Retelling the tragedy: Jallianwala Bagh massacre inspires book and web series

Reenita M Hora a former Mumbai resident now based in San Francisco and film director Ram Madhvani said in response to an opening question that they had different triggers for their work on the Jallianwala Bagh massacreHora whose recent bookmdashVermilion Harvest Jaicomdashis about the massacre in Amritsar with characters that are fictional said was born because ldquoI have had the story in my head and my DNA for 35 years I remember my nana maternal grandfather telling me that he used to pass the site as a boy and what struck him most was the mountain of chappals slippers outside that placerdquoReenita Hora authorHora was talking at a fireside chat with Madhvani at Soho House Juhu late Thursday evening The chat was titled lsquoReimagining Jallianwala History Through Fiction amp Filmrsquo Madhvani has directed lsquoThe Waking of a Nationrsquo a web series exploring the Jallianwala Bagh massacreMadhvani said of the impetus for his web series ldquoYears ago I was flying to London along with my mother I wanted to cross over to go ahead to another aisle in the aircraft and asked a white man whether I could pass lsquoSit down you brown bastardrsquo he said to me That has stayed with me all through I have spoken about this beforerdquo he explained as his audience listened in shocked silenceHistorical fictionWhen asked about the title of her book lsquoVermilion Harvestrsquo Hora said ldquoThe literary world is not forgiving A bookrsquos title and cover make you or break yourdquo ldquoI think the adage do not judge a book by its cover taking it literally is rubbishrdquo she said to some laughsldquoVermilion is the colour of blood and life Harvest is because the massacre took place on BaisakhiVaisakhi marking the beginning of the harvest seasonrdquo she explained Hora added ldquoThe book is historically accurate Yet the love story in the book has fictional characters There is also a difference between a love story and a romance The latter meets a set formula and there is a lsquohappily ever afterrsquo or an end that says happily as of now A love story can be a tragedy toordquoThe struggleThe compact audience listened rapt as Hora explained that she wanted her book to be a story told ldquothrough the lens of the victim or the subjugated through the women as these voices are rarely heard in the historical context History too is usually written by the victorrdquo The chat segued into some banter about mansplaining and about lsquohistoryrsquo being lsquohisstoryrsquo never lsquoherstoryrsquo This narrative flips that with women finding their voice in the bookTo a question about what research for the book had taught her if it had impacted her in any way Hora said ldquoThe research did show me how much of our history is mansplainedrdquo With that came the question about freedom and what Hora thought was the true meaning of freedom to which she said ldquoLiving life on your own termsrdquo That brought the curtains down on a stimulating evening with the realisation that there are different meanings to freedomJallianwala Bagh was the pivotal moment that sparked Indiarsquos freedom struggle We all have our freedom struggles too which may never make it to books or on celluloid That struggle may be against stereotypes limitations whether selfimposed or from outside or even demons within Yet at the core freedom struggles in different dimensions have an aim about setting the soul and spirit free to soarApril 13Day Jallianwala massacre took place in 1919Jallianwala BaghThe Jallianwala Bagh massacre also known as the Amritsar massacre took place on April 13 1919 A large crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar Punjab British India during the annual Baisakhi fair to protest against the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of proIndian independence activists Saifuddin Kitchlew and SatyapalTemporary Brigadier General REH Dyer surrounded the people with his Gurkha and Sikh infantry regiments of the British Indian Army After blocking the exit with his troops Dyer ordered them to shoot at the crowd continuing to fire even as the protestors tried to flee Estimates of those killed vary from 379 to 1500 or more people over 1200 others were injured of whom 192 sustained serious injuryatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params