Both “Titas Ekti Nadir Naam” (right) and “Padma Nadir Majhi” are based on the lives of fishermen.

“All these will not be destroyed
At the end of time
By fire, earth or wind
Without becoming extinguished
They will pass into
Ethereal peace.”
-- Ancient Bon saying, quoted in a photographic exhibition on rivers.

Flowing into eternity, the river can give and take away. The vagaries of Titas and Padma are brilliantly captured in two films: "Titas Ekti Nadir Naam" ("A River called Titas," directed by Ritwik Ghatak) and "Padma Nadir Majhi" (Gautam Ghosh's "Boatman of the River Padma"). Both films were screened recently at the New Delhi-based India International Centre as part of its Festival of Arts: The River.
Unfortunately the two films, particularly Ghatak's remarkable work, attracted only a smattering of viewers, mostly Bengalis, leading one to question whether people -- except the cognoscenti -- are ready for cinematic works that pose uncomfortable questions and home in on hard reality.
Both films are based on the lives of fishermen (better termed coastal people) who eke out a living from unpredictable rivers that either dry up, wreak havoc with angry floods and communities that fall prey to modernisation, avaricious outsiders and political conflict. "Titas Ekti Nadir Naam," based on a book by Adwaita Mallabarnman, explores the lives of the Malo community whose existence is inextricably intertwined with the Titas river in Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh. The black and white film has a dark, brooding character, probably derived from Ghatak's excruciatingly painful move from Dhaka (then East Bengal) to Calcutta (West Bengal), prior to the exodus of a huge flood of refugees from East Bengal to the city. These people were driven to the edge by the misery of the Bengal famine of 1943, the partition of Bengal in 1947 and later the Liberation War in 1971.
Talking to Shubra Chakrabarti, a history teacher at Dayal Singh College and an avid viewer of Ghatak films, was an eye opener. To quote her: "The frustration, despair and nostalgia for his homeland permeates all Ghatak's films. You could say that they are films with a mission…The river and its eventual drying up is a metaphor for the flow of life of the simple rural fisherfolk."
"Padma Nadir Majhi" takes a look at the inhabitants of a typical village of Bengal and their close relationship with the river. This film, shot in both India and Bangladesh, is based on a classic novel by Manik Bandopadhyay. It presents relationship dynamics in a somewhat simpler way than Ghatak's cinematic work. Gautam Ghosh (who is also scriptwriter and cinematographer for the film) reveals how excellent cinematography has become his hallmark. Here both the terrifying and beautiful aspects of the Padma have come into focus. The superb cast includes Raisul Islam Asad, Champa, Utpal Dutt, Rupa Ganguly and Robi Ghosh, while the moving music is scored by Ghosh and Alauddin Khan. Both films were made in Bengali, and fortunately, had subtitles in English.
Certainly these two films linger on in the memory -- long after the lights have come on.