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Paatal Lok is our ' very ' Country which we hide in our heart's Paatal Lok
( my review on PAATAL LOK Paatal Lok )
- Saptarshi Basu
News & Breaking News has become all the more irritating.
The way these TV Reporters uses the term ' Immigrant Labourer ' or পরিযায়ী শ্রমিক in bengali , it feels as if they are not ' us ' , they are some other species.
All political parties are back to what they do best - Politics .
Last friday after seeing many recommend ' Paatal Lok ' in social media , I watched the whole season 1 in one-go .
It was already morning when the last episode finished.
And I felt that its quite aligned to the concept of India.
Its like we already knew about the migrant labourers yet never talked about .
What made me feel was that ' Paatal Lok ' shows us what we already know but are afraid to talk or even think about .
May be that's why we could feel aligned and have liked it.
Hathi Ram Chaudhary , a pot-bellied policeman excellently depicted by Jaideep Ahlawat is the symbolic son for all failed fathers.
Every lower and middle class fathers looks into their transition to a better life and their failures through their son.
This is India , isn't it ?
The endless friction between father and son which keeps on happening generations after generations is beautifully potrayed.
I am sure many might see a Hathi Ram in himself , and you don't need to be in Police , there is a Hathi Ram in every Corporate Indian who had given up to his boot licking peers and hopelessly watches as they moves up the ladder.
The prime target is Sanjeev Mehra (Neeraj Kabi), a reputed news anchor at a Delhi channel.Somewhat our very own Arnab Goswami , extremely vile yet extremely important. Neeraj Kabi is too good and gets into the very blood of the role .
Again , this is India , isn't it ?
We all know how vile Arnab is , yet we keep on watching him day after day .And we could hardly understand that one day he became one of the most powerful ' thing ' .
Four suspects are apprehended for a conspiracy to murder.
And let me tell you , those four are the one we have met or read or seen , yet we hide them as we hide our deepest secrets.
The Government knows , the politician knows , state knows , Centre knows - all knows .
That little urchin you have met innumerous times when your train had landed at your station , India clearly knows he or she doesn't have a family , India knows he or she is abused each and every day , yet India hides as we hide our acne .
This is India , isn't it ?
Assisting Hathi Ram is a rookie cop and officer-in-training Imran Ansari (Ishwak Singh).
We do have such a friend , don't we ? We do have such a subordinate or collegue with whom we go for tea , don't we ?
Yet whenever there is a terrorist attack , India's heart cringes and in the deepest Paatal Lok of our hearts of heart , we start suspecting his very loyalty for the country .
This is India , Isn't it.
Now coming to Mythology , which being a Mythology writer I must touch upon.
The concept of a loka or lokas was developed in the Vedic literature.
There are total 14 Lokas of which Patala or Paatal or Pathalam is one.
Its the underworld , but it's more beautiful than Swarga Loka.
The Nagas lived in Patala.
Do you remember any famous Naga ? Vasuki ? SheshNag ?
Let me tell you a small story .I know it's off the topic , but its contextual.
3500 B.C.
khandava Forest or Khandavprastha ( as mentioned in Mahabharat the Epic ) .
Now it lies west of Yamuna River , modern day Delhi.
It was the place where Nagas lived . Nagas were not snakes but a clan of people who had the emblem of a serpent probably in their flags and other seals.
Think of lower caste people like Dalits or Gujjars to bring in the simile.
Vasuki was their king or leader . He was succeded by Takshak .Vasuki was the benevolent servent of Lord Shiva , let's think of a powerful man , very powerful in modern India. like a powerful Tribal Leader , full of magical mysterious aura .
Shiva is called a god who lives with dogs in crematoriums, who is feared and shunned by "brahmin" leaders like Daksha. Daksha is obsessed with purity and Shiva mocks ideas of purity.
Somehow it feels that the very genes of casteism is embedded in our fabric from the time of Gods.
Now , one night suddenly a chariot appears on the edge of the Khandava forest.
Inside the chariot are 2 persons , one is Lord Vishnu or Sri Krishna , let's think of another very powerful man in modern India.
The other person is Arjun , a young , motivated follower of Sri Krishna , you can draw his simile to any follower but very motivated , enigmatic , highly skilled , and going up the ladders very fast , and all eyes are on him.
On the instruction of Sri Krishna , Arjun burns down the whole forest , the whole Khandava forest.
Why ?
Because the Pandavas needed a new place during exile to build their palace .
Thousands of Nagas and other clans dies.
I am sure such incidents are not very difficult to imagine in modern India , isn't it ?
This is India , isn't it ?
Then what happens ? Thats the question...so at some generations the Nagas has to take revenge , isn't it natural ?
Like uprising full of blood by lower caste against upper caste .
Aswasena , Takshak's son will draw blood on Arjun.
If you want to know more , read indian mythology .
If not , watch Paatal Lok.
