Reflection On The Movie Water

Learning about Asian cultures has always been fascinating to me. Growing up, I did not have much exposure to Eastern cultures, religions, even food! As I have gotten older, I keep getting pulled East with where I would like to travel and explore traditions. India is particularly interesting to me, but I do not know a lot about the country. If you asked me a few weeks ago, I would associate India with bright colors, elephants and a love of cows. That’s it. Throughout the past few weeks, I have expanded my knowledge of India and Hindu culture and am intrigued to learn more. Viewing the film Water, has helped me gain a visual perspective on what culture in India was like in the 30’s. Through the film, I was able to learn more about Hinduism and …show more content…
I say background because it seems to go unnoticed; as if that is just the accepted way things are. The film begins by Chuyia’s father telling her she is a widow. She was married as a child, which was a common practice, and never met her husband. She was then sent off to live at the ashram with the other widows. At the ashram, Madhumati tells Chuyia that a woman is a part of her husband and when he dies, she half dies too. Madhumati then asks, “So how can a half-dead woman feel pain?” to which Chuyia responds, “Because she’s half alive?” Seemingly, that was not the correct response as Chuyia was immediately scolded and had to run away. This is the first time that she challenges boundaries as a widow in Water. As you can already tell from this scene at the beginning of the film, the life of a man is held in much higher regard than the life of a woman. Men can have many wives and even mistresses, which was also displayed in the film as Madhumati used Kaylani as a prostitute. Once a woman dies, she becomes a widow and has to be segregated from society to live with other widows. This seems unfair to me, but that is the way things were. At another point in the film, Narayan’s mother says, “god willing she will be born as a man.” This further illustrates how men had more of a life ahead of them than woman. To come back in the next life as a man would mean more freedoms and …show more content…
He is there for just a moment, between stops, and a huge crowd built up to see him speak. I heard mentions of Gandhi throughout the movie and I was waiting to see where he came in. Water is set in the 1930’s, pre-Gandhi era, so it is an interesting contrast to portray compared to the ideas shared throughout. At the beginning of the movie, Narayan goes to his parents’ house and hangs a picture of Gandhi up in his room. Knowing Gandhi as the father of the independence movement, you can tell his themes will come up throughout. He abstains from food, sleep, sex and other worldly desires, living an ascetic lifestyle. He does not believe in the caste system and believes child widows should remarry. Gandhi believed that everyone was deserving of love and was against the idea of untouchables. Narayan eventually runs into Chuyia and Kalyani and takes an interest in them. He actively pursues Kalyani throughout the movie, despite her saying that to allow him to follow her in a sin. She tries hiding from him but ultimately succumbs to a note and he explains to her that he believes that she should be able to remarry. According to Narayan, Gandhi wanted to liberate the widows of India. Eventually, at the end when Gandhi is at the train station, Narayan gets on the train, as planned. Chuyia is rushed to the train station by a Shakuntula, who at the last minute decides that Chuyia can