. But to save face Maha’s future mother-in-law is determined this wedding must go on. She’s waved the dowry and has taken out a loan with a money lender. 10.11.00 Mother-in-law Voice over I welcome my daughter-in-law with a yellow silk sari; it’s an auspicious colour for marriage, we never choose any other colour, it’s what we like. 10.11.09 Music 10.11.17 Mother-in-law Voice over Her role in the family is to give birth to a baby, that’s very important. What’s not important to us is that she brings a dowry. One wasn’t offered and we didn’t ask for one. 10.11.28 Music 10.11.38 Narrator Indian weddings are much more a union between two families than two individuals. Maha and her brother are missing their mother’s guidance. 10.11.49 Ramamurthy Voice over I’m really not sure what I should be buying because my mother is not with us. 10.11.54 Music 10.11.58 Narrator A clean mat is bought to serve as the marital bed with Sackvavil. Maha is expected to still be a virgin on her wedding day and the mat will be inspected to make sure. 10.12.11 Sackvavil Voice over She used to be fun; her father’s gone now her mother too so we’ll take good care of her, I’ll treat her as my life’s gift. 10.12.20 Narrator Maha’s new life with Sackvavil will begin in his family home. Three generations of his family live here. She’ll be expected to obey her husband and all the senior family members. 10.12.34 Mother-in-law Voice over If you’re not doing anything clean and cut the vegetables for the curry. 10.12.43 Narrator Along with the other women of the house she will be expected to perform domestic duties. 10.12.51 Mother-in-law Voice over I’m excited about her coming and I feel happy. I’ll have less to do because she’ll take care of the housework. 10.13.01 Music 10.13.08 Narrator Traditionally in Hindu custom, Sackvavil’s mother is not allowed to take a direct role in the wedding because she’s a widow. But tradition or not she is determined to give Maha a colourful welcome. 10.13.19 Music 10.13.23 Mother-in-law Voice over Bring that bag of coloured powder. Put more dots in the drawing. Don’t hurry. Put more dots in those spaces and apply colour, only then will it look more beautiful. 10.13.41 Sackvavil Voice over If it wasn’t for the Tsunami we’d have invited more people, had a really grand celebration but now it will be really simple. 10.13.49 Narrator The Tsunami consumed huge chunks of Akkarapatei’s beach front. It’s physical and spiritual landscape was defiled. Hindu’s believe that death brings with it a pollution. 10.14.01 Music 10.14.04 Narrator This is the temple where Maha and Sackvavil will get married. It’s now also a camp for the homeless. Among the victims here the certainty of the old beliefs is being questioned. 10.14.14 Music 10.14.18 Narrator The local priests are fighting back. 10.14.20 Music 10.14.23 Narrator Pots of sea water mixed with turmeric and saffron are brought to protect the village from destructive forces. 10.14.29 Ceremony 10.14.37 Narrator Many fear that an erosion of faith will lead to a breakdown of the society. They want to cleanse the village of the Tsunami. 10.14.44 Music 10.14.52 Narrator Touching the flame declares devotion to Lord Shiva, he uses fire to purify. 10.14.58 Ceremony 10.15.02 Astrologer Voice over Today’s ceremony has been done especially because the Tsunami has affected us. These rituals and prayers are to restore happiness and prevent this incident recurring. 10.15.19 Astrologer Voice over People here are great believers in God; they come to the temple to pray. God kindly protect us; give us back our old life. We must emerge from this death and destruction. We must return to old ways. 10.15.34 Music 10.15.38 Narrator The old ways include ensuring that any marriage is free from bad omens. Maha’s cousin Pernita and Sackvavil’s mother have come to consult an astrologer. 10.15.47 Music 10.15.49 Astrologer Voice over What is your son’s name? 10.15.51 Mother-in-law Sackvavil. 10.15.53 Narrator From their horoscopes he will determine Maha and Sackvavil’s compatibility. There’s a skeleton in the closet. Sackvavil’s older brother had married a woman without his mother’s blessing so he has been disowned by the family. 10.16.06 Music 10.16.10 Astrologer Voice over Bridegroom Sackvavil, aged twenty-five years, star sign Revathi, sun sign Pisces. They will get married before the eleventh of November. There are no faults in his horoscope, he will have a wife. This chart is free from any bad omen, so pure he will live up to eighty-six years. He will have only one wife. Sackvavil will be blessed with three boys and two girls. 10.16.39 Mother-in-law Voice over You can’t go through a wedding without consulting the charts. Only if the charts are compatible will the marriage be a good one. How can you go through this without checking horoscopes, it will be like eloping. When you decide to arrange a marriage you must pray to many gods, only then will there be a suitable outcome. 10.16.58 Astrologer Voice over How old is the bride? 10.17.00 Pernita Voice over Nineteen. 10.17.02 Astrologer Voice over Was she the first born? . 10.17.03 Pernita Voice over Third. 10.17.07 Astrologer Voice over Maha, aged nineteen years. Star sign Makam, sun sign Leo. The chart indicates a good time for marriage is before the twenty-ninth of October, this will happen. This female will be blissfully married. She will not be a widow; she will live to eighty-four. This marriage will happen. 10.17.37 Narrator Since they lost their house, Maha and six members of her family are staying in a single room in a displaced persons’ camp. 10.17.47 Maha Voice over My mother arranged this marriage against my wishes. The month before the Tsunami I was not very loving towards her because she fixed a marriage I’m not interested in. Now I regret that I was not loving towards her. 10.18.06 Music 10.18.12 Narrator Maha has had no say in the preparations for her wedding. The entire event has been organised by her family. 10.18.18 Music 10.18.33 Maha Voice over Not a single thing in my favourite colour. 10.18.41 Maha Voice over What’s this? 10.18.43 Pernita Voice over The blouse. 10.18.47 Maha Voice over My mother would have taken care of all the wedding arrangements. She would have called all my relatives. When my mother was alive the family was prosperous. The family would have been prosperous after the Tsunami if she was still here. It’s painful without her and it’s hurtful that within two months of her death the wedding has been organised. It would have been better to delay it. 10.19.16 Ramamurthy Voice over Say you’re happy. 10.19.18 Maha Voice over Ok, I’m happy. 10.19.24 Pernita Voice over It’s our Tamil culture, we can’t abandon it. If we weren’t in mourning the whole thing would have been a grand celebration but now we have to keep it simple. 10.19.34 Music 10.19.41 Pernita Voice over We’re born into the fisherman community, as our parents are fishermen we have to be the same. For us it’s only the sea which we trust, so we marry within the community. The community endures from generation to generation. For us this is life, this is fate, this is our ambition. 10.20.02 Music 10.20.12 Narrator The villagers of Akkarapatei have brought coals as an offering to Shiva the Destroyer. 10.20.16 Bells 10.20.19 Narrator They are coming back to God to ask for a prosperous year. If the villagers are to have a future they must be reconciled with the sea. 10.20.28 Ceremony 10.21.16 Narrator Maha must also reconcile with her fate. Tonight is the last night she’s spending as a member of this family. 10.21.24 Maha Voice over When we ignite frankincense and incense it’s to show that we’re worshiping from the heart. This will make the God’s happy. Their happiness will bring prosperity to our home. Everyone will lead a good life. 10.21.35 Music 10.21.40 Narrator They are performing a Puja Ceremony to ask God for his blessing in the coming days. 10.21.45 Music 10.21.49 Maha Voice over I don’t want to get married but my brother and sister say they’ll die if I don’t. When a girl is engaged she has to marry. Nobody listens to me. 10.21.57 Music 10.22.02 Narrator The wedding is tomorrow; Maha is ready to leave. 10.22.05 Music 10.22.19 Narrator Her neighbours offer their blessing. 10.22.21 Neighbour Subtitles Don’t fall at my feet – have a good life 10.22.28 Maha Voice over Others think I’m praying to God but in my heart I’m praying to my mother. 10.22.32 Music 10.22.42 Maha Voice over Brother, I’m leaving. 10.22.44 Music 10.22.50 Narrator Maha will surrender to her new family’s will. 10.22.53 Music 10.23.15 Narrator It’s the wedding day. 10.23.17 Music 10.23.19 Narrator Sackvavil takes a ceremonial bath. 10.23.21 Music 10.23.23 Pernita Subtitles Girls are usually made up on their wedding day It is custom 10.23.26 Music 10.23.39 Pernita Subtitle Why are you so glum? – Speak! 10.23.42 Music 10.25.20 Narrator Maha and Sackvavil are blessed as they enter the new family home with a flame that represents purification. 10.25.26 Music 10.26.01 Narrator In her new home as a bride, Maha is straight into the family chores. Cooking breakfast dosas for her husband’s family. 10.26.13 Maha Voice over I got married to please everyone else, not for my own happiness. Now in my new home I behave as if I’m happy too. I keep smiling but inside I’m sad. 10.26.31 Maha Voice over I do all the work they tell me to do. But the way I’m behaving I’ll surely get into trouble, get scolded in the future. 10.26.45 Music 10.26.52 Narrator Only now do Maha and Sackvavil get a chance to talk. 10.27.12 Sackvavil Voice over I still believe in God because not everyone was taken. The Tsunami was a shocking incident but it was predicted that such an event could happen. Just as earthquakes happen elsewhere, so it happened here. So I’m not angry with God. 10.27.36 Music 10.27.38 Narrator Maha’s new mother-in-law carries out a daily prayer ceremony. Maha’s faith like other victims has been sorely tested by the Tsunami but she joins in and keeps her reservations private. 10.27.50 Music 10.27.56 Maha Voice over The elders and people who haven’t been affected by the Tsunami still believe in God. Before the Tsunami I went to the temple with my mother. After her death I’ve lost my faith in God. When they ask me to light the lamp I will do that but I will only think about my mother, not God. She is my God now. 10.28.32 End music 10.28.34 TSUNAMI PRAYERS Credits 10.28.56 Narrator AMANDA ST. JOHN Dubbing Mixer NIGEL READ Online Editor GRAHAM TAYLOR Colourist BRIAN METHERELL Graphics LYNN WILSON Production Team JO HEAVER VICTORIA MISSELBROOK MARTHA O’SULLIVAN LADONNA HALL Production Manager JANE WILLEY Unit Manager SUSAN CRIGHTON Film Research NICK DODD Assistant Producer RACHEL TURNER Picture Editor RYSHARD OPYRCHAL Executive Producer KAREN O’CONNOR 10.28.54 Filmed & Produced by NIKKI MILLARD BBC © BBC MMV 10.28.59 End BBC Tsunami Prayers: A Hindu Wedding 1 1