The World of Apu...contd.

Life is full of uncertainty...yet, Life goes on...

           Apu couldn’t believe his own fate...he had never thought of getting married to such a rich and beautiful girl...Apu's insecurity was aptly captured by Satyajit Ray in a scene where in the morning Apu's wife found her saari to be tied to Apu's Kurta. Innocence of the scene marked the genesis of a passionate love between the couple. Days passed by, and the world of Apu changed forever. Life was never more organized before...Life was never so beautiful before...One fine day, Apu's wife left for her mother's place for extra care in the last months of her pregnancy.

          Apu and his wife interacted on a regular basis by exchanging letters. Though Apu had promised to pay a visit to his wife soon, work kept him break his promise time and again. One fine day, Apu was returning home while reading his wife's letter that earnestly requested him to be by her side while the child's delivery. Apu had made up his mind to visit his wife as soon as possible....Alas!! Life had some other plans for him....At home, he found a messenger which had the news that could possibly shatter his world...A world that was built with bricks of hope and connected with the cement of Love...A world that he had never dreamt of before and which was incomplete without his lovely wife...Yes!! the messenger had brought the news of the death of his wife while child birth. Due to the longer lead times of the postal services at that time, Apu was actually reading the letter of his dead wife while travelling home. Even the mere thought of this ironic sequence will give goose bumps to viewers.

            It was not at all simple for Apu to move on. The grief of the loss of the only person he had in his life was far heavier than the realization of becoming a father. Apu started sailing in the mast-less boat of his life in the unknown ocean of destiny. He left his house and kept roaming all across the country in search of peace. Years went by...Apu's child grew up to be a sweet little naughty boy who was being taken care by Apu's ailing father-in-law. Apu's son was made to believe that his father stayed in Kolkata and would one day come back to free him from the clutches of his strict grandfather. While on one hand Apu's child was living each day in the hope of meeting his father, Apu on the other hand, had settled in Nagpur for years with no intentions of meeting his son ever. Apu had been working in a factory for years now and lived a secluded life until his friend who had fixed his marriage found him in Nagpur. His friend requested him to get back to home, meet his son and do the duty of being a father. But to the surprise of the friend, Apu had still not moved on. Apu hated his own son, who was considered to be the creator of the infinite bridge between him and his wife. He never wanted to see his son as he believed him to be the reason for the death of his beloved wife. And had strong feelings that his wife didn't exist because his son existed.

              Still, keeping the request of his beloved friend, Apu visited his wife's home to meet his son. He had plans of relieving the agony of his father-in-law and admitting his son in some boarding school. However, when he saw his son's face for the first time, he could see nothing but the last mark of love between him and his wife. He realized that the innocent eyes of his child couldn't have done any mistake, and should not be punished for the unfortunate acts of destiny. For days Apu tried to make his son realize that he was his father for whom he had been waiting for all these years. But the fact of seeing his father for the first time was way too heavy for the boy. He avoided his father all the time as he considered him to be a stranger trying to imitate his father. All efforts of cajoling had gone in vain. Realizing the tough task, Apu finally decided to leave for his work. Preserving the little memories of the time he had spent with his son, Apu started his journey....The following scene depicts the last sequence of the movie as Apu left the house....

             The above scene expresses the realization of unadulterated love Apu had for his son...Apu had lost all hopes of making his son realize who he was...Yet he knew, the love of his son who was the last memory of his wife, was the only elixir of life at that moment...Already a man who had lost too many things in life, Apu didn't want to loose a single chance of getting back his son...to the extent that he was ready to say his son that HE WAS A FRIEND , that HE WOULD TAKE HIM TO HIS FATHER , that HIS FATHER WOULD NEVER SCOLD HIM AND LEAVE HIM AGAIN...All these words made it understandable that Apu desperately wanted himself to be accepted by his son...Apu definitely wanted himself to be forgiven by his son...calling himself a friend was much easier for him than staying away from his son any longer...

Thus, carrying his son on his tiered shoulders...Apu started a new journey...A journey of hope...A journey of love...A journey of belief...A journey of resurrecting his dilapidated world - all over again....